Already an esteemed cinematographer and wonderful effects whiz, Mario Bava remained a reluctant director – reportedly wanting to move into the director’s chair, but keeping a deliberate distance – so it took some clever maneuvering by Riccardo Freda, Calitiki’s original director, to give Bava a taste of directing a full movie…
After the success of the original Blob (1958), producer Jack H. Harris had a story for a sequel, but it wasn’t filmed until 1972, long after the rights to the first film flipped back from Paramount to the film’s original right holders, and when strangely enough, Harris’ Malibu neighbour, Larry Hagman, was interested in the film project…
Former Tangerine Dream member & Michael Hoenig (The Wraith, and the superb Dark Skies) crafted a clever little score using deep, resonating synths and actual brass instruments for his slow-oozing narrative about interstellar pink goo gradually wreaking hell on a small town…
According to Tim Lucas’ liner notes, I Vampiri / Devil’s Commandment (1957) and Caltiki (1959) were productions that, in a rather complicated way, were ‘given’ to Mario Bava to finish when director Riccardo Freda wanted out, and felt he could give Bava the chance he’d been waiting for to direct not one but two horror films…
Mention The Blob and the first sounds likely playing in your brain come from the film’s theme song, co-crafted by a young Burt Bacharach and performed by The Five Blobs (who else?), and while not deep or sophisticated – the lyrics are goofy, mouth pops punctuate the catch-phrase “Be-ware of the Blob” – like any evil music, it worms its way into your subconscious, ensuring that even while you’re sleeping, that looped tune will be the first thing to which you wake up…
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