00:05 - Every one of you watching

00:07 - this screen look out

00:09 - because soon, very soon,

00:10 - the most horrifying monster

00:12 - menace ever conceived will

00:25 - be oozing into this theater.

00:45 - So The Blob is actually a film

00:47 - from 1958 that was directed

00:49 - by Shorty Year Ward Junior,

00:51 - and it is feature Steve McQueen

00:53 - in his first starring role.

00:55 - He plays a 27 year

00:56 - old Tyrone teenager

00:58 - who happens to witness the Blob

01:00 - and then try to warn everybody

01:02 - in town that this

01:03 - big mass is coming

01:04 - and it's already

01:05 - killed several people.

01:06 - And he's trying to warn

01:07 - everybody and save the day.

01:08 - It's just over the

01:09 - course of the film.

01:11 - The only people that believe him

01:12 - are the teenagers, his friends.

01:13 - So they rally together

01:14 - to try to save the town.

01:17 - The Colonial Theater is

01:18 - actually featured in The Blob.

01:20 - There is a scene where the

01:21 - kids all go to a midnight movie.

01:23 - Steve McQueen knows

01:23 - his friends are there.

01:24 - He goes there,

01:25 - rallies their support.

01:26 - They all leave.

01:27 - And then later in the

01:28 - film, there's big screen.

01:32 - And of course, the blob is

01:33 - now inside the movie theater

01:35 - and everybody comes tearing out.

01:36 - So if you've seen it on Turner

01:38 - Classic movies or a

01:39 - film reel or anything,

01:40 - you see people running

01:41 - out of a movie theater.

01:42 - That is our marquee.

01:44 - In 1958, Inside the Blob.

01:49 - We have the original film

01:50 - projectors from the film itself.

01:52 - Our theater itself is

01:54 - pretty much the same.

01:55 - We have updated the

01:57 - seats since the fifties.

01:58 - We have changed

02:00 - just a little bit of things

02:01 - here and there, but they're

02:03 - mostly just esthetic things.

02:05 - Now, we did buy the

02:06 - buildings next door.

02:07 - We do have two more

02:08 - screens next door.

02:09 - But that does not

02:10 - ruin the original

02:11 - theatrical experience that the

02:13 - Colonial Theater can provide.

02:15 - Blob Fest started back in 1999.

02:17 - It was a very simple thing

02:18 - where somebody said,

02:19 - Hey, let's just why

02:20 - don't we show The Blob?

02:21 - Because it was filmed here.

02:22 - So what is seen on the

02:24 - screen in the original 58

02:26 - is across the

02:27 - street in the film.

02:29 - Steve McQueen and the police

02:31 - chief here screaming and McQueen

02:34 - points and says the theater

02:36 - and then it goes to

02:37 - the shot of the theater

02:38 - and you just see everybody

02:40 - tearing out of the front doors.

02:42 - If you really look,

02:43 - there are people smiling

02:44 - because obviously

02:45 - they were locals.

02:46 - They knew they were in a

02:47 - movie. And it's kind of funny.

02:48 - And you get a couple of

02:50 - aerial shots of people like

02:51 - falling over and moving.

02:54 - There is a surreal moment

02:55 - when you're watching the movie

02:57 - that you're actually in

02:58 - the space where these

03:00 - characters are

03:01 - attacked or people

03:02 - that they know are attacked.

03:03 - So it is it is a

03:04 - little bit of a film,

03:06 - but there's also

03:07 - this large applause.

03:09 - The very first time you

03:10 - see the Colonial on screen,

03:12 - people just rip into it's like

03:13 - someone hit a home run.

03:15 - They just start clapping

03:16 - and clapping and clapping.

03:19 - Welcome to Blob Fest here

03:23 - at the historic

03:24 - Colonial Theater.

03:29 - I am here as a representative

03:31 - of worldwide entertainment.

03:32 - Now, that's the company of

03:34 - Jack Harris, who is the creator.

03:36 - He wrote it.

03:37 - He produced it of

03:38 - the original block.

03:40 - Everybody can watch it.

03:42 - You know, 80 year olds love it.

03:43 - 12 year olds love it.

03:45 - And that's a beautiful thing

03:46 - because nobody is left out.

03:47 - Everybody can enjoy this film.

03:49 - Jack would be

03:50 - he's been gone for years

03:51 - now, but he would be thrilled.

03:53 - And Judith is thrilled.

03:54 - So it's a real honor because,

03:55 - you know, classics like this,

03:57 - they just don't go

03:58 - out of style ever.

03:59 - What do you think is so iconic

04:01 - specifically about the blob?

04:03 - The Blob.

04:03 - The Blob.

04:05 - It was an alien invasion movie.

04:08 - Without an alien with a body.

04:10 - Yeah.

04:11 - And it was color

04:12 - and it was that red.

04:14 - And, you know, it just sort

04:15 - of squished through holes.

04:16 - Jell-O. Jell-O.

04:18 - Yeah.

04:18 - It was thicker than Jell-O,

04:19 - but it squish through holes

04:21 - and doorways and

04:22 - cracks and crevices.

04:23 - Came up, sing a song

04:25 - and then had a song. Yes.

04:27 - Beware of the blob.

04:29 - It creeps and leaps and glides

04:31 - and slides across the floor

04:33 - and through the door

04:34 - and all around the walls

04:36 - as much a bunch bigger.

04:38 - But The Blob now understand

04:40 - we're in the presence of blob

04:42 - royalty here. Tell

04:43 - me about that.

04:44 - It's true.

04:45 - I'm Suzanne Turner,

04:46 - Miss Best 2019.

04:48 - Why did you winter

04:49 - Miss Blob Fest?

04:51 - You know, I've come

04:52 - to Blob Fest since 2009.

04:54 - And one year I saw that

04:55 - there was a miss blob.

04:56 - This I thought I

04:56 - should be Miss Bob.

04:57 - That's I've been coming

04:58 - since 2009, and I

04:59 - love the street there.

05:02 - So what did you have

05:03 - to do as a as a contestant

05:04 - in this pageant?

05:05 - What they ask you to

05:06 - do, what they test you on?

05:08 - So we had to have a talent that

05:09 - you could do in under a minute.

05:11 - So I threw my whistle one

05:12 - year and I made a balloon dog.

05:14 - Now, about how many ladies

05:15 - participated in this pageant.

05:17 - Anyway, I'm just trying to

05:18 - get a sense of proportion here.

05:20 - A lot of competition.

05:21 - So in my time

05:22 - there were only two.

05:23 - But this year we

05:24 - were up to six entries.

05:27 - There were two

05:27 - contestants in your day.

05:28 - So you were one of them?

05:30 - Correct.

05:30 - And I had. A pretty good shot.

05:33 - All right. Do you remember

05:33 - what kind of talent your

05:35 - competitor performed?

05:37 - She gave an awesome poem

05:38 - about the Colonial and The Blob

05:40 - because it turned

05:41 - 60 years old that year.

05:42 - Tell me about what do

05:44 - you feel here at Blob Fest

05:46 - and the whole idea that we're

05:47 - commemorating

05:48 - the attack in The Blob

05:49 - on the Colonial Theater.

05:50 - And it was it was so long

05:51 - ago, over 60 years ago.

05:53 - And here the theater is

05:54 - still intact from those days.

05:55 - What's it make you feel?

05:57 - It feels great.

05:58 - It's just one of those things

05:59 - where it takes you

06:00 - back is nostalgic.

06:01 - Everyone gets into it. Look

06:02 - at how everyone's dressed.

06:04 - We're all excited.

06:05 - It's a happy thing that

06:06 - we can all take part in.

06:08 - It's just a great time.

06:09 - I saw The Blob

06:10 - here for the first time

06:11 - and ever since I just fell

06:12 - in love with Phoenixville.

06:14 - This whole environment

06:15 - and of course the movie

06:17 - on Friday night,

06:17 - they have the run out,

06:19 - which in the movie

06:20 - everybody runs

06:21 - when they see The Blob

06:22 - come into the theater.

06:23 - And it's cool

06:23 - to take part in that

06:24 - because then you kind of feel

06:25 - like maybe you were in the

06:26 - movie and opening credits.

06:28 - Everybody's clapping

06:28 - along and singing

06:29 - along with the blob, seeing them

06:30 - doing the pop and everything.

06:32 - And I just was like, Wow, this

06:33 - is a really cool community. I

06:36 - love all these different horror

06:37 - movies and classic monsters,

06:38 - but I never really seen

06:39 - a crowd of people be this

06:40 - in love with the movie before.

06:42 - Love Fest is a

06:43 - three days of fun.

06:46 - We've got classic monster

06:48 - movies playing at the Colonial.

06:49 - We've got a street fair,

06:51 - we've got The Blob ball

06:52 - with live entertainment.

06:55 - It's just a celebration of

06:57 - B-movies, horror movies,

06:59 - monster movies, all that great

07:01 - throwback pop culture stuff.

07:04 - And the whole town comes out.

07:07 - I came all the way from New

07:08 - Jersey and I haven't left since.

07:10 - I mean, everybody loves

07:11 - the kind of frenetic period

07:13 - of that movie.

07:14 - And you're the whole town

07:15 - just, you know, banding together

07:17 - and just, you know, running

07:19 - out from this ridiculous monster

07:21 - and everybody

07:22 - loves Steve McQueen

07:24 - and the whole

07:24 - B-movie feel of it.

07:26 - I am playing before Blob

07:27 - Fest, so about 30 minutes of

07:29 - doing different

07:29 - sci fi film themes.

07:31 - Anything from Bernard Herrmann

07:32 - to Rock Around the Clock

07:33 - and some classics like The

07:34 - Cartoon Fugue in D Minor.

07:36 - So kind of showing a

07:37 - little bit of everything.

07:38 - My job is trying to get people

07:40 - in the mood for Blob Fest.

07:41 - So beforehand getting

07:42 - them in the seats

07:43 - and getting them ready

07:44 - to just experience it all.

07:46 - Now you're a young man.

07:46 - How much do you know

07:47 - about these old movies anyway?

07:49 - I love them.

07:49 - I mean, I started

07:50 - with silent films,

07:51 - so I got a little bit

07:52 - before I got to 1920.

07:53 - So this is new for me now.

07:55 - But I really I enjoy these

07:57 - different classic films.

07:58 - I love my Alfred Hitchcock.

08:00 - And, you know, the classic

08:01 - film composers really,

08:03 - you know, as a musician,

08:04 - actually, when I was ten, before

08:05 - I even started playing organ, I

08:07 - saw The Phantom of the Opera,

08:08 - and I knew right from there,

08:10 - and that's what I wanted to do.

08:12 - And I've been doing

08:13 - it really ever since

08:15 - so we're going to actually

08:15 - is an original to the building

08:17 - actually came from

08:17 - Buffalo and moved around

08:19 - but it is celebrating

08:20 - its 100 year

08:21 - anniversary was built in

08:22 - 1922 by the Wurlitzer company

08:24 - and moved around quite a lot.

08:26 - But it's finally found

08:27 - a home here at the Colonial

08:28 - to enhance their programing

08:30 - and the Colonial lovingly

08:31 - takes care of it and

08:32 - really programs in often

08:34 - along with the Delaware

08:35 - Valley Theater Organ Society.

08:37 - And together the instrument

08:39 - here is used for various amounts

08:40 - of programing, silent

08:41 - films, pre shows, concerts.

08:44 - It's really quite a

08:45 - spectacular thing to play in

08:46 - one of the best state

08:47 - organs in the country.

08:48 - The whole purpose

08:49 - of these organs

08:50 - was to accompany silent films

08:52 - and kind of almost

08:53 - replace orchestra members.

08:55 - So instead of having

08:56 - 21 musicians in the pit, you

08:57 - could have one and accompany

08:59 - a silent film.

09:00 - It also has all these

09:01 - different sound effects on it.

09:02 - So here we have a player

09:03 - piano hooked up to an accordion

09:06 - chimes, a car horn for

09:07 - effects and films you.

09:09 - Have controlled

09:10 - all that? Oh, yeah.

09:11 - I have a concert.

09:12 - So it's really.

09:13 - It's your one man

09:13 - band, essentially.

09:14 - So it's really quite fun.

09:16 - So it's great

09:17 - with the movie music

09:17 - because you get to kind of

09:19 - bring in some of the

09:19 - percussions back into it

09:21 - and really expand

09:21 - some of the repertoire

09:23 - that you couldn't play

09:25 - on a typical pipe organ.

09:29 - Much like our programing,

09:31 - the look and feel esthetically

09:33 - of the interior and exterior

09:35 - spaces of the colonial

09:36 - theater is very eclectic.

09:39 - So the facade of the

09:40 - 1903 theater approximates

09:42 - what it looked like in The

09:43 - Blob in the movie The Blob.

09:46 - This wing that we're

09:47 - standing in has a Grecian

09:49 - a very formal facade

09:50 - with with columns.

09:52 - Every year

09:53 - we write a completely original

09:55 - script for the stage show.

09:57 - A group of people

09:58 - headed up by our director

10:00 - of programing, Bob Trate,

10:01 - Chuck Francisco,

10:02 - who plays a character,

10:03 - Dash Dearing, who

10:04 - comes back every year, Dr.

10:06 - Franken Stone

10:07 - and some others, including Matt

10:09 - McGinnis, who plays Son of Dr.

10:11 - Frankenstein and writes

10:13 - and produces Mystery

10:14 - Science Theater 3000.

10:16 - And the host to this year is

10:17 - Aurora Borealis of Baltimore.

10:19 - As cocktail hour.

10:21 - They come together and

10:22 - they write the show together.

10:24 - So it's episodic in nature,

10:26 - which is is really lovely

10:28 - because when the colonial

10:30 - theater opened all of the live

10:31 - for for most of the

10:32 - live performance

10:33 - I should say would have

10:34 - been episodic in nature.

10:35 - So it's got live musical

10:37 - music interspersed with

10:40 - its acting on stage

10:41 - are two contests,

10:43 - the Mixed Blood Fest

10:44 - contest and the Shorty Short

10:45 - Film contest in honor of

10:47 - Shorty Hayworth, the director of

10:49 - Of The Blob 1958.

10:51 - So it's it's sort of a

10:53 - variety show of sorts,

10:55 - but it always kind of recycles

10:57 - some of the same characters,

10:59 - puts recurring. Character.

11:00 - Recurring characters, puts them

11:02 - in new situations,

11:03 - introduces some new ones.

11:06 - And it it's it's a

11:08 - lot of schlocky,

11:10 - you know, B horror movies,

11:12 - the humor and it's family

11:14 - friendly as well.

11:15 - It's my cousin Rick Maude.

11:18 - S I can't take him anywhere.

11:20 - You know, last time

11:21 - I invited him to dinner,

11:23 - he and two of my guests.

11:25 - Well, let's see what

11:26 - he's so angry about.

11:27 - Hey, Hal, turn on

11:31 - Revenant Refrains.

11:36 - Oh, I'm frightened. You.

11:39 - I would have to invite

11:40 - every monster I know.

11:42 - Okay.

11:44 - All right,

11:49 - good. I

12:01 - remember when I get home.

12:02 - Let's have a heart to heart

12:07 - over a plane of brains, huh?

12:11 - Oh, we go.

12:14 - Excuse me.

12:18 - I think the blob endures because

12:21 - it's not a person

12:23 - coming after you.

12:24 - It's a it's an amoeba

12:26 - like creature from space

12:28 - or a mass from space.

12:29 - So it's not as realistic.

12:31 - Maybe there is some distance.

12:34 - I've heard nothing

12:35 - but wonderful things

12:36 - from the community

12:37 - about the people

12:38 - who come to blab fast

12:39 - and participate in the run out

12:42 - and the people who can't

12:43 - wait to see the run out.

12:44 - There's so many

12:45 - wonderful costumes, people

12:47 - who get into it,

12:47 - whether they're dressed

12:48 - like an alien

12:49 - or whether

12:49 - they're wearing 1950s garb,

12:52 - and they really

12:52 - put a lot of thought

12:53 - into how they're going

12:54 - to run out of the theater

12:55 - because they know they're

12:56 - going to be captured on on film.

12:58 - There's usually plenty of

12:59 - people out there recording,

13:00 - but of course, our staff makes

13:02 - sure that the run out is safe

13:04 - and that we don't have

13:05 - people running over each other.

13:07 - So we make sure we

13:08 - control the flow here.

13:10 - But once people exit

13:11 - onto Bridge Street,

13:12 - you'll see some kind of

13:13 - zany behavior as they're

13:15 - thinking about the

13:16 - blob coming after them.

13:18 - When you were

13:19 - sitting in the theater

13:20 - and you actually see the

13:21 - Colonial Theater from 1958

13:23 - and you see the blob oozing

13:25 - from the projection booth,

13:27 - you just can't help but be

13:28 - proud that you're part of this

13:38 - crowd.

14:07 - Now, just moments ago,

14:08 - we had the big climactic

14:10 - run out,

14:10 - which simulates the scene

14:12 - in the movie People

14:13 - Fleeing The Blob.

14:14 - Why did you want

14:15 - to even participate

14:16 - in that show with you?

14:18 - Just because it seemed

14:19 - like a really fun thing

14:20 - to do and a good way

14:22 - to kick off the weekend.

14:24 - So how did it feel as you

14:25 - were actually running out?

14:26 - I mean, did you try to imagine

14:27 - the blob is actually after you?

14:28 - Did you get into it?

14:29 - I was trying not to fall over

14:31 - my own feet or anybody else's.

14:34 - How about you?

14:35 - How was the experience

14:36 - of running out for you?

14:37 - Always a good time.

14:38 - The energy when you get out

14:40 - with the crowd watching

14:41 - it, it's so much fun.

14:42 - What about all the

14:43 - yelling and does

14:43 - that work on your nerves

14:44 - that make it more exciting?

14:46 - Absolutely.

14:48 - I miss

14:50 - like after two years of

14:52 - not being around people

14:54 - and just being kind

14:55 - of stuck to screens.

14:57 - I'm so excited to see films

14:59 - in a theater and see people

15:01 - around and having an

15:02 - amazing collective experience.

15:05 - It's awesome. I love it.

15:08 - My name is Mary Ellen Crest

15:10 - and I am an art teacher and

15:12 - I do a lot of papier maché.

15:14 - And I thought when I found out

15:15 - I was coming to the

15:16 - blob fest, I thought,

15:17 - this is my very

15:18 - first time coming

15:19 - and I might as well live it

15:21 - up and do it to the fullest

15:22 - and totally get into it and

15:24 - just enjoy the whole spirit

15:27 - of the day.

15:27 - How long did it take

15:29 - you to create this?

15:30 - I actually started last Friday

15:33 - when I got a box in the mail

15:34 - and it happened to fit my head.

15:36 - I thought, I'm going

15:37 - to build on this.

15:38 - So I went to the dollar store.

15:39 - I got some ground balls

15:41 - and and balls and balloons

15:44 - and just glued everything

15:45 - on and then papier maché for

15:47 - a couple of days probably took

15:49 - a total of like 15 hours maybe.

15:52 - Did you participate

15:52 - in the run out

15:53 - and were you able

15:54 - to menace anybody?

15:55 - If you did. I, I ran out.

15:58 - My son was holding on to me

15:59 - because my sight is

16:00 - somewhat limited in here.

16:02 - But he was great and he

16:04 - was in character and he,

16:06 - you know, screamed

16:07 - that I needed help.

16:08 - And so I think that fit

16:09 - the whole feel, the vibe.

16:11 - So yeah,

16:13 - I just ran out as fast as well

16:14 - as fast as I could with this on.

16:16 - And I love seeing

16:18 - all the faces look like

16:20 - thousands of people out here.

16:22 - Tell me your name.

16:23 - Deanna Rotella.

16:25 - Where are you from?

16:27 - Outside of Philadelphia.

16:29 - Autobahn.

16:30 - All right, let's see

16:31 - you in costume.

16:32 - Go ahead. Wow.

16:37 - So why did you want to

16:38 - dress up like the blob today?

16:39 - Tell me.

16:41 - I. Because I like going

16:43 - to festivals for fun.

16:46 - Have you seen The

16:47 - Blob on TV at any point?

16:50 - I look I've seen the.

16:51 - Scene where they're

16:52 - running out of the theater.

16:54 - Now. What is it you like

16:56 - about the Blob as a monster?

16:57 - Why is he may be better

16:59 - than other monsters.

17:00 - Tell me why he appeals to you.

17:02 - Because he's cooler

17:04 - than all the other monsters.

17:06 - So how long did it take you to

17:08 - make this costume, anyway? Um,

17:11 - I don't know.

17:12 - I had things. I had a lot of.

17:14 - Other stuff on it, but

17:15 - some of them fell. Off, too.

17:17 - I love The Blob. It's one

17:18 - of my favorite movies.

17:19 - First scary movie I ever

17:20 - saw. I was a little kid, so.

17:22 - And I still love it to

17:23 - this day. And it's fun.

17:24 - Everybody had a

17:25 - great time in there.

17:26 - It was incredibly funny and fun.

17:28 - And it's also if you love horror

17:29 - movies and science fiction,

17:31 - this is the place to be in.

17:33 - How about you?

17:33 - What's your experience

17:34 - here at Bob Fest?

17:35 - It's been really great.

17:36 - The crowd is awesome.

17:38 - The people are so nice,

17:39 - you know, you see everybody

17:41 - here, huge

17:41 - cross-section of humanity.

17:43 - Oh, good. Everybody having fun.

17:45 - I love it. Everybody having fun.

17:47 - Yeah, this is interesting to me.

17:48 - You saw the film as a kid,

17:50 - but did you have any idea

17:51 - you'd be outside

17:52 - the actual theater?

17:53 - There's featured in the movie?

17:55 - No, and.

17:55 - It was only in later years, I

17:57 - realize it was even this close.

17:58 - And then when I said, We got to.

18:00 - Go, we've had a lot of cinematic

18:01 - monsters over the past 60,

18:03 - 80 years, and yet the blob

18:05 - somehow endures is unique.

18:07 - What's its appeal for you?

18:09 - I think it's like something

18:10 - you can't control.

18:12 - And I think basically with COVID

18:13 - and everything,

18:14 - it really hits home.

18:15 - And that's the reason

18:16 - I love a lot of those

18:17 - fifties monster movies,

18:18 - because there are things that

18:19 - are bigger than we can control.

18:21 - And that's why

18:23 - I think it hit home with

18:24 - me even as a little kid.

18:25 - But definitely now it

18:26 - resonates a lot more.

18:28 - Now let's talk more

18:29 - about the energy here,

18:30 - especially involved

18:31 - in the running out

18:32 - and what were you thinking?

18:33 - What were you feeling?

18:34 - When people

18:35 - start to flee the blob

18:36 - and then they start to yell,

18:38 - how do you feel about that?

18:39 - Does that help? Right?

18:41 - Does that help

18:42 - motivate you? It did.

18:43 - And then when I came. Out,

18:45 - there was a guy who just threw

18:46 - all the popcorn in the air.

18:47 - So like moving out of the way.

18:50 - It was right behind me.

18:52 - I was. Filming it.

18:52 - You see what was

18:53 - flying through the air.

18:55 - Awesome. It was awesome. Great.

18:57 - What does Blob Fest mean

18:58 - to the Phoenixville region?

19:00 - Oh, this is our claim to fame.

19:01 - This is what we do. We are.

19:03 - This is Phoenixville.