The Blob Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1988

The original The Blob film was released in 1958 and quickly became a campy drive-in classic thanks in large part to its unique twist on the sci-fi/horror genre; the concept of a seemingly invincible acidic blob intrigued audiences. In 1988 director Chuck Russell took on an audacious task: remake the classic with a new vision and story. So how did he fare? Find out in the Feature Attraction.

Let's face it – the very word "remake" makes many movie viewers' cringe with apprehension. Remaking classics is a dangerous business, because more often than not clueless directors massacre the shows we once loved without any sense of decency. The Honeymooners 2005 remake… need I say more?

Yet once in a while comes along a director that actually does justice to the source material, and in some rare cases actually surpasses it such as John Carpenter did with his remake of The Thing. Well horror fans, I'm glad to say Russell's The Blob is one of the few and the proud that has joined this exclusive list.

The town of Arborville, Colorado is one of those sleepy towns with equally lackadaisical residents. In fact the most excitement Sheriff Geller (Jeffrey DeMunn) seems to experience is keeping a wary eye on the town's rebellious teenager, Brian Flagg (Kevin Dillon).

That all changes rather suddenly when a meteor crash-lands into the wilderness just outside of the town during the midst of night. A homeless old man comes upon the meteor and sees a mysterious substance squirming around within the cracked shell. Before he realizes what is happening, the gelatinous blob attaches itself to his hand and slowly begins to dissolve it.

Meanwhile Meg Penny (Shawnee Smith) and her clean-cut boyfriend Paul Taylor (Donovan Leitch) are cruising on a country road elsewhere when they accidentally stumble upon the old man with the gelatinous hand… with their car! Worried about his welfare they quickly scoot him into their vehicle and drive him to the local infirmary.

Alas, it's too late for the old man. The blob tires of feeding on the hand and decides to absorb half the fellow's body, instantly killing him in a gruesome manner. And that's just the start of the blob's rampage as it starts absorbing victims in the hospital and other hotspots around town such as the diner and the movie theater. The seemingly invincible blob was dangerous enough at the start, but with each victim it consumes it grows increasingly larger.

When all seems lost, a mysterious team of government soldiers and researchers roll into Arborville to save the citizens of the besieged town. But is there something that the agents are keeping secret from the frightened townsfolk?

The Blob put forth an impressive showing, largely because director Russell toned down the cheese factor of the original and actually played this one somewhat straight. Once in a while a momentary injection of humor is squeezed into the tense story, but overall this is a far more serious horror flick than the original.

It really shouldn't come as any surprise that the special effects are much more impressive considering the remake had the benefit of 30 years of technological advances over its predecessor. But looking beyond the better general special effects, the remake of The Blob offers a lot more violence and gore than the original, though not to the level where viewers will need an iron stomach to comfortably watch it.

I also enjoyed The Blob's renegade feel. Much like the movie's main protagonist Brian, the film adamantly danced to its own tune and wasn't afraid to break standard horror conventions that often hamper the genre. One example of this is allowing a kid to be consumed by the blob… most horror fans know that few directors dare to choose young targets! It's little touches like this that make the formula feel a bit more "real" than horror flicks afraid to deviate from the standard formulas.

The Blob remake is by no means perfect – it does suffer from some wooden acting (though for the most part the citizens are a motley and interesting crew) and somewhat dated effects. But none of that detracts from the entertainment factor; The Blob is respectable remake that honors the original while paving its own course.

Movie rating: 8 stars

If you enjoyed The Blob you may also find the following films to be of interest:

• Creepshow
• The Stuff
• The Thing

Enjoy the Blob experience in the comfort of your own home with these products!

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Poster The Blob Buy this Poster at AllPosters.com

Other Resources:

• The Blob IMDb Page

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