The Blob - Review

The Blob (1988). Starring Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith and three thousand gallons of slime as the Blob.

Three stars.

Originally Published October 15th, 2011

(SPOILERS)

In the recent onslaught of wretched horror remakes, it's hard to believe that this practice was, at one time, palatable. Why do I say this, you ask?



Because back in the 1980s, horror remakes were as abound as they are today. Only these remakes were of a higher caliber than the current mass produced Hollywood films from studios like Platinum Dunes or Dimension. These movies were legitimate attempts to better older films. This is as opposed to the money making/factory approach seen with remakes like 2009s Friday the 13th, or New Line Cinemas new takes on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, which serve to cash in on established labels. The ultimate 80s remake that quickly comes to mind for horror fans is usually The Thing, but there were plenty of other reduxes as well. For instance, The Rejuvenator with Vivian Lanko (a remake of The Wasp Woman) is an excellent example of these re-envisionings that surfaced during the decade of Michael, Reagan, and Madonna.


A great example of a horror update is the Chuck Russells remake of the 1958 film, The Blob, with Steve McQueen. This time, actor Kevin Dillon (Entourage) is filling in for Steven McQueen's badboy-juvenile delinquent role. Saw veteran and co-star of Becker, Shawnee Smith, makes an early appearance as the bimbo love interest.

However, the true star of this picture is the Blob. The giant maroon jello monster from the first film is replaced by rapidly growing bacteria that held the appearance of liquid bubble gum and cattle afterbirth. This thing literally looks like vomit from when you were kid and you had the flu, took some Pepto-Bismol, but chucked it up with some extra-chunky chicken soup. This updated ooze monster is definitely more intimidating than the one from the 1958 original. The creature really begins to shine in the last 30 minutes of the film, when it releases itself from the sewers of the town and begins to feed on the residents.

While the creature spreads as bacteria from what appears to be a meteor (like the original film), the creature is actually a product of germ warfare. The main protagonist, Brian Flagg (Dillon) discovers this secret after investigating the crash site, only to discover U.S. Federal agents in HAZMAT suits recovering the item.  This is a decent updated element of the story, although it really adds nothing to the story in the long run.  Like the original, the remake establishes that the creature is also largely affected by the cold (which brings about its downfall).  This leads up to the ending, which was obviously a setup for a sequel.  Regrettably, a follow up to this film never transpired, which is a shame considering the original film had a horrible follow up that was directed by Larry Hagman of Dallas fame.

This remake owes much to the success of John Carpenters The Thing, but at the end of the day stands on its own.  1988s The Blob is a worthy of belonging in any great horror collection and is currently found on a barebones DVD release.  While many collectors would find issue with this, it is presented in 1:85:1 anamorphic ratio for 16x9 televisions.  This will probably have to do, as a Blu-Ray release is not likely in the near future.