Le Blob

Remakes are often frowned upon by film fans, and for good reason, but Chuck Russell's take on the silly fifties Sci-Fi flick of the same name certainly doesn't disappoint! The film has the fifties plot structure and ideas, but it's been updated to the eighties - which means gratuitous amounts of special effects, a trashy atmosphere and lots and lots of gore! This remake has sentimental value for me personally, as it's the only film in history to make me physically sick. I would have been about seven at the time, and watching this film over breakfast isn't recommended for seven-year-old kids! However, I did, of course, get the day off school. I've grown up a bit since then, but upon watching The Blob again; I've got to say that it's lost none of it's charm, only I managed to hold back on being sick this time. The plot follows an asteroid that comes down from space. Upon inspecting it, a lowly bum finds himself with a strange organism stuck to his hand! The Blob also takes advantage of the eighties teen comedy craze, and after a couple of kids find the tramp on the road, they take him to the hospital, and that's where the fun really starts…

The special effects are often silly, but nevertheless; very effective! The sequences are very imaginative, and take advantage of the eighties style humour that make eighties horror films what they are. The way that the blob consumes people is always disgusting, and seeing the half-melted outlines of people inside the creature is lots of fun and makes for some really good horror. Because it was made in the eighties; many of the scenes focus on raunchy kids, and this gives The Blob lots of room to manoeuvre the central monster into all kinds of hilarious situations. The acting, as you would expect, is nothing to write home about; but the cast approach their roles with gusto, and the fun performances help to make the film what it is. Chuck Russell does a great job of creating the right sort of atmosphere for the film and the screenplay is better than you would expect for a trashy eighties horror flick. Some will notice that the script was co-written by one Frank Darabont, who would, of course, go on to write and direct one of the 'best films of the nineties'. Personally, I'd rather this watch this film!

Usually, when they attempt a remake of a classic sci-fi/horror flick, they bungle it beyond redemption. "The Blob" is actually a pretty good remake, elaborating the original's story. In this case, the protagonist - aside from the title character - is punk Brian Flagg (Kevin Dillon). The movie's strength comes from the intrigue that it portrays.

Needless to say, now that the censorship laws had eased, they were able to add in some more things. I'll never forget the sink scene (as I call it). And, as I understand it, Donovan starred in this movie (or was it someone else with the name Donovan Leitch?). Oh well, the point is that they eked out a good movie with this remake.

This movie takes the classic made in 1957 and updates it with a modern tone and special effects. If you are unfamiliar with the plot; A meteor crashes to Earth, and contained within is a gelatinous creature with an insatiable appetite for humans. As it eats more and more people, it grows in both mass and red color. How do you stop a creature that is impervious to bullets? Beware the blob. Comparing apples to apples here, the original movie is like a Sunday drive with your grandparents, slow but ominous. The remake is more like a Grand Prix race with a driver on speed. What the different tempo and special effects could not do is vastly improve upon the original. If this was your first exposure to The Blob, I would say you would hate the 50's version. If you saw that one first, then you will like this movie, just not quite as much. All in all this is a great updating, but it lacks some of the heart.

One night, just outside of a quiet and small town, a bizarre meteor crashes. A man who goes to investigate finds a weird glop that jumps on his arm and puts him into a state of frenzy. Some young people take him to the hospital and we soon see that the weird substance has eaten most of him and it is still hungry...

The result is a very entertaining monster flick with a very unusual monster - an amorphous blob. After films like Alien, Predator, The Thing, and others thinking of a good monster idea can be tough. Even John Carpenter's well crafted The Thing is a remake, but that didn't stop the film from becoming one of his best due to a good visceral interpretation of the story. The same goes for this film - a remake of an old movie with a very visceral and gory style. Featuring top-notch aesthetic and even some obviously aged, but nonetheless fun, old computer effects it is more of a thorough re-imagination like The Thing was.

However, the film falls a bit on its face when it comes to creating suspense. Many scenes with the title monster are tense and the action good and the gore first-rate, but the connective scenes between them surprisingly lack in tension. With material ripe for an eerie atmosphere it is a shame to see this horror element not fully developed in the film. The result is a fun movie, but it could have been much better. Also the mad scientist/cold war element is a bit stale by today's standards.

But, overall it is a fun little flick featuring a truly merciless monster that gobbles up just about anyone (even kids!). Horror/sci-fi fans will definitely want to check this flick out. 7/10

Rated R: violence, horror images, and profanity

In the 1980s there were 3 remakes of Popular 1950s Horror films, first there was THE THING (1982) then THE FLY (1986) And in (1988) We got THE BLOB, which is often overlooked and considered to be the lesser of the 3 remakes, and to me that's really sad because THE BLOB is in my opinion is Just as good as the other two remakes from the 80s, The 1950s version of The Blob is a classic B-Movie worth watching for a good laugh, as for the Remake it is a truly scary film, the suspense is there, the special effects are incredible to this day, the only effects that are dated are the green screen effects which don't show up until the latter of the film and there's only a few of them.

The Plot is the same as the original but with a slight twist, Like in the original, A meteorite hits earth and a strange blob creature oozes out of it and starts to devour anything and anyone in its path, the film has 2 heroes played by (Kevin Dillon and Shawnee Smith) who both do a good job with their roles, and the supporting cast is good also.

The film succeeds as being a good remake because it gives you something old and something new, it pays homage to the original without completely ripping off the original, In fact there are only 2 major scenes that are lifted from the original, but they are Done in good taste, unlike many remakes today where they just add an overabundance of scenes from the original making feel like a total repeat of the original and not add anything new, But the real show stealer is the Blob itself, the biggest improvement being the special effects, the blob has never looked more threatening or scarier.

Overall: The 1988 remake of THE BLOB is a classic but sadly overlooked Horror/Sci-Fi film, The Only problem with it is some cheesy dialog and maybe the new twist on the plot is not the best, but the biggest problem is, WHEN WILL WE GET A SPECIAL EDITION DVD/BLU RAY? It would be good to see some bonus features as well as some remastering, they could surely Polish up some of the bad green screen moments. But overall the film is a lot of fun, Highly recommended for Horror/Sci-Fi Buffs.

8/10 4/5