Customer Reviews

The Blob

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really enjoyed this remake. I love the original, and I think a good job was done staying true to the original, while managing to update it for a new generation. I've seen a lot of remakes, and very often you get a sense like the director is trying to avoid ties to the original movie, but not here.

I thought this movie was fast paced and fun. It kept me interested all the way through. It was quite violent at times, and gory, but when your subject matter is about an all consuming space blob, you sort of expect that kind of thing.

The interaction between the characters was pretty well done. Kevin Dillon plays Brain Flagg, our hero who is also an outcast due to his rebellious nature. Shawnee Smith plays the female lead, the all American cheerleader homecoming queen type. The two are thrown together to fight the blob.

This version starts off essentially the same as the original, the blob arriving from space and attacking an old man in the woods. The old man is found by the teenagers, and is taken to the hospital, where it proceeds to consume some characters. Brian Flagg is initially suspected by the police, as he's no stranger to them, but they have no physical evidence to hold him, so they have to let him go. Soon, people in this small town start disappearing, and the police have their hands full. Brian and Meg are the only two who have some idea what's going on, but when Meg tries to relate her story, what she saw, no one really believes her, and Brian isn't very credible, due to the reputation he has with the town in general.

Soon, the blob starts making itself known, consuming many people. Some kind of government agency shows up, and seals the town with the purpose of capturing the voracious organism. Facts about the origin of the blob come to light, and it seems the government agency has a larger agenda than they originally stated. I thought it was quite funny how a number of people would fire at the blob with pistols and automatic weapons, only to find it had no effect on the creature. There were some pretty horrific scenes with people getting consumed by the blob, showing them basically dissolving as if bathed in acid. One scene in particular was when a ten or twelve year old boy gets taken. I was surprised to see this happen, as it's seems pretty rare to me that kids get hurt or killed in these monster movies. I did see this when it came out, which was like 15 years ago, but I didn't remember that part. I didn't mind so much, as the kid was pretty annoying. There's a climatic battle at the end, and the teenagers save the day, but in the last scene we are left wondering if the horror is truly over.

The main differences between this movie and the 1958 version are the effects and the level of violence. In the 1958 version, the violence was more implied, where this version expands on that, showing us many people being consumed. Also, the teenagers in this movie can really pass themselves off as teenagers, while in the 1958 version, Steve McQueen and his colleagues seemed a little older than was suggested. Also, some interesting plot elements are added which suggest the creature may not have originated from space, but here on Earth. Also, the special effects are weel done, and show us more of what we didn't see in the 1958 version.

I think the 1958 version, which I also own, is and always will be a classic, and this makes a nice companion and is a good movie in it's own right.

Cookieman108

In a small California town, life was simple for a teenage punk (Kevin Dillon) who falls for a lovely cheerleader (Shawnee Smith) but one night there's a strange meteorite crashes outside of town with a weird pink goo that consumes an old man's hand. Taken to a doctor, the weird slimy stuff is really alive for it's a monstrous organism that devours any creature or person that stands in it's way, can it be stopped?

Quite an awesome remake of the 50's sci-fi/horror classic with Steve Mcqueen that is just as good but with a new explanation on the creature's origin as it's a government experiment from space gone wrong. The acting is very good and so are the nifty special effects and gory detailed scenes of people being engulfed by the slime especially the memorable man being sucked down the sink scene, the blob itself is more nastier and meaner looking then the original glob of strawberry jam.

This DVD has good picture and sound quality with the only extras being trailers especially to the movie, but if you love sci-fi horror and the original then get this movie, you won't be disappointed.

Also recommended: "The Thing" ( 1982), "The Blob ( 1958)", "Species", "The Deadly Spawn (a.k.a. Return of the Aliens)", "The Stuff", "Jason X", "Predator", "Lifeforce", "Killer Klowns From Outer Space", "Creepshow 2", "Return of the Living Dead 3", "Critters 1 & 2", "Insemenoid", "Predator 2", "Aliens", "Alien", "Alien Resurrection", "Alien 3", "AVP: Alien Vs. Predator", "The Fly ( 1986)", "Undead", "Bad Taste", "Pitch Black", "Warning Sign", "Dawn of the Dead ( 2004)", "X-Files: Fight the Future", "Xtro", "Creature", "Night of the Creeps", "Resident Evil", "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", "Hollow Man", "War of the Worlds ( 1953 and 2005)", "Total Recall", "Starship Troopers", "Invasion of the Body Snatchers ( 1957 and 1978)", "Slither", "IT! Came from Outer Space", "Men in Black", "Contamination" and "Phantoms".

If you wish to read of my adulation for this grisly, shocking, excellent remake, just scroll down to my March '99 review "Steve Mcqueen, Eat Your Heart Out!"

As far as the long-awaited DVD release of "The Blob" is concerned, I must say it is an absolute treat for this here horror/sci-fi buff! Just to see Chuck Russell's masterful film in its digitally remastered 1.85:1 widescreen glory, along with the original trailer feature, really made my collection's day! My only qualm is that Columbia/TriStar was rather remiss towards the sound design (still in 2.0 surround, just like my old VHS copy). "The Blob" is a film that is definitely made for a 5.1 or DTS mix with all of its explosions and the oozing, organic sound effects that helped breathed life into this infamous & reviled movie monster.
An awesome flick and a 4.5-star quality DVD...worth every cent.

This 1988 re-make of the classic 50's horror film may have a few misfires here and there and it may look a bit dated, but it's a surprisingly good re-make which is quite a rarity. Nightmare on Elm Street 3 director Chuck Russell, who would go on to direct the Mask and Eraser, is at the helm of this gross-out romp with Kevin Dillon starring as a teenage rebel outsider who allies himself with a cheerleader (Saw's Shawnee Smith) when a murderous, slimy, monster goes on a rampage through their small town. The blood and gore effects are great for their time, while the effects of the Blob monster itself look a little dated. Everything else about this re-make however is still better than you would expect, including some imaginitive deaths. The cast also includes ER's Paul McCrane, and look for small roles featuring Baywatch babe Erika Eleniak and David Lynch regular and Eraserhead star Jack Nance as a hospital doctor.

I saw this when I was ten only a year ago and I never watched it again. It was a great movie don't get me wrong but it gave me nightmares and like in another review, I thought the blob was coming down on me due to leaky pipes in our cieling. The blob special affcts were great and the acting was good too, but like remakes, they sometimes don't follow the original. The blob first devours the old man, from his elbows down, he's fried and gooey like a pizza. Then it devours a teen who was sort of playing the part of steve mcqueen except his name was paul. In the scene, Paul runs intothe doctors office and dials nine one one after seeing the old mans fried up body. He has his back turned toward the door and dosen't see the blob sneak in and stick itself too the roof. A couple water droplet fall from the cieling near where paul has his hand, he looks up and the blob tumbes down on him. After giving out a blood curdling scream, his girlfriend runs into the office and see's her date being devoured by a gooey creature. She grabs his arm and febally trys to pull him out but to no aviel. By this time the blob had already sucked out his eye color and his skin was starting to turn pale, and in that instant, his arm melts off from his body sending his girlfriend flying through the air and slamming against the wall. The blob must have been made out of some sort of acidy fluid cause then paul melts. Its a great movie, but for those of you who can't stand gory things, this is not for you. I would recommend this to anyone who's a fan of horror movies.

The first "BLOB" starring Steve McQueen is a "reel" cult classic, but this remake, 30 years its junior, has to survive on its own merit. With Shawnee Smith and Kevin Dillon matched as the unlikely hero couple pitted against an updated, more extravagant, and much more menacing blob, only the plot can hold them back.

But the plot actually works in this 1988 quasi-gorefest. It is basically an almost-exact remake of the 1958 film with some minor nuances added like the government's complicity in harboring this "biological weapon" and the hero being actually a couple with more of an emphasis on her than him. Basically the other differences were in the precise roles of the various co-stars and featured players, plus the tendency in this remake to kill off more audience-friendly characters, including children. There is also much faster-paced action throughout, as this blob really goes after its meals like each one is its last.

SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS:

This "Blob" really frightened my 16-year-old daughter who likes horror movies and is presumably not easily scared, whereas the original was a yawn for her. I just found it quasi-gory-but-interesting, if not a little too explicit. The plot really booked and the movie went at an almost real-time pace toward its inevitable climax; i.e., the presence of a huge blob which noone could deny actually existed. The only problem I saw is that the special effects depicting the blob (which were great for the entire film) seemed to waver at the climax. When the "Blob" was its biggest and most menacing to the largest number of people it somehow looked a bit unreal for the first time in the film. Since this was the most important scene in the movie, it would seem imperative for the effects to be as perfect as possible at this point. I was sure of this decline in visual effects when my chatterbox daughter, who had been silent for most of the film, confirmed this as she suddenly began commenting on the "cheesiness of the effects" at that moment and specifically about the creature itself during the climax of the film. Too bad, because otherwise the film is a real knock-out.

The film, of course, ends with the characteristic nod to the 1950s creature features by implying rather loudly that there could be a "Return of the Blob" again. You'll have to see the epilogue to find out exactly how. In the original blob, the ending just showed a large military transport dropping the blob in the arctic and the sheriff and Steve McQueen musing over how we will all be safe as long as the Arctic stays cold - followed by a screen sized "?" [question mark].

ABOUT THE DVD:

You get the standard scene-selector feature and theatrical trailers from this film and several others. This is in Widescreen and the transfer is clear and crisp and the audio is much better than the video which I have had for years. The audio is a Digitally Mastered 2-channel Dolby surround in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish. Subtitles can be selected for all of the aforementioned plus Chinese, Korean and Thai. A featurette or documentary about how the special effects were achieved would have been nice. Although shy on features, this DVD presentation is first-rate and is the best way to see this film today.

What an awesome horror flick from the late '80s! This 1988 remake of the 1956 Blob movie is soooo much better because of the amazing special effects that will COMPLETELY gross you out! The characters are believable and there's little if any cheesy lines through out the whole movie. The most memerable and truly gut-wrentching scenes is the guy being sucked down the kitchen sink by the blob, the lady in the phone booth, the kid in the sewer and a few other sickening parts. Definently one of the most frightning films I have ever seen. (Along with "The Excorcist", "Urban Legend" and the original "Scream") I highly recommend "The Blob" for your horror\sci-fi collection!

...you don't often see those two together, great, and re-make, this is the exception. I've watched this movie a long time ago, and just recently purchased it to add to my collection. It is way better than I had remembered it. The effects are great, it is more graphic than I had remembered it. The movie picks up right from the beginning and never gets dull. Excellent flick, interesting story, great effects = great time. A must own for your collection, at a great price.

This 1988 remake of the 1956 cult-classic is a shocking, eye-opening wonder from the hands of Chuck ("Eraser", "The Mask") Russell! Of course, the special and mechanical FX surpass those that brought the original, gelatinous monster to life in the 50's. However, Russell's interpretation accomplishes a lot in bringing the classic thriller up-to-date with newly-awaited terrors. I thought it was nice touch this time around having the Blob's twisted creators invade the besieged small-town under the guise of a "friendly" biological containment team that wants to save the town from potential microbial devastation. This action comes after the scientists realize that their little cosmic bacterial experiment has taken an ominous turn for the worst (the Blob is basically an unintended by-product of their work). Some very memorable scenes are portrayed in this version (I was terrified to sleep after my initial viewing of "The Blob"). They include the hospital double-murder of Paul Taylor (Donovan Leitch) and the hapless "Can Man" who first discovers the oozing killer after it crashes to Earth, the kitchen sink tragedy of the cook who unwittingly plunges the Blob up and is sucked down to a grisly demise (probably the most graphic of all the death scenes), Candy Clark's dialing "M" for her own murder when the Blob engulfs & traps her inside a phone booth as another late-nite snack, and the half-devoured movie projectionist scene is quite compelling (one will never look at ventilator shafts the same way again)! Truly the Blob's insatiable appetite for destruction never waivers in bringing new gut-wrenching horrors for young & old alike!

Other treats this modern version puts on the table are Tony ("Darkman") Gardner's sickeningly-real makeup FX, outstanding visual FX from the Oscar-winning company Dream Quest Images ("The Abyss", "Total Recall", and the "Nightmare on Elm Street" anthology), and an eerie score from Mike Hoenig. The ending is also great (unlike most horror films) in that it is completely unpredictable for first-time viewers (but I won't disclose and ruin it for everyone (WINK, WINK)).

I recently purchased the '88 Blob on a trip to LA after years of renting it and cable viewing, and I will never tire of seeing the exploits of this pernicious, soulless mass of blood-red protoplasm!!! For first-timers, I do recommend seeing the '56 Blob so that you can appreciate these two disparate versions of the same terrifying tale.

The Blob is 1980's horror at its VERY BEST!!!

None of that CGI stuff --- were talking PURE animatronics and puppetry, in full effect!

The outcome is a Blob, that to me at least, looks very real --- couple that with the fact that all of the attack scenes and dead bodies were done up with real makeup (once again, no CGIing) and we've got VERY realistic, bloody, scenes

I must say that the attacks in this movie are INNOVATIVE!!! Most movies today would avoid showing you what actually takes place (take The Ring, for example, which cuts away whenever the GOOD stuff happens) --- The Blob, on the other hand, leaves NOTHING at one's imagination.... I recall a scene where The Blob pulls an entire man into a sink drain or when it depresses the entire face of one woman --- seriously, this is some serious attack stuff

Is the plot good? Actually, yes! I loved the plot! I don't wanna give too much away, but I think it very much symbolizes that 1980's feel of insecurity over one's own government --- the source of more problems than solutions (perhaps the filmmaker was a Reagan Republican?)

and of course, ya gotta love the sultry, Shawnee Smitth!

The Blob is significant because, shortly after, most horror movies abandoned puppeteering and makeup, in favor of CGI and graphics --- making The Blob, truly, the pinnacle of what yesterday's technology could offer ---- and in this filmmaker's opinion, I'm inclined to say that yesterday's technology was a lot more fun (so far)

This movie should be required within every DVD collection, especially horror/scifi ones!

Thank you for reading my review and happy buying!