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