What better decade than the eighties to remake The Blob, a silly but original movie from 1958. Everything is pretty clear from the get-go, there will be a giant blob and it will fuck shit up. That’s it, that’s the plot. And what more do you need? Insert some poor townsfolk upon which this monstrosity descends upon and you’ve got yourself one hell of a movie. I still don’t know how they got such a big budget but they’ve got it alright. This means that the special effects are going to look devilishly good. Without, of course, any of that crappy CGI that would soon take over the scene. You can count on some pretty gory scenes as this is a hefty R-rated movie.
I want you to do something for me. I want you to imagine a giant gelatinous blob that consumes everything organic in its path. And now try to think of ways to stop it. You can’t, can you? That’s the magic of The Blob, it takes one incredibly creative and intelligent premise and slaps it onto the body of an eighties horror movie. So, we will not stray from the proven formula too much. You’ve got a little romance, some horror, and a lot of humor. The end result is a hilarious and entertaining movie that will definitely keep your attention. I also hope it pushes you to explore some of the old-school hard science fiction writers like Clark and Asimov. Their stories not only feature original concepts but are thoroughly engaging.
After a meteor hits near the town of Arbeville, and a local homeless guy (he is locally homeless), eager to scavenge the meteor infects his hand with something that appears to be a live gelatinous mass. Things start getting increasingly complicated from there.
Starring young Kevin The Mullet Dillon and beautiful Shawnee Smith, the cast of The Blob did a terrific job. If you want to see Donovan Leitch Jr. who plays Paul Taylor here, in a totally different role check out another eighties classic Cutting Class. The most important thing when you’re making a movie like this is to get the tone right. It needs to be the right blend of exciting and self-deprecating with just a smidgen of suspense. And they fucking nailed it here. The movie also features some Lovecraftian vibes what with the whole meteor impact similar to his The Colour out of Space.
Finally, the eighties provided us with a lot of great body horror movies. And while The Blob strays a bit from this sub-genre, you can always check out The Fly, Re-Animator, Hellraiser, Scanners and Society. Also, I just have to mention one of my all-time favorites, The Thing. Mostly because it also has a pretty decent fifties adaptation titled The Thing from Another World.
Director: Chuck Russell
Writers: Theodore Simonson, Kay Linaker, Irvine H. Millgate, Chuck Russell, Frank Darabont
Cast: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, Paul McCrane
Fun Facts: A lot of the blob slime/juice was made out of methocel, which is both unbelievably slippery and a thickening ingredient for milkshakes.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094761/
