Yes this review is written on August 5, 2008...20 years ago to the day that the remake of The Blob was unleashed to audiences. And it was... and still is... one of the better creature feature remakes. It was a damn shame the flick bombed at the box office.Note - I will spoil a little of the end, but not much.
During the 1980's it seemed like a whole slew of remakes of sci-fi and horror classics from the 50's were being put on the screen. You had the good (The Fly, The Thing), and you had the lousy (Invaders From Mars). The Blob was one of the better ones and it is a shame it went nowhere at the at the box office and only somewhat better on home video because it deserves to be watched. This time everybody's favorite slimeball from space invaders a small Colorado ski town (where it was a small town in New England in the original). Cute-as-a-button cheerleader Meg Penny (Shawnee Smith) and the town troublemaker Brian Flagg (Kevin Dillion in a role that firmly makes him as good an actor as his older bro Matt) are the ones who go up against the Blob and try to stop it.
Of course we do have some problems here gang. The original Blob was red.. a sicking BLOOD red. That was one of the reasons it was so scary. Here Mr. Blob is a pinkish-purple. Not frighting. Also the original was a silent predator. You didn't know it was there until you turned around and there it was. This version throws things around, splashes water, and... jinkees... screams! Yes it screams. And I didn't know it even had vocal cords! I'm sorry but silence is golden when it comes to the Blob.
On the positive side are two great performances by the two leads and even if it is a bit too much to take Smith's transformation from a peppy cheerleader to an ass-kicking teenage girl version of Rambo. And yes there are the gross out moments. You couldn't have a flick like this without them and this one gives you the goods.
Unfortunately we are left with one of those it's-not-over-yet-folks kind of endings. You know what I'm talking about. The monster finally gets it's butt kicked and we think after all the trouble it has caused it has gotten what it deserved and that's that...BUT WAIT! The last shot shows the villain is still alive in one way or another and ready to go out and cause more fun filled chaos. In other words... sequel! What is really irritating with this is that most of the movies that put on this kind of ending usually don't go anywhere financial-wise and therefore we never do see that sequel and we are just left with a somewhat half-opened ending that will never be resolved. And director Chuck Russell allowed The Blob to commit this sin... and this is as much of a spoiler as you will get from me. Just what does Russell do? You'll just have to watch the flick to find out! Knowing the rotten performance that The Blob delivered at the box office we know we will never see The Blob 2. But maybe that's a good thing - no Blob 2 - because with this one just a single trip was very satisfying enough, thank you.
So go out and grab a copy. You'll get get caught in it's slimy grip and enjoy every minute it. Happy Birthday, Blob!
During the 1980's it seemed like a whole slew of remakes of sci-fi and horror classics from the 50's were being put on the screen. You had the good (The Fly, The Thing), and you had the lousy (Invaders From Mars). The Blob was one of the better ones and it is a shame it went nowhere at the at the box office and only somewhat better on home video because it deserves to be watched. This time everybody's favorite slimeball from space invaders a small Colorado ski town (where it was a small town in New England in the original). Cute-as-a-button cheerleader Meg Penny (Shawnee Smith) and the town troublemaker Brian Flagg (Kevin Dillion in a role that firmly makes him as good an actor as his older bro Matt) are the ones who go up against the Blob and try to stop it.
Of course we do have some problems here gang. The original Blob was red.. a sicking BLOOD red. That was one of the reasons it was so scary. Here Mr. Blob is a pinkish-purple. Not frighting. Also the original was a silent predator. You didn't know it was there until you turned around and there it was. This version throws things around, splashes water, and... jinkees... screams! Yes it screams. And I didn't know it even had vocal cords! I'm sorry but silence is golden when it comes to the Blob.
On the positive side are two great performances by the two leads and even if it is a bit too much to take Smith's transformation from a peppy cheerleader to an ass-kicking teenage girl version of Rambo. And yes there are the gross out moments. You couldn't have a flick like this without them and this one gives you the goods.
Unfortunately we are left with one of those it's-not-over-yet-folks kind of endings. You know what I'm talking about. The monster finally gets it's butt kicked and we think after all the trouble it has caused it has gotten what it deserved and that's that...BUT WAIT! The last shot shows the villain is still alive in one way or another and ready to go out and cause more fun filled chaos. In other words... sequel! What is really irritating with this is that most of the movies that put on this kind of ending usually don't go anywhere financial-wise and therefore we never do see that sequel and we are just left with a somewhat half-opened ending that will never be resolved. And director Chuck Russell allowed The Blob to commit this sin... and this is as much of a spoiler as you will get from me. Just what does Russell do? You'll just have to watch the flick to find out! Knowing the rotten performance that The Blob delivered at the box office we know we will never see The Blob 2. But maybe that's a good thing - no Blob 2 - because with this one just a single trip was very satisfying enough, thank you.
So go out and grab a copy. You'll get get caught in it's slimy grip and enjoy every minute it. Happy Birthday, Blob!