How on earth can you make a movie about a giant piece of jello that swallows people that people can take seriously? Simple, you can't. A shapeless slime from outer space is beyond cheesy and in 1958, that theory was proven. Luckily, top-notch acting and characters made up for the silly monster. Thirty years later with massive upgrades in technology, it seemed like the perfect time to remake the Steve McQueen classic into something actually scary. 95% or the effects are really good (the remaining five percent are from typical computer effects in the decade), but all the cool effects don't seem to really matter.
Steve McQueen was the perfect lead in the original. In this remake, Kevin Dillon plays a leather-wearing loner who we cannot care about. The lead girl is played by Shawnee Smith, who is also not worth it. They try to warn and save the people in their small town, but we do not care as much as we should. This is because the characters are boring and unoriginal.
Now let's talk about the actual blob. In the original, it looked like a giant piece of jello. This new one looks more like a burning translucent thingy. But when it kills and consumes people, look out! As mentioned, the majority of the effects are practical and VERY well done. Whether it eats someone or melts them, they are impressive and pretty scary. The CGI may be dated, but we come to forgive it.
Horror can't be just blood and kills, there has to be a good hero and a good villain. Otherwise, the kills mean nothing and the movie just becomes a dumb freakshow. "The Blob" from 1958 succeeded in making characters to root for, while "The Blob" from 1988 tried but was unable to make compelling characters. If you happen to like them, that's great.
The whole idea of slime that grows and eats people may never seem actually scary. Studios can only do their best. This one has better effects but worse characters. The old one has better characters, but inferior effects. I wish we get another "Blob" remake that's the best of both worlds.
I liked the first "Blob" in a weird way because I was so invested in the characters and the slime itself was a hoot. The remake? I didn't like the characters but I loved the effects. So this is split.
2/4.
Steve McQueen was the perfect lead in the original. In this remake, Kevin Dillon plays a leather-wearing loner who we cannot care about. The lead girl is played by Shawnee Smith, who is also not worth it. They try to warn and save the people in their small town, but we do not care as much as we should. This is because the characters are boring and unoriginal.
Now let's talk about the actual blob. In the original, it looked like a giant piece of jello. This new one looks more like a burning translucent thingy. But when it kills and consumes people, look out! As mentioned, the majority of the effects are practical and VERY well done. Whether it eats someone or melts them, they are impressive and pretty scary. The CGI may be dated, but we come to forgive it.
Horror can't be just blood and kills, there has to be a good hero and a good villain. Otherwise, the kills mean nothing and the movie just becomes a dumb freakshow. "The Blob" from 1958 succeeded in making characters to root for, while "The Blob" from 1988 tried but was unable to make compelling characters. If you happen to like them, that's great.
The whole idea of slime that grows and eats people may never seem actually scary. Studios can only do their best. This one has better effects but worse characters. The old one has better characters, but inferior effects. I wish we get another "Blob" remake that's the best of both worlds.
I liked the first "Blob" in a weird way because I was so invested in the characters and the slime itself was a hoot. The remake? I didn't like the characters but I loved the effects. So this is split.
2/4.