The 1958 original remains superior but the 1988 version is an unappreciated classic in its own right.
Whenever a studio remakes a classic film to “update” it for a new generation of viewers, the result is usually a pale imitation of the original. 1988’s The Blob, an update of the 1958 movie of the same name, is an underappreciated example of how that’s not always the case.
Looking back at the newer version of The Blob 34 years later, it has actually aged fairly well. While the 1980s clothes and hairstyles give away its true age, the movie still possesses the power to thrill audiences. Best of all, it doesn’t need to use CGI to accomplish that. Practical effects and miniatures do the job quite well, thank you very much.
Like the original, The Blob takes place in a small town invaded by an amorphous organism that grows every time it consumes something (or someone.) After a fallen meteor brings it to Earth, its first victim is a homeless man living in the woods on the outskirts of the town. Local hooligan Brian Flagg (Kevin Dillon) tries to help him, but he runs in front of a car driven by Paul Taylor (Donovan Leitch). Paul and his date, Meg Penny (Shawnee Smith), believe that Brian has something to do with the blob stuck to the man’s hand.
After the man is taken to the hospital, the blob consumes him and then moves along to the next available food source: Paul. And then it disappears. Neither Meg’s parents nor the police will believe that her date was eaten by a giant purple people eater. Soon, Meg teams up with Brian to find a way to stop the blob from eating the entire town. Men in hazmat suits from the government show up and they seem to know more than they’re letting on.
Scriptwriters Chuck Russell (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors) and Frank Darabont (The Green Mile) take the essence of the 1958 original and give it a more modern spin. Instead of the government being truthful and willing to work with the townsfolk, they’re as much of an adversary as the creature. At it’s core, though, the story remains the same. The kids must convince people that an alien life-form exists and is eating their friends.
Practical effects by Lyle Conway give the blob a lifelike quality that a computer-rendered creature would lack. Although some of the green screen effects lose their luster on today’s 4K Ultra High Definition televisions, most of the scenes involving people interacting with or being eaten by the blob look fantastic. I’d go as far to say some of the effects sequences by Dream Quest Images are on the same level as 1982’s The Thing. That’s high praise indeed.
The characters are mostly tropes. Kevin Dillon’s Brian is a typical movie bad boy who rides his motorcycle while wearing a leather jacket. Shawnee Smith’s Meg is a hot cheerleader who — in the span of a few hours — totes an M16 like a pro. The cops are mostly morons. The government men are evil. But, throw all of them together into a situation involving a giant gelatinous ball of terror, and you’ve got yourself a genuinely fun — if gory — time. There’s an undercurrent of humor throughout the entire picture that keeps the audience from taking anything too seriously.
The 1958 original remains superior but the 1988 version is an unappreciated classic in its own right. Since over 30 years have passed, we should be due for another remake, right?
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
