The Blob (1988) Review

The Blob (1988) Review

Whenever I think of 1988’s The Blob, a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, I can’t help but also think about The Fly and The Thing: two other 80’s remakes of sci-fi/horror films that also came out in the 50’s. While The Thing and The Fly are considered classics of that era, The Blob is not widely held in the same high regard, though I still think it’s one of the best remakes of its kind. 

The plot is very straight forward. A mysterious blob, thought to be an alien parasite, arrives in a small town via a meteorite and quickly spreads, absorbing people and objects and rapidly growing in size. Some teens catch on to the blob before many of the other townspeople do, but then a team of scientists arrive and attempt to contain it, at the expense of the survivors. 

I’ve only seen parts of the original, and that was quite a number of years ago, so I can’t really say how the remake holds up to the original. What I think the remake lacks is a solid lead actor/character. In the original, you have Steve McQueen, but here, there are no big name actors, and none of the characters really stand out. 

There’s one major change from the original in regards to the nature of the blob’s origins, which I won’t spoil. I don’t really feel strongly about the change (which is played up as a big reveal) either way. It’s not terrible and convoluted, but it’s not mind blowing, either. What I do feel strongly about are the special effects, which is where the film definitely excels.  

There’s no doubt that the highlight here are the blob scenes. When the blob attacks people, it doesn’t just absorb them, it melts their skin like the acid from a xenomorph in Alien. There are buckets of slime and gore in this movie. The effects are elaborate and mainly practical. It earns that R-rating, going for some extreme moments of revolting violence, and in this way, is very reminiscent of both The Thing and The Fly. 

To me, The Blob is really nothing special when you compare it to The Thing or The Fly overall, but for what it is, it’s pretty well done. The extravagant effects scenes are the highlight, and it’s worth checking out just for those alone. If you compare just the effects to those in The Thing and The Fly, I would say it’s on that same level of awesome.