The Blob (1988)
7/10
Fun, if imperfect, monster horror
27 June 2006
One night, just outside of a quiet and small town, a bizarre meteor crashes. A man who goes to investigate finds a weird glop that jumps on his arm and puts him into a state of frenzy. Some young people take him to the hospital and we soon see that the weird substance has eaten most of him and it is still hungry...

The result is a very entertaining monster flick with a very unusual monster - an amorphous blob. After films like Alien, Predator, The Thing, and others thinking of a good monster idea can be tough. Even John Carpenter's well crafted The Thing is a remake, but that didn't stop the film from becoming one of his best due to a good visceral interpretation of the story. The same goes for this film - a remake of an old movie with a very visceral and gory style. Featuring top-notch aesthetic and even some obviously aged, but nonetheless fun, old computer effects it is more of a thorough re-imagination like The Thing was.

However, the film falls a bit on its face when it comes to creating suspense. Many scenes with the title monster are tense and the action good and the gore first-rate, but the connective scenes between them surprisingly lack in tension. With material ripe for an eerie atmosphere it is a shame to see this horror element not fully developed in the film. The result is a fun movie, but it could have been much better. Also the mad scientist/cold war element is a bit stale by today's standards.

But, overall it is a fun little flick featuring a truly merciless monster that gobbles up just about anyone (even kids!). Horror/sci-fi fans will definitely want to check this flick out. 7/10

Rated R: violence, horror images, and profanity
49 out of 59 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed