October 4 – The Blob (1988)
Posted: by Findlay
The Blob (1988) Directed by Chuck Russell
In One Sentence: Goo from space is eating everything!
Why You Should Watch: A remake that gets unfairly dismissed time and time again, The Blob is probably one of the best remakes ever, sitting alongside Carpenter’s The Thing as a true cornerstone of practical effects and fucking brilliant characters. Chuck “fucking DREAM WARRIORS” Russell totally smashes the original soviet-metaphor and gives us a much closer fear to look at. The American government and its shady as hell workings.
A small town is invaded by an ever-growing, all-consuming alien blob that will absolutely not stop until every organic lifeform is consumed inside its gelatinous mass. Russell’s confident and classic-80’s looking style is on full fuck here and it’s glorious to watch. As an added bonus, there’s a script that has Frank Darabont attached to it which, with his Stephen King obsession, grabs tendrils of fear, anxiety and distrust towards a government that’s supposed to be keeping you safe, reeling in the fear to total helplessness, all set in a pretty little all-American town. Beautiful.
The real shining light are the effects though. Tony Gardener and his SFX crew have seriously created some of the most mindbogglingly impressive practical effects ever and still, no matter how many times you view it, you’ll be screaming “HOW THE FUCK DID THEY DO THAT?”. Body melts and gore are here, but it’s the Blob itself that really sets you off. The way this thing moves and slides and exists is so convincing you feel like you’re cornered in a room, no drain or window crack safe. A fucking belter and definitely one for the October film season.
Favourite Line: “I’ll be good I swear, I’ll never see another film again.”
