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The Blob (1988) - Chuck Russell



I remember TV spots for this when it would play on daytime television. Even the TV spots scared me. They would always show a scene with a guy in a biological suit that was getting filled up by the Blob. I hadn't actually seen the movie until this year though. It didn't appear that I had missed much. However, I was looking forward to the subtle comedy spots and gore. That helps. 

A "meteorite" crash landed on earth that was carrying a weird substance. This weird goop hunts humans attaching itself to them and then digesting them whole. Each person that it eats, the bigger the Blob gets. Two young adults Brian Flagg and Meg Penny both start investigating this deadly creature while simultaneously running from it. That is when they come across government agents and a secret cover-up.

The special effects reminded me a lot of John Carpenter's The Thing. They were over-the-top but practical and bloody as hell. The political plot twist is pretty interesting too. However, its a pretty cliche storyline. This movie also has a lot of nods to Stephen King, in particular The Stand, It, and his recurring character Randall Flagg. So I guess this movie may exist in the King universe. Also, film star and scream queen, Shawnee Smith stars in both this and The Stand.  

I found myself liking this movie a lot more than I expected. Chuck Russell still uses some visual inspiration from the original 1958 version. In particular the scenes of the Blob chasing the protagonists down a corridor. The characters are all really flushed out and the story flows really well. I only had an issue with the conspiracy angle that they had gone with. It definitely has rewatch value. 

Director: Chuck Russell
Producers: Jack H. Harris and Elliott Kastner
Writers: Chuck Russell and Frank Darabont
Starring: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn and Candy Clark
Studio: TriStar Pictures
Release Date: August 5, 1988
Country: USA
Did ya know: Donovan, who plays Paul Taylor, had to have a full body cast made of himself for one of the more complicated scenes where Paul is underneath the blob. There were about 50 people running the unstrung Paul. However, 'Chuck Russell' did not tell Shawnee Smith it was really Donovan underneath the Blob for the first part of the scene. She believed it was going to be an unstrung person. This was so he could get more of a shock out of her. That is the take that is now seen in the movie when Meg screams out Paul's name upon discovering him.








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