"The Blob" (1988)

I loved this movie when I was a teenager. I watched it again yesterday, and I gotta’ say…it’s still really good. I’ve no idea why, except it really reminds me of what America was back in 1950’s. You have a small town and everybody plays their role. A cheerleader (Shawnee Smith), a bad boy (Kevin Dillion), the football player, the small town sheriff, the diner waitress and…a blob.

It’s a remake. But this is gruesome. Written by Frank Darabont (yes, the “Shawshank Redemption” guy) and Chuck Russell (who also directed it), these were the same duo who could’ve made “Monster Squad”.  It’s that type of silly sci-fi horror that keeps things really simple.

These were simpler times. The town lives for its high school football. And on this fateful day, they are hit with a meteorite. It’s no ordinary rock, it delivers a blob that starts to dissolve the townsfolk. I don’t want to give away the twist, if you haven’t seen it. But it’s also another type of movie. A rebel without a cause in love with the town sweetheart. Reluctant heroes we know will step up to the madness of what unfolds. And the best part, there are also unsuspecting victims. One of the dumbest things that happen these days is when they don’t also kill off key characters. Like they are immune to the laws of chance. People die. And it sucks when it’s someone you care about. This movie does it for great effect.

There’s a recent debate about that. In “Jurassic World” there is a particularly gruesome death. It’s not an earned death, but it happens nonetheless. A lot of people complained that it was a character that it shouldn’t happen to. My opinion is that this is why it had to happen. To open the playing field that NO ONE is safe. Children, dogs, women, and anyone else. This keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I really wish they make a sequel to it. Not sure it ever will be, since the original fell short at the box office. I think we’re ready for this type of B-movie again.