The Blob

Beauty! An exceptionally entertaining, thoroughbred B-movie from the 80s. The Blob relies on pure cliché, basically, it has everything that B-horror should have, which would be bad for a more ambitious film, but here it almost made me moan in pleasure. The special and make-up effects are mostly excellent and there are several scenes I will remember for a long time (the cinema, the sewers, the hospital, the phone booth). My five-star rating is very subjective, of course, but it comes form the bottom of my heart. PS: If you want to be scared, get something else. (05/03/2008)

I found out how hard it is to make a solid film out of this particular subject (a bunch of murderous blobs) with the original in 1958. Thirty years later, a remake was made that is still breathtaking today. From his recent work, I have Russell pegged as a decent craftsman, but this is an incredibly distinctive piece of filmmaking that has found a place for everything a proper 1980s horror B-movie should have. There’s plenty of incorrectness (the kill-list made my chin drop!), unpredictability (dead-end situations are solved with a bazooka), excellent characters (well acted), and most of all the absolutely FANTASTIC special effects! The details of the murderous attacks would still score points today. There’s no need to mention all the catchphrases, quotes, allusions and winks at more skilled viewers, which are literally wasted. (11/08/2009)

An unacknowledged King adaptation with everything; from the last name of the main character to the setting and style. Darabont is simply amazing. (07/26/2013)

One of the numerous remakes of 1950s horror B-movies, which incidentally turned out better in terms of film quality than the original. Being over 30 years younger, it's more dynamic, action-packed, and naturally, more realistic. It's the 1980s, and instead of green space aliens, the villains are, as expected, covert government experiments with dangerous weapons. Chuck Russell's work results in a slightly, but truly just slightly above-average genre film, with undeniable tension, but one that a talented and experienced director could have elevated even further. Particularly in terms of acting, it's rather bland, and there are logical loopholes in the script as well. Overall impression: 60%. (12/30/2007)

Really well-made. Frank Darabont was involved in the writing of the script, so there are plenty of references to King and B-grade horror movies. There are plenty of snappy lines, many original, imaginative scenes and the deaths get better and better. Oh, and Meg during the final sequence… yum. Almost 5*. (10/22/2010)