Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
In Arborville, California, three high school students try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches.
The 1988 remake of The Blob is a solid creature feature that improves on its 1958 predecessor with spectacular practical gore effects and a darker tone. The plot is serviceable genre fare — small town threatened by alien organism — with a clever subversion of the military-as-saviors trope. Acting is functional but unremarkable, with the leads being fairly generic. Cinematography is competent and well-suited to the horror setpieces, though not particularly distinguished. Novelty earns a bump for its genuinely impressive practical effects work and willingness to kill sympathetic characters unexpectedly, setting it apart from typical 80s creature features, though it remains a remake at heart. The ending is satisfying if a bit pat, leaving the door open for a sequel via the preacher subplot.