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Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'The Blob' (1988)

It was oddly revolutionary for horror as a genre.

By Reed AlexanderPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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You know, it's surprising how revolutionary this movie was for crap 80s horror. But If you really think about it, The Blob kind of defied a lot of horror norms, all of which we take for granted today. Many of the norms it defied, you’ll regularly hear me bitching about, such as "Black Guy Dies First" or "Weaker Sex Syndrome."

Before I get into the meat and tatoes, I should say the plot was simple and perfect; story fairly true to the original (in the sense that it was still about no one taking kids seriously). The atmosphere was a bit off, but I feel like that was intentional. This movie is supposed to be reflecting an absolute terror happening any old American town so a dark and brooding atmosphere wouldn't make sense. The acting was good for horror though, and this made up for any lacking. I also have to talk about how brilliantly the practical effects were. They had crappy blue screen and dissolving dummies. It was actually quite brilliant when you take into consideration how simple it was.

So yeah. It should be no surprise I recommend this movie. It’s kind of a standard for body horror and creature features of the 80s.

SPOILERS!!!

While the poster art seems to depict a naked woman being dissolved by purple cum, the movie itself is actually devoid of sexual overtones. In fact, the only time it comes up in the movie is when a date rapist is getting his comeuppance for attempted sexual assault. Even better, you get the sense that his victim passed painlessly in her sleep, only to become the blob and turn the tables on her rapist. Literally, she devours him whole. It sets a great precedent for the rest of the movie. You know you’re not going to get some shameless B-cut titty flick.

Another thing to appreciate, while the character archetypes are all intentionally dated and standard to horror, none of them turn out to be assholes. You genuinely get into their characters and feel bad for them when they get eaten. It brings back the sense that the victims are innocent bystanders and not total fuck wits whom completely deserve their fate. Having relatable characters draws in the audience and invests the audience into the horror.

Finally, this movie had the balls to do what no movie at the time would. Viscerally mutilate a child on camera. Yes, there had been some, though few horrors at this period, which killed off children, but it was always off set and merely suggested to the audience. Not The Blob. That shit is right up in your fucking face. It practically rubs your nose in it. Here he is, just a young child, practically pissing his pants, crying for his mother, promising to be good, and he suffers the same agonizing slow death—being digested by the same creature that’s eating everyone else.

There was actually quite a lot this movie did to challenge the horror industry. As mentioned before, it even lets a black actor play a developed character with speaking lines, and doesn't kill him off. He's not on camera a lot but, he was there, and at the time that meant something. It does kill off the only other black actor, but he's practically the last to go. Even by today's standards, that’s almost revolutionary for horror.

This movie will always remain one of the all-time classics, even as a remake of the original. They stand at shoulder high, neither really better than the other. I would give this movie my recommendation to anyone.

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About the Creator

Reed Alexander

I'm a horror author and foulmouthed critic of all things horror. New reviews posted every Monday.

@ReedsHorror on TikTok, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, and Mastodon.

Check out my books on Godless: https://godless.com/products/reed-alexander

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