The Blob

This reworking of the 1958 cheapie clearly illustrates one thing: that no increase in budget and no amount of state-of-the-art special effects can compensate for a slim B-movie plot. After a meteorite crashes to earth, the amorphous Blob slimes its way through the small town of Arborville, ingesting en route a varied diet of dogs, groping couples, cinema patrons, and other disposable teens. The gelatinous monster slides from one set piece to the next more smoothly than the stop-start plot, which (as in the original) consists largely of the efforts of cheerleader Smith and rebellious biker Dillon to alert sceptical adults to the alien threat. More successful is the film's main innovation, a government conspiracy subplot in which a biological containment team seal off the town and put the monster's potential as a weapon above the safety of the townspeople. It's the effects that carry the day, however with the sluggish, oozing blob of the original now a clear pink amoebic predator that lashes out sticky tendrils and digests its victims in full view.