The Blob is a 1988 American science fiction horror film directed by Chuck Russell, who co-wrote it with Frank Darabont.

The film stars Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Paul McCrane, Art LaFleur, Robert Axelrod, Joe Seneca, Del Close and Candy Clark.

The plot follows an acidic, amoeba-like organism that crashes down to Earth in a military satellite, devouring and dissolving anything in its path as it grows.

Three high school students: football star Paul, cheerleader Meg, and outsider Brian take him to a hospital.

Meg and Brian return to the police station, where the dispatcher tells them Deputy Briggs is near the meteor landing site.

As Brian escapes, Meg is taken to town, where she learns that her younger brother Kevin snuck into the movie theater with his friend Eddie.

The military attempts to blow it up with grenades and other explosives, but only succeed in enraging the creature; it bursts from the sewers and feasts on the population.

Reverend Meeker proclaims the scene to be the prophesied end of the world, after a failed flamethrower attack sets him ablaze.

The survivors retreat to the town hall and hold the Blob off with furniture-barricades and fire extinguishers, but it is a losing battle; it engulfs half the building and devours Briggs.

Later, at a tent-meeting church service in a field, Meeker, disfigured by his burns and driven insane, preaches a doomsday sermon.

His depiction as a rebel and a "tough guy punk" includes wearing a leather jacket, sporting long hair, riding a motorcycle, and distrusting authority figures.

Screenwriter Frank Darabont first met director Chuck Russell in 1981, when he worked as a production assistant on the film Hell Night.

[12] However, after personnel changes he ended up running a crew of 33, including artist Chet Zar and mechanical effects designer Bill Sturgeon.

The consensus reads: "The Blob can't replicate the B-movie charms of the original, though its fast pace and gory thrills pack enough of a punch to make it a worthwhile update.

Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine wrote that the film "improves on the original cult classic with inventive, gracefully repulsive special effects and an agreeable post-Watergate anti-authoritarian message".

[19] TV Guide gave the film 3/5 stars, calling it "a fine, multilayered effort from a director who understands the genre and appreciates its traditions".

[20] Discussing the poor critical and commercial performance of the film in an interview with Starlog, director Chuck Russell stated, "Maybe it was a mistake to do a remake of The Blob with a sense of humor.

[22] Sony again released The Blob in September 2013 as part of its "The 4-Movie Horror Unleashed Collection", along with Fright Night, Christine and The Seventh Sign.