Free Movie Night: The Blob (1988)

Hey truck drivers, we’re back with another questionable entry in our Free Movie Night series that gives you the best and worst (mostly worst) of the free movies that come from YouTube and CrackleTV catalogues. Some are alright, some are …well…yeah.

This week, we find a modern-ish remake of one of the most famous creature features ever to hit the big silver. It was American icon Steve McQueen’s debut starring role. McQueen received only $3,000 for this film; he had turned down an offer for a smaller up-front sum with 10 percent of the profits because he did not think the movie would make any money and he needed the money immediately to pay for food and rent; it ended up grossing $4 million. So much for hedging your bets. McQueen went on to be one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading men before his untimely death due to inoperable mesothelioma in his neck and chest.

The Blob returns in this horrific tale about a vile, malignant life form that crashes to Earth in a cozy American town called Arborville. Meg is the high school cheerleader who’s the first person to see the Blob and live to tell about it. Meg is literally swept off her feet-only inches away from the Blob-by motorcycle-riding outlaw Brian. He’s not really a bad kid, he’s just misunderstood by Sheriff Geller, who goes on a date with Arborville’s prettiest waitress, Fran, and has a run-in with something slimy and hungry with a serious attitude problem. Untroubled by conscience or intellect, the Blob does only one thing, and it does it well. It eats anything that moves: men, women, children. And tonight it wants to swallow Arborville whole.

The creature feature is directed by Chuck Russell, the director behind some of the terrible horror me-too’s like A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 and The Scorpion King. Don’t let that deter you though. The Blob remake is a pretty good re-imagining of the classic horror flick that gave Steve McQueen his marquee, and thousands of teenage girls their film idol. So enjoy.

Click the image to start the free movie at CrackleTV – you just have to tell them your age.