The Blob by David Bischoff

This review is for a novelization of the Blob remake from a script written by Frank Darabont and Chuck Russell. I used to read a lot of these novelizations when I was in High School. It was a fun way to revisit my favorite horror movies when minimum wage was still less than five bucks an hour and tapes ran upwards of eighty bucks. Plus, sometimes you would get bits that never made it in the movie but were in the script and therefore ended up in the book.

The story here is easy to follow. A satellite carrying an experiment crashes near a small town and is discovered by a local homeless man derisively named Can Man for his penchant of making a living off recycling. When he pokes it with a stick a small gooey thing grabs onto his arm. It is then that he goes running off and bumps into local bad boy Brian. Freaking out Can Man then runs into the road and is hit by a couple of teenagers, Meg and Paul, who are on a date. The three of them take him to the hospital where of course things get worse. The blob digests him and then others, growing bigger as it goes. Eventually the army shows up, but they are more worried about capturing their experiment then they are the locals. Luckily for everyone Brian has a plan to save the day and get the girl!

This is a perfect example of what makes a great novelization of a movie. Much like the movie it is quickly paced and gets right to the action. The language is concise and descriptive making for a fast and enjoyable reading experience. I was able to knock this one out in less than two hours and enjoyed every minute of it. The characters were defined enough to know what archetype they were and for what purpose they would serve to move things along. While some folks might be annoyed by the book following the monster movie formula so closely, I liked that. There is nothing wrong with a familiar experience which is exactly what The Blob is, an old-fashioned creature story.

It is always interesting to compare the movie and the book, especially in the case of a novel written off a script like this one was. I’m guessing other than a few changes due to the actor that was cast, the character descriptions are a bit off, the shooting script was not much different from what the author was working from. I can’t think of any deviations from the story and if there are they are minor. I can almost guarantee that if you dig the movie you are going to have fun with the book.

If you have read my book reviews, then you are aware that I don’t shy away from challenges. When I’m in the mood for a complicated novel that takes a commitment of time, I jump right in. But there are also days where I just want to kick back, but my brain on cruise control and nerd out with something easy. This is that kind of book and I dig it. Much like I say about many of the movies I review here at the site not everything has to be art and here that applies as well. I recommend The Blob from author David Bischoff.

 

© Copyright 2021 John Shatzer