X
- 1958
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 26 m
- 1958
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 26 m
Directed By: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., Russell S. Doughten Jr.
Written By: Theodore Simonson, Kay Linaker, Irvine H. Millgate
- 1958
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 26 m
- 1958
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 26 m
The Blob
58
5.6
Where to Watch
Directed By: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., Russell S. Doughten Jr.
Written By: Theodore Simonson, Kay Linaker, Irvine H. Millgate
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
58
63% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
13% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
58
63% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
13% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The heroes may be teenagers, but The Blob, though generally a goofy and enjoyable B-programmer ideal for watching while loaded in the middle of the night, is still one of the most pointedly reactionary of the 1950s’ alien-invasion movies.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 18 User Ratings
5.6
28% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
61% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
11% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 18 User Ratings
5.6
28% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
61% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
11% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Don't mess with the classic, one of those movie that everybody quoted... but very few actually seen. A great B-movie, a sci-fi story.
It is also fun to watch a little glimpse on how life was in the 50's...cars, clothes, dialogues, acting....what was considered "scary" and the like
Perfect for a retro evening: with 50's inspired food, movie projector, and some friends
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Good classic worth revisiting. Movie sets out to tell a simple story and accomplishes that.
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Clever, tongue-in-cheek and far more fun than the hi-tech remake. [05 Jan 2003, p.8]
Despite producer Jack Harris' pooh-poohing of the 'political subtext' theory, rampant Commie-phobia pervades as the ever-redder blob sucks the life-blood out of every sacred American institution, climaxing in a truly marvellous scene in which the enemy within devours an entire diner, over easy, with a side salad and fries to go.
It is truly providential that a new horror melodrama called The Blob is so woodenly presented on the whole, for a little astute showmanship applied to such a plot would have been enough to scare the quills off a porcupine.
Jack H. Harris, the cheapie producer who went on to make the forgettable Mother Goose A Go-Go, struck it rich with this silly picture that gave McQueen his first starring role after a few supporting jobs in Somebody Up There Likes Me and Never Love A Stranger.
Considering the age it looks pretty good. The dialogue was clear but everything else lacked dynamism. It is so serious and quite slow but still quite entertaining for an old movie. Nothing compared to the remake though.
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It gets a lot more recognition from me for what it meant in that time, considering that it's a late 50's horror film, because the overall results are nothing special.
It's honestly not a great film and it has a lot of bad acting, but it also has a strange appeal to it.
Although I do have to say that this is another considered "classic" that doesn't deserve that status.
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Film that certainly made a piece of cinema history by bringing harmless stuff and turning it into a man-eating monster, but despite this the film is not scary in the least and adorns itself with the classic stereotype of young people who see something incredible and no one ever believes it. , stuff that has always been done in this genre of films. Furthermore, the film fails to make the viewer perceive the atmosphere of danger also because the enemy is a jelly that moves at 2 per hour and is afraid of the cold, so waiting for winter and closing it in a sealed chamber. movie ends immediately.
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The movie is really quite dreadful. I love a lousy, campy b-movie because often they are at least unintentional fun. But THE BLOB is, frankly, just boring.
Set in a very small town USA, we start the movie with two teens making out in the car at night. One of the "teens" is Steve McQueen, who was 28 at the time of filming, and her certainly looks it. But at least the teen he's smooching is played by 23 year old Aneta Corsaut. Anyway, they witness an object falling out of the sky and crashing nearby. And so does an old man living in a cabin in the woods (a man no one in this small town knows, because no one recognizes him or even knew someone was living "out there"). The old man finds a small crater with what looks like a meteorite sitting in the middle of it. He prods it slightly, it cracks open, and a small red-purple blob of jello emerges and suddenly envelopes his hand in painful goo. This is by far the best special effect in the film, and it made me hope for more clever effects to come. The old man stumbles into the road, nearly incoherent with pain, and the two lovebirds take him into town to the see the doctor. Eventually, while the doctor is asking his nurse to come into his office to potentially help him amputate the old man's arm, the old man is consumed by the blob, which, by the time the nurse arrives, is big enough to just swallow her whole without any fuss. And then the doctor. (And neither of these scene's is remotely scary. We never again see the blob actually encapsulating anyone. Apparently, the original shot of the doctor included a shot of him being consumed, but the director decided it was scarier NOT to show that. Questionable decision.)
Things progress VERY slowly from there. We see that this is not just a horror movie but a "teen delinquent" movie as well, as that genre was popular at the time. These are the politest, cleanest-cut teen delinquents you'll ever see...they're helpful, thoughtful, fairly respectful of authority and not at all prone to any mischief. But some of the cops sure don't trust 'em, so there's your conflict. This nonsensical animosity ends up going nowhere, and in the end, it is arguably the kids who do the most good for the community. I was rather amused to see this vision of troublesome teens, with their pressed button-up shirts.
More scary things happen in this small town, until finally the blob is removed (but in such a way that a sequel is possible).
The movie is poorly written. Lots of conversations that don't add to the plot OR build character arcs. Just talk for the sake of talking. Mostly very bad acting by a group of mostly life-long amateurs. Poor special effects, even making allowances for the low budget and technical constraints. And quite simply, not one moment of real tension. I stuck with the film to the end, in the hopes that the climax would at least bring some amusement, but instead, we mostly see just how limited the special effects budget was.
This is a film that inexplicably has cult status. It is just dreadful. If McQueen hadn't been in it, I wonder if it would hold any interest today. He looks great and charismatic in it, and for fans, this is pretty essential viewing. Before he was a star, a viewer can easily see how he became one.
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Awards
TV Land Awards
• 1 Nomination
