• home
• games
• the lists
• rants & raves
• movies
• bands
• downloads

The Blob

Tron brings us a blast from the past . . . "That doesn't sound like a house. It sounds like a dog."
Starring: Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe
Rating: 8/10
Directed By: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.
Runtime: 83 minutes

When discussing "cool" in film the conversation inevitably turns to Steve McQueen, star of hip flicks such as Bullitt and The Thomas Crown Affair. McQueen was the King of Cool. No situation was too tense and he always had the suave affability to get the job done. Like my dad (a huge McQueen mark) always says, even McQueen had to start somewhere and in our opinion there is no cooler place to start then in a battle to the finish with a lump of pudding from outer space! The Blob (1958) is the film that launched Steve McQueen into overnight stardom and solidified itself alongside Forbidden Planet and The Thing from Another World as science fiction classics from the great 50s heyday. Though itself accused of being an American adaptation of the excellent British "radioactive Jello from outer space" film X the Unknown (1956), The Blob inspired a mixed bag of imitators ranging from 1968's fun but average Green Slime to a halfway-decent remake in 1988.

Let me start by saying this movie is pretty campy, never more evidenced than by the opening credits. The Blob has his own theme song. And not some ominous Godzilla is coming to stomp your town theme either. Not even a Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla theme. Our bad boy gets a full blown, mind-numbing "Beeeeewaaaareeee of the bllllllloooooobbbbbb!" - type opus you would've expected Hanson to have covered. This is a shame because The Blob really does produce genuine scares. It's one of the simplest of the 50s science fiction films; no Cold War paranoia or body issues, simply a Jello creature from outer space eating people. This simplicity allows for a lot of room to work and this provides a lot of campiness as well as some genuine scenes of tension.

The film opens with Steve McQueen and his gal Jane (Aneta Corsaut) honoring the 50s tradition of chilling together in a remote location. They spy a meteorite which crashes in their general vicinity. Steve at once drops the notion of working for sex and decides to investigate (directly inspiring the serial killer opening of Night of the Creeps). They find an old man who has already interacted with the meteorite and discovered the Blob, who has latched itself to the old man's arm. The kids drive the old man to the doctor and drop him off. Of course the doctor's efforts fail and the man is consumed. The Blob begins his invasion of Earth by attacking a nurse! Acid has no effect on the Blob. The nurse is eaten. Bullets also have no effect. There is only the Blob.

McQueen, who's been hanging about, catches a glimpse of the doctor pressed up against a window as the Blob consumes him. Now the movie begins to move as McQueen is burdened with this horrible knowledge and the realization that no one will believe him. "How do you get people to protect themselves from something they don't believe in?" No one does either. The cops totally blame McQueen, who is something of a rapscallion - a glimpse of future bad-assery. He's just an "aw, shucks" down-home country boy who amuses himself in slightly irresponsible ways. Young McQueen tears it up, too, utilizing a full range of facial expressions ranging from hopelessness and amusement to playful, serious and scared. The sheriff shows a reluctance to do his job and says "we'll take care of this in the morning" like 9 times and all are sent home. McQueen and his girl sneak out to discover the truth. Meanwhile, two mechanics have a priceless conversation.
  Mechanic 1: "Why don't you fix that tomorrow?"
  Mechanic 2: "I ain't gonna be here."
How right he is. Two minutes later there is only the Blob.

McQueen's plan is to galvanize his teen brigade consisting of Tony, Mooch and Al to find the Blob and make people believe in it, if he can convince them, that is. However they're at the Midnight Spookshow double bill of Daughter of Horror and also Bela Lugosi. McQueen busts in and drags the reluctant bunch outside ("You made us waste our 80 cents, now what gives?") and sends them out to utter failure. Blob from space? Hah! To quote some bartender, "There's monsters in here all the time, now beat it." Meanwhile, the Blob invades McQueen's dad's store. Steve catches it in the act and throws a cleaver at it! If the Blob could laugh it totally would have - I know I did - and Steve and Jane must take refuge in the freezer, providing the first indication the Blob doesn't like the cold. The Blob attempting to flow under the door is a very impressive achievement for the 1950s and is very effective. Stymied, the Blob oozes off to greener pastures and McQueen makes his escape.

Steve has a plan B. Tony takes a dime and calls the police (wait, what?) and Steve and the gang set off a bunch of horns to wake the whole town and alert them to an ever-growing alien menace. This totally works. People are pissed. The cops display internal tension over how to handle this prank. Meanwhile, the Blob flows through a vent and completely conquers the movie theater in the coolest scene in the film, flowing out of the projection booth and causing a panic even the cops can't ignore, especially when it flows into the street! Jane's brother Danny cap guns the Blob (also no effect). McQueen, Danny, Jane, a cook and a waitress are trapped by the Blob in a nearby diner. Tense. The Blob can ooze in. The only communication is by phone. They flee into the cellar. The cops drop a power line on the Blob. The Blob is ok, the diner starts on fire. The Blob is everywhere. Steve and Jane are cool. They've been trapped by the Blob before. Still, it looks rather hopeless. Those crazy kids sure do dig each other. Even the cops lose hope. Steve again discovers, through random fire extinguisher usage, that the Blob hates cold. Steve goes all Unreal Tournament on the Blob with the COČ. The cops ring the basement windows with COČ extinguishers they gather from all over town. The principal (Jane's dad) even busts the school window himself in an act of solidarity with the youth, who cheer him. Once set off, McQueen and the gang escape when the Blob retreats. Though hard to do a SPOILER on a film from 1958, the government (solver of all problems) is called in to dispatch the Blob to the arctic where only global warming could free it to kill again, or a need for money in 1972 and 1988.

The Blob is a fun film, camp notwithstanding. McQueen is perfectly cast, the premise is excellent, the blend of amusing and scary is perfectly balanced and Jello eats people. The Criterion company is known for putting out high quality editions of classic films and loading them with extras to help justify the insane cost. They must not have enjoyed The Blob as much as I did, including only 2 commentaries, the trailer, production photos/notes and color bars. Still a worthy addition to your shelf of classics and an absolute rental must.