Tuesday, 14 February 2023

Movie Review: The Blob (1958)

Directed by Irvin Yeaworth, Jr. (and Russell Doughten Jr.)
IMDb listing

Pros: good acting

Cons: kind of boring, cheesy monster

A crashed meteorite unleashes a blob that begins amalgamating people from a small town, while a group of teenagers try to warn them.

Steve McQueen stars in his first role, as a teenager who witnesses a death by the blob but no one believes him. It’s a strange movie with very little plot. The teenagers are all played by actors who are clearly in their late 20s and early 30s. Similarly, the actor who plays Jane’s younger brother was 6 but seems to be playing a much younger child, which just feels bizarre.

When Steve finally does convince a couple more teens that there is danger, I was left unsure whey they believed him. There’s one scene where a guy has to call the cops because they won’t listen to Steve anymore, and he complains he doesn’t know what to say. Because he hasn’t seen a monster or any trace of a monster.

The monster looks comical rather than scary, not helped by the fact that all the deaths are off screen. A character comments towards the end that the monster must have killed 40 or 50 people, but only 4 or 5 people are shown vanished and presumed eaten. I guess we’re supposed to assume a lot of people got eaten at the movie theatre.

The ending is rather exciting, with some tense moments. Spoiler warning: We’re left with the creature - unable to handle cold - sent to the arctic with the message that so long as it stays frozen humanity is safe. The film ends with a question mark on the screen. Makes you wonder if the director, or someone involved in the project, was already aware of the effects of global warming.

If you’re interested in 1950 SF/horror films there are much better ones out there (Invasion of the Body Snatchers is brilliant). If you want a good Blob movie, check the one from the 80s, which is surprisingly well done.

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