The Blob

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: September 10, 1958

5.8	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Ratings

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PanchogulMar 29, 2021

Aburrida y tediosa, la criatura apenas si aparece, el Remake de 1988 lo supera sin discusión.

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rmurray847Aug 10, 2023

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 carThe 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.… Expand

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