The Blob (1958)

 

Hello, science fiction classic! Because this is, in every respect. It did not only give us one of the most memorable monsters of all time, it also set the tone and tropes for many a ripoff to follow. 

Small town being under siege by a menace from outer space? Check. Teenagers discover this, try to warn everyone, yet no one believes them? Check. Bizarre solution to the problem? Check. 

It kicks off when a meteorite crashes near the home of an old man who lives in the woods all by himself. He goes to investigate, and like any idiot, he starts poking the rock with a stick, causing it to break open and a slimy substance quickly attaches itself to the man's hand.

See: never ever poke at something with a stick. Nothing good ever comes from poking. 

The man is in pain and runs out into the road, where he comes across a teenage couple (well, teenage... Steve McQueen playing a teenager is by far the least believable part of this film). They take the man to the doctor and discover the gelatinous mass has grown in size. 

Eventually, the blob devours and dissolves the old man, before moving on to the doctor and nurse and then other townsfolk, always increasing in size and turning a bright red thanks to the blood and flesh it has absorbed. The kids are trying to rally the town but no one believes them, until the blob attacks the local cinema theatre and people run away from it in droves. Due to some luck, they discover the blob's only weakness is cold, so they freeze it with CO2-extinguishers. 

In the end, the blob is dropped on the North Pole, where they hope it will stay frozen forever. 

Let's just hope this isn't based on true events, because the state the North Pole is in nowadays, there might just be something wicked coming this way. 

There is a lot to love about this one. You might think and feel that the premisse is a little silly and in truth: it is. But it is done remarkably well. There is real tension here, because no one knows how and when the blob will strike again. Throughout the film, you get hints that a lot of people have mysteriously disappeared and the reactions of most of the characters are genuinely realistic. Because of course no one will believe a couple of teenagers when they tell stories about an amorphous mass that devours people. Would you? 

You will not really care about the teens, they're just our anchor point and run from one place to the next to get the plot going. But for a film made in the 50s, this one is surprisingly tense and gruesome. Sure, the special effects are not as in-your-face as the excellent remake, but the slow digesting of the old man and the attack on the doctor are pretty yikes. Same goes for the tension when the blob encroaches on the mechanic in the garage or in the cinema. 

Which also begs the question: most alien invasion-ideas have something more humanoid or animalistic as the antagonist, because it is a fairly known quantity. Everyone knows what a human or animal roughly looks like. But what if it was just a gelatinous blob, unhampered by doors? Something that can quite literally squeeze through anything? That thought is more terrifying than any creature. 

Also: humans are pretty much the buffet of the universe. So there. 

'The Blob' is a fun film with some unexpected scares and a hauntingly memorable monster. You could do a lot worse. Sure, the characters are paper thin and the plot does get resolved in an almost haphazardly manner, but that is pretty much a staple of this era's science fiction and horror. 

Oh, and that opening theme song? It will get stuck in your head instantly. 

Yes, the blob gets a theme song. How many monsters can say thàt?