The Blob (1958) Review:

"The Blob" is an interesting creature. It's not like any other creature cinema history has ever seen. It doesn't have a skeletal structure. It doesn't have a face, and it doesn't have a body (a specific figure). So the question in mind, is how does a group of filmmakers and special effects artists make this idea a reality. The answer was just being innovative and creative. And for the amount of technology that was available at the time, it was an astounding feat.

Steve McQueen,...who really doesn't look like a teenager.

Starring as the hero (if that's what he really is) is Steve McQueen. McQueen plays an ordinary teenager who ends up running into The Blob and notices the horror that it causes. Honestly, calling McQueen's character a hero or an ordinary teenager is hard to say. The plot of this story runs at a slow pace and much of it is focused on how McQueen tries to convince people that he's not hallucinating. There's not much of any character development at all really. As for the other characters involved in this story, there isn't much to talk about because much of the dialog is bland and sluggish.

Amazing for it's time but ultimately poorly used throughout

What stands out from that however, is The Blob creature itself. To watch  this creature on screen is intriguing enough to wonder how the film crew could have gotten this to work so well. The Blob truly does slink and slush its way around in this film. It's almost like Jell-O but filmed in slow motion. Unfortunately, the fun really doesn't begin until the film starts to end. The way that "fun" is used in the previous statement describes what it's like to watch The Blob move in every scene, not the death scenes of its victims.

What was most disappointing about this film was how little The Blob was in every scene. Sure it's fun seeing what it can do but wouldn’t viewers want to see more? They probably never did. Adding to this was the fact that the death scenes did not even last long on screen. It is to the assumption the reason why the film was no graphic was due to the generation it was released to. This can be understood but it still can be frustrating. Surely someone would be thinking, "So what happened to the victim? Can't we see what happened?". As for the musical score, which was produced by Ralph Carmichael, has a nice tone to whatever scene is currently happening. The only song I have in question is the one at the opening credits. Why so jolly sounding?

As the first of a couple "blob" films, this one isn't a masterpiece but it is something worth admiring for even if the part worth admiring is relatively small. Somehow though, if this movie wasn't about The Blob, this story would ultimately would have been left in the refrigerator where it belonged.

Points Earned --> 6:10