The Blob (1958)
The face of drive-in horror turned gooey in 1958's The Blob.
Actually, the title creature had no face at all -or arms, legs or
any other appendage for that matter. The Blob had only two
distinguishing characteristics: its insatiable appetite and its
reddish, gelatinous appearance.
This faceless terror not only turned into one of the biggest
low-budget horror films of the late 1950's, it also helped propel
a young Steve McQueen to stardom.
McQueen plays Steve Andrews, a teenager who likes to race hot
rods and make out with his best girl, but otherwise has a pretty
solid and law-abiding record. That small-town idyll gets turned
upside-down, however, when a strange meteorite crashes in the
woods nearby. An old hermit goes out to investigate, becoming the
first victim of the oozing, flesh-eating Blob.
Steve and his buddies discover the Blob, which grows larger
with each victim consumed, but unfortunately, the local
authorities don't believe their far-fetched tale. Terror is piled
upon terror, and soon the Blob is too big to ignore. But is it too
late to destroy it?
The Blob may have been the perfect drive-in movie,
combining its 'misunderstood teen' elements with creature feature
horror. Audiences ate it up, turning The Blob into one of
the most successful films of the drive-in era.
Shot in colour, the movie was a change of pace from most
low-budget, black-and-white horror, and the presence of Steve
McQueen helped make it a reissue favourite for years afterward.
Fourteen years after the original, Beware! The Blob was
released to cinemas in 1972. Directed by Larry Hagman (I Dream
of Jeannie's Major Nelson and JR from Dallas), the film
was more campy and silly than the original, featuring cameos from
Dick Van Patten, Cindy Williams and Burgess Meredith, among
others.
The film went back to its horror roots for a 1988 remake, also
titled The Blob. This 30th anniversary do-over added late
80's special effects and new levels of gore (enough to earn an R
rating), but garnered little attention in cinemas.
Nostalgic fans of the original were content with video viewings
of their old favourite, and their kids were too enthralled by
Freddy and Jason to pay any attention to a mass of carnivorous
goo.
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