Lately, I’ve been in the mood for classic horror, and it doesn’t get much more retro than The Blob. From the campy opening theme, to the fear of things from beyond, and the focus on youth, The Blob is a perfect sci-fi/horror time capsule. But how well does this 66-year-old vintage film hold up?
- Directed by: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. Russell S. Doughten Jr.
- Written By: Theodore Simonson. Kay Linaker. Irvine H. Millgate
- Starring: Steve McQueen. Aneta Corsaut. Earl Rowe
Production History:
Originally titled “The Molten Meteor”, a title I super-love, the budget for the movie was just $120,000, which is roughly the equivalent of $1,300,000 today. Leading man Steve McQueen was paid $3,000 for his role. He had the option to take a smaller upfront fee in exchange for 10% of the box office, but he needed the cash quickly to make rent, and he didn’t think it would succeed. The Blob was a box office smash, grossing $4 million. In addition, its delightful opening theme song also became a Billboard top 100 hit, at number 33. The inclusion of the light and fun song sets the right tone for the movie.
Recap and Review: Spoilers Ahead
Steve and Jane are at a scenic make-out point; Jane insists on being called “Jane”, not “Janey-girl”, and maintains her boundaries. She’s no push-over. Steve is respectful of this and backs off, reassuring her of his true good intentions. They see a falling star and follow it.
The falling star is a meteor that has a gooey center that gets stuck on an old man’s hand and starts burning him after the old man poked it with a stick. This is not the worst decision in the movie, but it’s pretty high up there. If there are any cautionary themes around space, they start here. Beware the unknown.
Steve and Jane pick up the man and take him to the doctor, passing by some hoodlums on the way, who seem upset with Steve. They decide to follow him.
Racing Backwards
They get him to the doctor, who seemed initially suspicious of the kids, at least until he checks out his new patient. The Blob on the old man’s hand is getting bigger. The doctor sends them to investigate the meteor landing to find out more. The hoodlums are waiting to harass them into racing. Steve outsmarts them into racing backwards. He wins, but they get pulled over by a cop.
The dialogue here is charming, as Steve tries to get out of trouble without admitting he was doing anything wrong. It’s got a nice small-town vibe; everyone knows each other, and there’s no real malice or danger here. Even afterwards when the hoodlums catch up to Steve. They’re friends of Steve, so they swap stories of getting caught pulling pranks. It’s all very quaint and emphasizes that the teens are in this together, even as they engage in friendly competition. After chatting for a bit Steve and Jane head off to investigate the meteor with some of the teens.
Back at the doctor’s, the Blob has now absorbed most of the old man’s arm and part of his torso. He calls in a nurse to help him amputate.
The teens make it to the crash site and talk about the meteor. They’re pretty impressed with the idea of a piece of space being on Earth. They find the old man’s cabin and rescue his dog. Afterwards the teens split up; half of them go to the movies.
Beware The Blob
At the doctor’s, the nurse has arrived, but when she goes to check on the old man, he’s been completely absorbed by the Blob. The doctor and nurse try to kill it with acid, but she panics and knocks out the lights. The doctor locks himself in his office.
Steve and Jane return to check on them, only to find the doctor’s office dark. Steve circles the building to investigate, only to see the doctor in the window being absorbed by the Blob. It’s a quick but shocking moment. Overall, the effects in The Blob are fantastic for the time. It’s a great combination of superimposed shots, reversed film, and other tricks to make the Blob look as real and creepy as possible. We don’t see it eat that many people, and that’s probably a good thing.
Steve and Jane go to the police to report the Blob, but the cops only make fun of them. Dave, the officer that pulled him over earlier, is the only one willing to at least check it out, along with officer Jim Bert. The other officer is more interested in playing chess over the radio with another station.
Right Through the Door
The group finds the doctor’s office empty, although with a locked-room mystery. There are signs of a struggle and a fired gun. Bert thinks it’s an elaborate prank staged by the teens. Reinforcing this the landlord insists that the doctor can’t be found because he is at a convention.
The Blob is on the move, and working its way through townspeople, starting with a mechanic.
At the police station, Jane and Steve’s parents come to pick them up. They are less than pleased, although Steve’s dad defends him more than Jane’s. Not all the adults are bad in The Blob, just most of them.
It’s Not Subtle
After the teens are safe at home. Dave talks about how Bert takes his anger about his wife’s death out on every kid, but Dave doesn’t feel the same way. He won’t blame every teen for the mistakes of some.
The teens sneak out to try to stop the Blob from causing more damage. After Jane and Steve meet up. Steve starts doubting what he saw, letting the adults gaslight him into thinking he’s wrong. Jane has his back, reminding him that he’s a straightforward, honest guy, and she trusts him.
Steve and Jane go to the theater to get help from his friends. They leave the theater to hear him out, and after some mild teasing, they listen to him.
The Town Seems Quiet
The police, even Bert, are starting to notice that parts of the town are emptying out. The teens start trying to warn people and find the monster, but they don’t have much luck. Jane and Steve manage to find the dog, but in the process, they find an abandoned but unlocked grocery store. The Blob attacks them in the store, and they manage to take refuge in the freezer. The Blob starts to ooze under the door, but retreats.
After hiding out for a while, they escape the store and reunite with their friends. They learn that the dog escaped the Blob again. They then call the police, who still don’t believe them. At the police station, Bert starts to get paranoid, thinking the kids are targeting him specifically. It’s a great example of the generational conflict and lingering post-war tensions in the movie.
Jane’s parents discover she’s snuck out after the teens use horns and sirens to wake everyone up in town so they can warn them. Bert tries to stop Steve, but Dave believes him, even if he doesn’t fully understand what is happening. Dave finally admits that the kids know more than he does.
The Blob at the Movies
As they gather at the market, the Blob prepares for its most famous scene. At the movie theater, it drops through an air vent onto a projectionist, then oozes out the projection booth windows.
At the store, Bert smugly clears the store just as the Blob reveals itself, oozing out the front door of the theater and down the street. Bert has one of the most ironically appropriate lines of dialogue right before the Blob shows up. Standing in front of the now-empty grocery store he declares “There’s nobody here but us monsters”. While Bert doesn’t truly think of his actions as monstrous, they led to a lot of unnecessary death.
Danny, Jane’s younger brother, is there for some reason. Steve and Jane get him to safety in a shiny diner along with the owner and waitress. It’s short lived as the Blob quickly covers the diner searching for a way in. The police decide to drop a power line on the Blob to try and fry it while everyone hides in the cellar.
The Plan
They manage to drop the wire, giving Bert a chance to redeem himself in the process. It has no effect on the Blob, but starts a fire in the diner. Steve, Danny, and Jane prepare for the worst. The diner owner uses a fire extinguisher to put out the fire and the CO2 hits the Blob, causing it to retreat. Steve remembers the freezer and tells Dave that cold might kill it. The firemen and townspeople, including the teens, work together to gather more fire extinguishers to create an escape route for the trapped victims.
A large part of this rescue involves adults starting to act like teens: breaking into the high school with a rock, stealing stuff, speeding, and being disbelieved by authority.
As they form their final plan, the people in the diner escape. Dave tells Steve that they are doing to drop it into the Arctic, where it will stay frozen. Steve’s last words: “As long as the Arctic stays cold”. The last scene is the frozen Blob being dropped into the frozen landscape, with “The End” turning into a question mark. I’m guessing the Blob will be showing up any day now.
Is It Still Good?
Okay, so including Steve McQueen in your low-budget horror film is probably an easy short cut to success. He’s not just cool, he’s the coolest. Steve, his character, is also smart and earnest while still being a believable teenager. He’s immediately likeable, as is Jane. While she’s not given as much to work with as he is, she’s not arm-candy either. Jane stands up for herself, talks back to cops, and serves as the empathetic core of the movie. Yes, she cares about things so the men don’t have to. She’s also brave and loyal, and doesn’t spend large parts of the movie screaming to be rescued.
The dialogue in The Blob is so fun. It’s a bit stylized; the teenagers use fun teen slang and talk about normal kid stuff: racing, dating, and pulling pranks, all outside the plot of the film. There are tiny little character moments that make the characters feel more like people.
Thematically, there is a lot that is still relevant in The Blob. The adults need proof beyond all reasonable doubt, even when it’s clear that things are very wrong. They grasp at convenient solutions that don’t quite fit the facts, because they align with their own personal narrative. Bert believes the kids are responsible first, then mentally arranges the evidence to fit that.
While fear of outer space is also prevalent in The Blob, it’s much more in the background. The Blob comes from space, but once it lands, there’s no further concerns of incoming threats. It’s a one-off. The real danger comes from the unwillingness of the townspeople to listen. After all, if they had, 40 or 50 lives may have been spared.
At least the dog survives.
Final Thoughts:
There are some themes that will always stand the test of time. Teens feeling ignored or unheard by older generations remains as relevant today as it was in 1958. The Blob was classic enough to warrant a remake in 1988. Reframed as a cautionary cold war tale, it retains some of the themes of the original but increased the gore and added a healthy distrust of the government and military. It’s a very late 80’s movie and enjoyable but it’s also a testament of the longevity of the original film. The Blob is full of retro charm and a type of innocence that modern movies don’t have. That alone makes it worth the occasional rewatch.
The Blob is available on streaming
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