Classic Revival: ‘The Blob’ (1958)

First, I have to share a little about the image above. We’ve all seen the original theatrical poster for The Blob, whether we realize it or not. Its a great poster, but I wanted to show off something a little different. This is actually an image of one of the double feature posters, advertising the line-up of The Blob and Dinosaurus. You see, I love old movie posters. I actually consider them a high art. Posters today are a damn shame! They are blasphemous to the very essence of the craft that was once such a unique and integral part of the motion picture business. Today’s posters are rarely more than a couple of stock portraits Photoshopped over a generic location still.

The Blob (1958) was a classic of its time, playing in matinee theatres, often double-billed like so many of the sci-fi/horror films of the 1950’s. I often daydream about having been alive back then, spending an entire afternoon watching great cheesy monster flicks two, or even three at a time … all for less than a buck. 1958 also just happened to be the year that the iconic Steve McQueen would begin his reign in Hollywood. McQueen would appear in two movies released in 1958, The Blob and the film-noir Never Love a Stranger.

I was at my local library today and was perusing through the DVD section when I came across the Criterion Collection DVD of The Blob and decided to revisit this oozing, out-dated masterpiece of schlock. I was surprised to find how badly the movie was written, even for its time. Watching Steve McQueen act in this movie was excruciating, even hard to believe considering that he landed roles in The Great St. Louis Train Robbery (1959) and one of my favorite westerns, The Magnificent Seven (1960). In fact, the only two reasons I can think of that made this film Criterion worthy are that it introduced Steve McQueen and a combination of its special effects and perhaps some metaphoric social commentary it may have on the era in which it was set.

For those of you interested, Chuck Russell (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors) directed a remake of this classic fare in 1988, but as always, I recommend watching the original first. Generally speaking, I tend to favor the original in most scenarios … but, this is one of those rare examples of when I must admit a fondness for the remake. There’s no underlying psychology here … its just simply a case of better special effects and a more modern horror appeal.