The Blob (1958) by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.

Director: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.

Year: 1958

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Creature Feature

Plot:

When a meteorite crash spews forth a ravenous alien blob that devours everything it touches, a group of teens races to warn the disbelieving adults in town about the creature before its rampage consumes the entire area, and they must try to find a way to stop the creature.

Review:

While it's not that bad, it wasn't really all that great, as there are some pretty big flaws to this one. One of the main ones here for this one is the utterly troubling and challenging start to this one, which is due to the consistently irritating efforts of the film to stay with the teens and their lifestyle. For those that don't enjoy that lifestyle at all, seeing them constantly talk about their school-life and social lives which results around them driving around the town in their cars listening to the bad rock-n-roll featured here that takes up as much time as it does here serve almost no entertainment value since this ends up leaving the beginning to feel way too slowed down and convoluted.

It also works against it by feeling way too scattershot and disparate, having to jump back into the plot about the rampaging alien creature being almost an afterthought, the way it's so clumsily handled, because they're showcasing the teens rather than keeping the story moving. Some of the effects of the film don't hold up as well as most thought they would, with many of the shots of the creature swarming along the town looking quite goofy and silly, which really showcase the low-budget effects work being quite obvious and distracting.

Still, though, there are some rather enjoyable and rather fun parts to this one. The main one about this is that when it gets back to them the attacks are a lot of fun and generate some good suspense and thrills here, from the opening shots of the injured farmer with the rapidly-spreading blob surging up his hand covering his entire arm to the attack on the workers in the hospital as well as the teens' investigation of his shack in the hills which is quite creepy.

There's even more action elsewhere throughout here with their encounter in the grocery store and the rather fun series of chases around town where the creature really gets a chance to be displayed quite nicely, particularly the finale in the diner where it seems to spread everywhere and resulting in lots of ways that the kids manage to find ways of going at the being which results in a truly enjoyable finale with the great action bringing about the fun manner of battling it, so it does save itself some particular points that way. It does have some positive points with these factors, but it could've had a lot more with a bit of reworking.

Overview: ****/5

Somewhat flawed but still highly enjoyable for what it is, this is a solid genre entry that has enough going for it to be worthwhile even if its flaws are a bit overpowering at times, keeping this from being at the top of the scene. Those with an appreciation for this era or style of genre fare will have the most to like with this one, while most others out there should heed caution.