October Horror Movie Challenge: The Blob (1958, 1988)

The Blob is one of those classic horror movies that pretty much everyone knows about. It has been done, in concept, a lot of different ways, but there are two main movies, and one sequel.  Tonight I am watching the two movies titled The Blob.

The movies largely have the same plot and story with minor differences.

The Blob (1958)

How many horror movies have their own catchy pop song? Well the Blob does. 

This one also features future action star Steve McQueen as a squeaky clean teen. 

The blob comes from space, a big deal in the 1958, and proceeds eat the towns-folk and get larger all the time. Effective as a scare and I can recall watching this one with my dad back in the 1970s. Actually I recall watching it on an old Black & White TV in my parents basement. My dad had set up a movie-watching area down there. It seems like a perfect place to watch old horror movies.

The cure? The discover that it can be frozen and this stops it. 

The sequel Beware! The Blob (1972) features the Blob getting defrosted and going on a rampage again.

The Blob (1988)

This a remake to fit what will become part of the Paranoid 90s, thanks X-Files. In this, the Blob was created by the military and shot into space.

This one has Kevin Dillon, Matt's brother, as our teen hero. Of course, now he is a little punk just south of the law, but that is not a big shock, really. These were the roles he was type-casted in. To be fair, he did give a good performance as drummer John Densmore in the Doors.  Shawnee Smith, who plays our "good girl" heroine, is still quite active in movies today. 

The special effects are better here and still surprisingly effective when you consider they are all still practical effects (for the most part). The plot, though, is the same as the first movie.

The twist of the Government to create the Blob is a nice but utterly expected twist. 

Del Close, who portrays Reverend Meeker, also had a small part in the 1972 Beware! The Blob movie, so that is the sort of thing I enjoy.

Featured Monsters: Black Pudding, Gray Ooze, Green Slime, and Ochre Jelly

The Blob must have left a serious mark on the creators of D&D. We have four monsters that can fit the bill. And this doesn't even cover the Gelantinous Cube‎. Of these four, the Black Pudding and Gray ooze might be the closest in how the movie Blob acts. The Green Slime doesn't really move (and the blob is fast) and the Ochre Jelly is slow(er) moving. 

A "Blood Ooze" would be good, one that starts out gray or even pale and getts redder and redder as it eats people.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
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