Monsters Unleashed! The Blob: The Quintessential Creature Feature

1958’s The Blob has reached such levels of popularity over the years that it has spawned a quasi-sequel in 1972’s Beware! The Blob, 1988’s remake of the same name, and inclusion as one of the animated monsters in Monsters vs Aliens and Hotel Transylvania. It’s almost as if the thing that can’t be killed in the movie also can’t be stopped in real life!

In the original, a mysterious meteor hits Earth. When it cracks open, there’s a red, gelatinous goo inside the rock that absorbs and consumes any living creature it touches. What’s worse is, the more it consumes, the larger it grows. This story is now well-known, but it was fresh and original when it first hit theaters in the 50’s.

Though it is extremely campy by today’s standards, this movie has clung to our collective pop culture psyche for almost 60 years. As of this writing, there’s even another remake in the works. And why not? The Blob proves the cheesy b-movie rule that weird, laughable, and “bad” movies can be a lot of fun!

The Blob was also the big screen debut of Steve McQueen. Though critics were not kind to him in this role, he’d go on to be one of Hollywood’s biggest stars throughout the 60s and 70s. The Great Escape. The Magnificent Seven. Papillon. Bullet. The Towering Inferno. And, The Blob. This cheesefest definitely rounds out his catalog and fits in with the rest of this list as a true Hollywood classic.

Even though the movie sports McQueen, it’s possibly the opening credits theme song that makes The Blob remain so enjoyable over the years. Its tongue-in-cheek lyrics lets viewers know from the get-go that the movie isn’t meant to be taken seriously. The blob may creep and leap and glide and slide, but these lyrics guarantee what you’re about to see isn’t very scary and can, instead, be expected to be fun.

Movies that don’t take themselves too seriously make for the best b-movie camp after all. These movies know they’re cheesy and lean into it. Their goal is obviously, and thankfully, to give audiences a plain ol’ good time. The Blob should be near the top of the list for fans of this goofy sub-genre of horror.