The Blob

“The Blob” is a typical example of Cold-War sci-fi that was popular in American theaters during the 1950s. In fact, the figure of the blob, an unstoppable phagocytotic mass coming from “out there”, has been cited by numerous critics as a symbol of America’s paranoid fear of communist contagion.

Beyond any (more or less tangible) metaphorical meanings of the film, it has to be acknowledged that overall it seems to have aged poorly – even if we’re accustomed to the usual massive doses of naivete typical of sci-fi from that era, we’re still faced with an inert, dialogue-heavy movie, weighed down by all-too-forgettable lines and a cast of characters that’s anything but memorable – a prime example is the irritating Sergeant Jim, a police officer with a “brilliant military past”, whose sole function is to discredit anything the main character suggests.

Steve McQueen, in one of the first significant roles of his career, offers a basically nondescript performance in the role of a high-school student (a bit of a stretch, given the actor was nearly 30) grappling with an extraordinary situation.

Modest special effects make the gelatinous alien lifeform more threatening in theory than in reality, although the scene where it bursts into the projection room still manages to make a decent impression.