The Blob

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The Blob

1958

1h 22m

Sci-Fi

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

68%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A drive-in favorite, this sci-fi classic follows teenagers Steve (Steven McQueen) and his best girl, Jane (Aneta Corseaut), as they try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches. The first to discover the substance and live to tell about it, Steve and Jane witness the blob destroying an elderly man and grow to a terrifying size. But no one else has seen the goo, and policeman Dave (Earl Rowe) refuses to believe the kids without proof.

Critics Consensus

In spite of its chortle-worthy premise and dated special effects, The Blob remains a prime example of how satisfying cheesy B-movie monster thrills can be.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

Neither the acting nor direction is particularly creditable.

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Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

Arriving from outer space (for which read Russia), a large ball of interstellar snot terrorises a small American town by eating everything in sight.

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Howard Thompson

New York Times

Mar 25, 2006

Unfortunately, [Harris's] picture talks itself to death, even with the blob nibbling away at everybody in sight. And most of his trick effects, under the direction of Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., look pretty phony.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 26, 2025

3/4

The Blob is interesting in how it welds together a monster movie with the sort of teen angst drama that was popular in the wake of 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause.

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Michael Wilmington

Isthmus (Madison, WI)

Mar 25, 2019

A hungry glob of protoplasm from outer space goes on a rampage in this cretinous thriller, which has a totally undeserved reputation as a horror classic.

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Sarah Boslaugh

Playback:stl

Aug 3, 2016

6/10

...there's something charming about it, as if all the tacky aspects of the 1950s (and again, I'm talking about the white, squeaky clean, small town 1950s) were distilled into a fast-moving 86 minutes.

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Wayne K

@WayneKelso 4 days ago

The 50s and 60s were a golden era for sci-fi stories, almost always containing villains that were some kind of metaphor for communism, and so it is with The Blob. The first starring role for possibly the coolest actor who ever lived, Steve McQueen is too old to be playing a teenager, as are the other actors he laughably refers to as ‘kids’. The actual Blob stuff doesn’t get good until about 20 minutes from the end, and aside from the janky special effects, which are forgivable considering the time it was made, it’s really not the grand existential threat it should be. It kills a grand total of 4 people and is destroyed in a way that suits the metaphor but just feels anticlimactic on its own merits. It’s a pretty dull film with far too much inane dialogue and repetitive arguments, to the point you keep forgetting there’s a hunk of extraterrestrial chewing gum on the loose. The name itself has been immortalised, but the film itself isn’t anything special.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 12, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 6, 2026

The Blob = a *3 and 1/2" star movie

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Alejandro E

@Alex970 Jun 28, 2026

From the increasingly distant 1950s, when this genre of fiction was all the rage. If it has any merit at all, it’s for the chance to see a then-fledgling Steve McQueen. Best watched without any great expectations.

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Tung S.

@tungtungtungisbest Jun 22, 2026

It was a little cheesy at the beggining but overall a great movie

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Cees T

@RT15093300 May 4, 2026

Nice cars, nice blob, and nice ads, but skipped action, teens that look like parents, and acting like you still see in Russian propaganda. 5/10 - Watch the 1980s version instead. Doctor: "Don't touch the moving parasite." Also doctor: "Don't move." Doctor: "It's some sort of acid." Also doctor: "Throw acid on it." Doctor: "Don't let any of it get on you." Also doctor: "I'm gonna shoot it." Cops: Touching everything. Also cops: "We may want to check for fingerprints around here."

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Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.

Director

Steve McQueen

Steve Andrews

Aneta Corsaut

Jane Martin

Earl Rowe

Lt. Dave

Olin Howland

Old man

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Synopsis

A drive-in favorite, this sci-fi classic follows teenagers Steve (Steven McQueen) and his best girl, Jane (Aneta Corseaut), as they try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches. The first to discover the substance and live to tell about it, Steve and Jane witness the blob destroying an elderly man and grow to a terrifying size. But no one else has seen the goo, and policeman Dave (Earl Rowe) refuses to believe the kids without proof.

Director: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.
Producer: Jack H. Harris
Screenwriter: Kay Linaker, Irving H. Millgate, Theodore Simonson
Distributor: Paramount Pictures, Criterion Collection, Allied Artists Pictures, Video Gems
Production Co: Fairview Productions, Tonylyn Productions Inc.
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 1958, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2015
Runtime: 1h 22m

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