The Blob (1958)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.2/10   

Director:

Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.

Escritores:

Kay Linaker (writer)
Irvine Millgate (story)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

12 septiembre 1958 (USA)

Género:

Horror | Ciencia-Ficción

Frase comercial:

Beware of the Blob! It creeps, and leaps, and glides and slides across the floor.

Plot:

An alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.

Plot Keywords:

Blob | Alien | Doctor | Police | Meteorite

Premios:

1 nomination

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Smarter than the average horror film

Reparto

Steve McQueen	...	Steve Andrews (as Steven McQueen)
Aneta Corsaut	...	Jane Martin
Earl Rowe	...	Lt. Dave
Olin Howland	...	Old man (as Olin Howlin)
Alden 'Stephen' Chase	...	Dr. T. Hallen (as Steven Chase)
John Benson	...	Sgt. Jim Bert
George Karas	...	Officer Ritchie
Lee Paton	...	Kate, the nurse (as Lee Payton)
Elbert Smith	...	Henry Martin
Hugh Graham	...	Mr. Andrews
Vincent Barbi	...	George (cafe owner) (as Vince Barbi)
Audrey Metcalf	...	Elizabeth Martin
Jasper Deeter	...	Civil Defense volunteer
Tom Ogden
Elinor Hammer	...	Mrs. Porter

También conocida como:

The Glob (USA) (working title)
The Glob That Girdled the Globe (USA) (working title)
The Meteorite Monster (USA) (working title)
The Molten Meteorite (USA) (working title)
The Night of the Creeping Dead (USA) (working title)
La Mancha voraz (Venezuela) [es]
La manchon voraz (Mexico) [es]
La masa devoradora (Spain) [es]

Duración:

86 min | USA:82 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Color

Relación de Aspecto:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Mono

Clasificación:

West Germany:12 (nf) | UK:12 (re-rating) | Italy:T | Australia:M (alternate rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Canada:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:15

Locaciones de Filmación:

Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, USA

Compañía:

Fairview Productions

Trivialidades:

The producers originally signed Steve McQueen to a three-film deal with this being the first project. McQueen was so difficult to work with during filming that he was released from his contract for the other two films.

Errores:

Errores que Revelan: During the backwards drag race, the car exhaust can be seen going back into the exhaust pipes.

Citas:

Steve Andrews: Dave! Doc Hallen's been killed!
Lieutenant Dave: Doc Hallen? What happened?
Steve Andrews: It's over at his place, you've gotta come now!
Lieutenant Dave: Now wait a minute Steve, tell us what happened.
Steve Andrews: I'm trying to tell you, now this thing has killed the Doc.
Sgt. Jim Bert: Well what was it? Out with it, kid!
Steve Andrews: Well it's kind of a... kind of a mass, it keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Lieutenant Dave: Come on, Steve, make sense.
Steve Andrews: I know, I know, look Dave, you gotta see this thing to believe what I'm telling you.
Sgt. Jim Bert: Maybe this thing you saw was a... monster?
[...]

Conexiones de Película:

Referenced in Bill (2007)

Banda de Sonido:

THE BLOB

Smarter than the average horror film

I have read many of the user comments and I think that the film is generally not getting credit for being a smart thriller. Why does the monster have to be on-screen to make it good? Hitchcock said that suspense plays better than action and although this film missed many opportunities to be more suspenseful, it's is at least not stupid.

In how many horror films today does the hero know the monster and its nature when he should? Steve knows what he's dealing with almost from the beginning and his frustration is not being able to convince the authorities.

Yet the authorities act in a totally credible way as well, even the annoying sergeant. Who would believe such a story from a bunch of "kids" (we know Steve wasn't a kid, but his character is).

One key example of the movie's intelligence: Steve is yelling to Dave to get CO2 fire extinguishers long after Dave has already gotten the message and dispatched people to get them. How many movies made in the 90s would be smart about this subtle detail?

I'm really tired of watching movies and having people behave in ways different than they really would in real life (the most irritating recent example is Tom Hanks falling asleep with the flashlight on in Cast Away). Horror films in particular do this in spades (which is why the Scream films have been so popular), but The Blob, to me, stayed pretty true to its characters, and in so doing made a smarter and better film.

Yes there are many flaws, perhaps biggest is Steve McQueen's very uneven performance, but I think they missed key opportunities for suspense that could have turned this above average, kinda scary, kinda funny movie that's a cult favourite into a true classic.