This hugely entertaining b-movie starts off with an insanely catchy rockabilly song that perfectly sets the mood for what's to come. This movie never makes the mistake of taking itself seriously, which is what made it such an effective thriller.

The acting was actually pretty stiff, and the main characters aren't that interesting, but the director is really good at keeping this viewer in suspense. The blob was pretty ridiculous, but I still tensed up whenever I saw it on screen. And like I said in the summary, this movie has a sense of humour, which is important in low budget science fiction.

I also found the special effects to be clever. The Blob slithered under doorways, through vents, and up people's legs. It was kind of obvious how they did a lot of it,but I personally think that's part of the charm of pre-cgi effects.

Bottom Line: If you're expecting great acting and character development, skip this, but if you like b- movies, it's a masterpiece.

Who would think Andy Griffith's "Helen Crump" (Aneta Corsaut) had a Steve McQueen movie in her past? But that is only one of several weird and wonderful things about the ultimate 1950s teenagers-battle-creatures movie, which might best be described as Rebel Without A Cause meets God Knows What From Outer Space. The Rebel is Steven McQueen (who would shortly decide that "Steve" sounded less prissy), a good boy with just enough wild to be interesting; the very wholesome yet understanding girlfriend is the aforementioned Aneta Corsaut. It was bad enough when their date was disrupted by teenage hot-rodders, but they are considerably more nonplussed when they encounter a gelatinous, man-eating What Is It that rides down to earth on its own hotrod meteor--and begins gobbling up townfolk right and left. But will the grown ups believe them? Of course not, what do they know, they're just kids!

The movie is teeny bopper at its teeny bopping best. The actors take the rather pretentious script very seriously, with many a soulful look into each other eyes, and the "adult" supporting cast probably says "Kids!" very third sentence or so. But the real pleasure of the film its creature, which is well imagined, well-executed, and often manages to generate a surprising degree of suspense. And although clearly on the cheap side (check out those miniature sets, guys!), THE BLOB is actually a fairly well-made film--and there's that catchy little theme song thrown in for good measure. The 40-plus crowd (myself included) will enjoy the movie as nostalgia, but that won't prevent them from hooting right along with the younger set at its whole-milk-and-white-bread 1950s sensibility, and the film would be a great choice for either family-movie night or a more sophisticated "grown ups only" get together. Make plenty of Jello cubes for movie snacking! Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I've always liked this movie because when I was ten I saw it as a double feature with "I Married a Monster from Outer Space." I remember the bouncy theme song and the eerie quality of the beginning. A meteor lands and an old man finds it. Poking it with a stick, a taffy like substance makes its way down and suddenly swallows up his arm. He, of course, is absorbed and the fun begins.

This fun flick, is one of those many fifties' teenagers are misunderstood movies. We have the nice cop and the angry cop, who has it in for the local teenagers because of something that happened to his family. McQueen has a bad rep and his credibility is constantly in doubt because of his hot rodding. Aneta Corsaut, Helen Crump from "The Andy Griffith Show" is his female companion. She is misunderstood as well. McQueen is suspect and her father, a prototype fifties take no hostages father, forbids their seeing each other. Some things haven't changed and it fuels the fire. Meanwhile, the blob is soaking up the locals at an alarming rate. There is my favorite where a mechanic, lying on one of those creepers, is pulled under the car, his legs twitching. Then there's the strawberry jam, oozing out through the openings in the projection booth. But like all good teen movies, the kids know more than the adults and save the day. They even get to break the windows at the high school. The movie is pure fun and not to be taken so seriously.