_**An odd, ravenous red mass from beyond our world!**_ A group of young people (including Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut) see a strange, gelatinous substance violently attack residents in a Pennsylvania town, but the authorities struggle to accept what they’ve witnessed. Even though it feels old-fashioned now, “The Blob” (1958) is worth watching as a look at small-town life in America during 1957 (the year of filming), and because it marked Steve McQueen's first leading role. It's genuinely frightening in a gentle, fifties style. My one complaint is that Steve seems like an adult man rather than a teen or kid; he was 27 while making the film, but appeared to be closer to 30. Larry Hagman made a follow-up fourteen years later called “Beware! the Blob” (also known as “Son of Blob”) after gaining fame on television with I Dream of Jeannie and before his renewed popularity as J.R. in Dallas. It mixes strange, humorous moments with serious horror, making it interesting to compare with the original film because of how society changed due to the major events of the sixties. The sequel offers a glimpse into the counterculture of that time (specifically 1971 when it was filmed) and how those with unconventional lifestyles interacted with more traditional people. To me, it wasn’t particularly significant since there's always some kind of divide between generations in every decade, something you can even notice in the first movie. A well-made remake appeared in 1988 and, like “Beware! The Blob,” managed to balance extreme horror with moments of humor. It had a larger budget than Hagman’s film, but adding a storyline that explained the creature's origins as being from Earth lessened its sense of mystery and otherworldliness. Nevertheless, it is still a good reinterpretation. The movie has a running time of 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was filmed entirely in southeastern Pennsylvania, in areas west of Philadelphia (Phoenixville, Downingtown, Valley Forge, Royersford & Chester Springs). GRADE: A-/B+

Source on TMDB