Episode 121: The Blob (1958 & 1988)

A 1950s Drive-In Classic starring Steve McQueen becomes a sloppy and violent 1980s practical effects slime-fest when it comes to the amorphous THE BLOB.Originally pitched as an episode covering the 1988 The Blob only, the Nighthawks both watched the 1958 The Blob for the first time, doing homework for this episode, and they can’t help but talk about it.In both movies an object crash lands from space outside a small town populated by small town folks. A poor old man happens upon the object, touches a bubbling mass inside, and is eventually and horribly consumed, as the mass pulsates, grows, expands, and begins to hunt down the delicious townspeople.In the 1950s it was about young teenagers who aren’t believed by the establishment, and the town that has to band together for survival.In 1988 the town’s teenagers are also the vanguard against The Blob, but at the heart of the story is a dark underplot involving shadowy government dealings and agents with unclear motives.Each movie has its value, and both are on the menu tonight in the Nighthawks conceptual Diner.