The Blob (1958)

One of the top popcorn-munching, sci-fi good times of the 1950s. It pretty much invented the formula where kids in a picture perfect small town witness a strange threat in the night, but no one believes them until all hell breaks loose. Gremlins later did it with little muppet monsters. Killer Klowns From Outer Space later did it with killer klowns from outer space. This one does it thirty years earlier with a big glop of strawberry jam that drops down from the sky and eats people. It’s got a classic scene where The Blob chases the crowd out of a late night horror show in a movie theater, generally good performances and Technicolor photography (rare for a movie like this at the time) that gives everything a beautiful Atomic Age glisten. It’s brain-dead and dog-simple, but also iconic and essential. I’ll watch it anytime.