The Blob (1958) Blu-ray

A cult classic of gooey greatness, directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. (Dinosaurs!) & Russell S. Houghton Jr. (uncredited)

The Blob follows the havoc wreaked on a small town by an alien creature with neither soul nor vertebrae, with Steve McQueen (The Great Escape) in his first major feature role, playing the young rebel teenager who tries to warn the town folk about the jellylike invader.

Superb performances and striking special effects help The Blob transcend the schlock sci-fi and youth delinquency genres from which it originates.

Made outside of Hollywood by a maverick film distributor Jack H. Harris and a crew whose credits mostly comprised religious and educational shorts, The Blob helped launch the careers of Steve McQueen and composer Burt Bacharach, whose bouncy title song is just one of this film's many unexpected pleasures.