The Thing: “This thing doesn’t want to show itself, it wants to hide inside an imitation. It’ll fight if it has to, but it’s vulnerable out in the open.”
John Carpenter is as synonymous with horror as Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper and George A. Romero. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he developed memorable horrors like The Fog, Christine and his seminal work Halloween. One of his most enduring legacies though is the science fiction horror The Thing, which combined state of the art puppetry, with a deranged plot in an isolated research station. It did not do well at the box office as it ran into stiff competition from Steven Spielberg‘s juggernaut E.T., but it has developed its own following after release on DVD.
The Thing is set in an isolated Antarctic research station and follows protagonist and helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell). A Norwegian scientist from another research facility miles away is seen chasing a dog across the icy wasteland trying to shoot it. They kill the Norwegian in self-defence, but the dog, when added to pound begins a horrific transformation and the crew slowly turn on each other as one-by-one they are assimilated by the unknown entity. Paranoia and mistrust lead to a variety of showdowns amongst one another as the realisation that they cannot let this infection spread to the rest of the world.
The setting of Antarctica is perfect as the pure white scenery acts as a perfect canvas for the scenes of isolation and paranoia on which the film is based. There is a real sense of man vs. nature vs. intruder and it is as claustrophobic as any film before or since. The audience is immediately trapped with the increasing mental infirmity of the crew, which allows some agonising tension as we don’t know who to trust anymore than the crew do.
The real lasting impression from The Thing is the transformation scenes. As a crew-member is assimilated by the organism it goes through a horrific mutation and the puppetry used by Carpenter and crew still holds up tot his day. The pulsating, oozing, shaking creatures are so powerful that it’s almost impossible not to remember at least on the them. It is gore for the sake of horror, which makes a nice change from the repititious scenes of gore in later films in the genre.
The revelation of the origins of the creature is subtle and intriguing, but combined with the superb performances, incredible score by Ennio Morricone and the overall sense of despair and The Thing is a masterpiece. The inevitability and more importantly paranoia of the tension help the film to combine elements of horror, science fiction and even a sort of courtroom drama. There is no question that this is one of Carpenter‘s best film and one of the most affecting science fiction horrors of all time.
The Thing: Ranked 21st in All Time Horror Films
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By Mark Barrett 13/09/2011 - 10:11
Watched it for the first time the other night… gotta say, I’m not sure where you’re getting 5 stars from?!?
Has to be one of the most disappointing endings to a film I’ve ever experienced. Having committed over an hour and a half to it, I felt robbed when the credits started rolling.
The acting was okay, very ‘Alien’ in feel with a similar realism to it. The story-line was pretty cool as well but I just can’t consider it a ‘masterpiece’ I’m afraid… in my opinion.
By Tom Patrick 13/09/2011 - 11:21
There’s a reason that The Thing still gets mentioned every Halloween. How many other films from 1982 can you name. It is chilling, full of suspense and drama and has special effects that are still incredible nowadays.
Perhaps you’re too used to films like Saw and Hostel that revel in torture and suffering, but real horror is about fear and tension, something that The Thing excels at.
By Mark Barrett 13/09/2011 - 11:47
Never seen any of the Saw’s or Hostel for that very reason. Senseless torture and overplaying the gore has never appealed to me, something that could be argued ‘The Thing’ is guilty of in places.
**POTENTIAL SPOILER** The scene with the CPR (You know the one) is just ridiculous, and excessive. A very jumpy scene but reminded me of the ‘over the top’ gore and sillyness of ‘The Evil Dead’ and from a story point, considering the aim of the creature was to remain undetected, why would it purposefully and over a period of time do that to the victims anatomy. It is simply nonsensical.
By Tom Patrick 13/09/2011 - 13:46
Because within storyline terms it defends itself when it feels it’s about to be discovered or attacked. Hence the hot needle scene. Yeah it is a bit on the gory side, but somehow that perfectly works within the over-arching story of isolation and threat from something alien.
But I digress and we are in danger of spinning off into breaking down each element with point-counter-point. It has the longevity, special effects and complete atmosphere of a 5 star film. Add to that Kurt ‘f*ing’ Russell and a cast of interesting characters and the fright factor guarantee this the full monty.
By Lisa Gilbert 14/09/2011 - 17:31
Tom, I couldn’t agree more with your rating. It may seem somewhat dated now, but for the time, (similar to Alien three years earlier) technically and visually it’s a classic. There are so many nervy elements that build the film; unknown territory, suspicion, tension… but more than anything the gripping story and how it unfolds is what will stand the test of time.
I saw it some 10 years ago for the first time (having watched it several times since) and having seen hundreds of Horror films in the past 20 years, I would consider it one of the most tense, brillaint and haunting horrors there is.
By James Haves 15/09/2011 - 11:28
I agree whole-heartadley with you, Tom. While I’m not a fan of gore, and get pretty sick when looking at it, I don’t mind gore if it works with the story. This works. Modern horror films just don’t get it. Gore isn’t scary. It’s just disgusting. However, some films have got it. Paranormal Activity to name one. I don’t know what you thought of PA, but it was scary as hell for me, and it was brilliant. Why? Because it didn’t just rely on gore to make it’s point. In fact, modern horrors like Saw and Hostel don’t even have a point. They’re just shameless cash-ins on gore, suffering, torture, and violence.
The Thing couldn’t get anything except 5 stars. It’s one of the best horror movies I’ve seen (next to Alien/Aliens)
By Tom Patrick 15/09/2011 - 16:18
You’ll be pleased to know that Paranormal Activity, Alien and The Thing might just all make it into my top 30 horror films of all time. But, so might the original Saw, which, say what you will about its intentions, but it’s spawned a long-lasting franchise and was pretty unique at the time.
Glad to see there are other fans of The Thing out there, it really is a great film.
By James Haves 15/09/2011 - 16:59
I pretty sure that Paranormal Activity, The Thing, and Alien are my top 3 favourite horror films, and in my top 20 favourite movies. There’s nothing more fun to me than sitting down with friends and being scared stupid by the movie! However, the great thing about these movies, is that they boast great story, genuine scares, and superb acting at the same time!
By Sarah 17/02/2013 - 12:10
One of the best movie and cast who perform their role well. I guess they had get a large profit from this film.