Released: 1982
Starring: Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley, Richard Masur
Director: John Carpenter
Produced by: The Turman-Foster Company
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Rated: R (UK – 18)
“Man is The Warmest Place to Hide.”
John Carpenter’s work is more than likely familiar to you. Be it the goofy, almost slapstick affair of Big Trouble in Little China or the role that influenced anti-heroes forever and made Kurt Russell (Soldier, Overboard) a household name in action as Snake Plissken in Escape from New York. But one film stands out among the rest and has consolidated itself among the classics attached to anyone’s library of media — The Thing!
The Thing is a perfect storm. Ron Bottin (The Howling, Total Recall) doing the special effects, Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Untouchables) at the helm in the music department, and John Carpenter in the director’s seat. The Thing could very well have been a B-movie flop, but when B-movies need to be blockbusters you call John Carpenter (or maybe Malcolm McDowell). Unfortunately, strange as it may seem now when The Thing hit cinemas it flopped about as hard as it could. Critics hated it, but fans loved it. Eventually, it turned its failure back around when it came to VHS and DVD sales.
But what made it so great? Well, for that we need to set up a bit of the premise. Beware there are about to be some spoilers from early in the movie.
An alien spacecraft crash lands on earth, more specifically in the harsh wastes of Antarctica. Sometime later, a US research center, isolated from the rest of the world, is struggling to get radio coverage before a storm comes in hard. A Norwegian helicopter appears over the horizon, frantically shooting at a wolfhound. The helicopter crash lands, and the gunner from the helicopter tries his hardest to kill the dog, shooting frantically before been taking down by one of the US crew. The dog is taken back into the camp and wanders about with some very strange curiosity for a dog — almost like he is looking for someone, someone alone.
The dog eventually ends up caged back with the other dogs. After lights go out, long thin tendrils erupt from the dogs back whipping and lashing at every nearby living thing in a hail of blood and viscera. It is one of the most unsettling scenes in movie history and made even more uncomfortable by the screeching of the other dogs for help. After the crew finally take notice, they come across something that isn’t quite a dog but a mass of fleshy tendrils and blood that can only be described as a tumour ridden stomach turned inside out.
The thing is definitely not a dog nor terrestrial. It absorbs whatever organic being it comes across, killing them, and mimics its every cell. Each cell can be totally independent with its own conscious. A single drop of blood will act on its own survival instinct. It can mimic a human perfectly so you will never know you’re in danger until it’s too late! The only way to know or to kill the monstrosity is fire, of which there is a very limited amount of in Antarctica.
Helicopter pilot, R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell), and the rest of the research crew must somehow survive until they can get help. All while paranoia sets in as any member of the crew (whose sanity are barely holding together) could very well be the thing!
The Thing is a remake of The Thing from Another World which is based on a book called Who Goes There. It shares the body snatching of the other media but has very little in comparison other than the paranoia aspect.
With a cast that includes Keith David, Wilford Brimley, Charles Hallahan, Richard Masur and more, The Thing had amazing acting potential. However, some actors were relatively unknown or just starting in film at this point. They do all start in a fair to middling kind of acting, but as soon as the thing is revealed and the plot hits into high gear it brings out the best in the whole cast. They go from frantically trying to survive to deep paranoia and it turns the relationships all of the cast on its head as they each suspect each other. Honestly, the best performance in this film comes from a strange strange place. The dog at the beginning of the film.
I know this sounds stupid but hear me out. The whole film hinges on this dog. When one of the team takes the dog back into the facility, he wanders the halls, stares at the crew members, sits under a table, etc., but his presence gives off unsettling malice that triggers the paranoia of the film from that point forward. The early scenes with the dog are essential to the film and without them, the tone of the film would be totally lost. How they managed to get the dog to move and look a certain way is craftsmanship I’m definitely not aware of.
The other part of the film that’s stellar, apart from the cast of great actors, the sets, and scenes it takes place in, is the special effects by Ron Bottin who worked 24/7 at the studio for over a year and cemented the effects in film history. Still to this day almost 40 years later, the grotesqueness of the effects can be seen. First at the beginning when Mac and the crew perform an autopsy on the dog thing all the way to the end of the movie, the bizarre realism hasn’t really been topped.
[SPOILER] Another great part of the film, which combines both Bottin’s effects and Carpenter’s skill in cinematography, is when Bennings (Peter Maloney) has been revealed to be the thing and his silhouette is running through the snow. Mac and the crew run give chase and when they catch up to it, the Bennings thing is hunched over in the snow. It turns and stares at Mac and then its hand is revealed to still be transforming. The thing gives off a cold, echoing shriek that is totally inhuman (may be a nod to Donald Sutherland at the end of Invasion of the Body Snatchers) again upping the paranoia ante. Of all Carpenter’s horror movies, this film is one that has stakes that just keep rising and dread that only increases.
Now, no film is perfect and The Thing is no different. At the beginning of the film, a UFO is seen spiraling to Earth. Honestly, this could have been left out and its departure would have added to the film. It raises too many silly questions. How much intelligence those the thing have? Can it both build and fly a ship? Removing that scene would leave some ambiguity to the film, which it is good at in other parts. Also, the soundtrack by the legend Ennio Morricone is not worth writing home about and is totally a run of the mill soundtrack I only noticed it was his work after seeing his name in the credits.
All in all, The Thing is one of the greatest horror films ever made held back by simple aging and not much else. With a fantastic cast, surprising ending, beautifully gross special effects, and a solid script, this is a must see for any horror fan!
Rating:
Thomas C:
But wait, if you want more I’ve got you! The film is expanded both in a sequel and a prequel! The Thing (2011), a film set before the events of the film, fleshes out the discovery of the thing at the Norwegian base which leads directly into the film.
There is also The Thing, a unique horror game from Konami that acts as a direct sequel to the movie. In the game, you take control of your four-man squad as Sergeant Blake and uncover the events of the film. It has great frantic, gory combat that has you never letting your guard down because any member of your team you don’t keep a close eye on could turn into the thing. Your team can also suspect you, refuse to take orders, have a panic attack, or straight out attack you! Someone, please remake this hidden gem.
If you can’t get your hands on The Thing or you don’t have a system it plays on, try out a more recent title called Distrust. It is a horror survival crisis management game set in a snowy arctic base!
Jack Savage:
What a great science fiction horror film. The Thing gives your terror in so many forms. The isolation, the mistrust, the spread of a “disease”, and the possibility of death (from more than the alien) make this movie incredibly suspenseful. Pair this with the excellent creature effects and you get one of John Carpenter’s best films.
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