In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form-changing creature wreaks havoc, creates terror... and becomes one of them.
Flips the scenario round from the original to great effect.
John Carpenter shows how much he loves the 1951 original by giving it the utmost respect that he possibly could, the only difference here is that Carpenter chooses to stick to the paranoiac core of John W Campbell Jr's short story.
The secret to this version's success is the unbearable tension that builds up as the group of men become suspicious of each other, the strain of literally waiting to be taken over takes a fearful hold. Carpenter then manages to deliver the shocks as well as the mystery that's needed to keep the film heading in the right direction.
Be it an horrific scene or a "what is in the shadow" sequence, the film is the perfect fusion of horror and sci-fi. The dialogue is laced with potency and viability for a group of men trying to keep it together under such duress, while Ennio Morricone's score is a wonderful eerie pulse beat that further racks up the sense of doom and paranoia seaming throughout the film.
The cast are superb, a solid assembly line of actors led by Carpenter favourite Kurt Russell, whilst the effects used around the characters get the right amount of impact needed. But most of all it's the ending that is the crowning glory, an ending that doesn't pander to the norm and is incredibly fitting for what has gone on before it. Lets wait and see what happens indeed. 10/10
It was a good and original movie but some parts were still too boring, am i the only one who thinks like this?
Stuck on a remote station in Antarctica with… The Thing
RELEASED IN 1982 and directed by John Carter, “The Thing” stars Kurt Russell as the helicopter pilot of an eleven-man crew at a research station in Antarctica who encounter a ghastly shape-shifting alien that perfectly replicates the appearance of its victims.
This is basically a sequel to the 1956 film and even includes footage from that classic sci-fi/horror. The creature is unconventional to say the least and this adds an eerie component to an already otherworldly and confined Antarctic setting.
There are no females and therefore no romantic complications. The characters are thin so the story focuses on the thing and how the crew tries to track it down and eliminate it, if they can. The nature of the gruesome entity, how it functions and how it can or cannot be killed leaves you with a lot of questions. The ending is haunting.
“The Thing” may not be as great as gushing devotees insist, but it’s solid sci-fi/horror with some pretty horrific scenes, although only one really creeped me out (the blood scene) while another made me bust out laughing (the torso jaws).
THE FILM RUNS 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot in Alaska & British Columbia. WRITER: Bill Lancaster. MISC. CAST: Keith David (Childs), Wilford Brimley (Blair), T.K. Carter (Nauls), Richard Masur (Clark), Thomas G. Waites (Windows), Donald Moffat (Garry), etc.
GRADE: B
1982 was a good year for alien movies. The people were not really ready for it, but it was. Not only did Spielberg’s friendly and warm-hearted E.T. - The Extraterrestrial debut at Cannes, and went on to become the world’s highest grossing film, but Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan made justice with a really good motion picture to the Star Trek TV series, and Liquid Sky shook up the indie cinema scene. And, of course, the release of John Carpenter’s gruesome, thrilling and tense take on John W. Campbell Jr.’s novella Who Goes There: The Thing, probably named because of the other adaptation of Campbell Jr.’s story, The Thing from Another World (1951). But not only did Carpenter’s The Thing do poorly at the box office, it was also heavily criticized for the raw material (some level of gore and on-screen autopsies of the creature). Almost four decades later, and the movie has gone through one of the biggest re-evaluations in cinema history, becoming a standard bearer for the horror “monster movie” subgenre, and a mandatory stop for cinephiles all over the world. How does a day make a difference.
One thing is certain: Nowadays, loved or hated, The Thing is still a topic of discussion. As far as this reviewer goes, I stand with the most recent evaluation. The Thing is an example of tension-building through dialogue, while also being a visually striking, fear-provoking monster flick. And, in the category of alien Sci-fi movies, it is up there with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Alien (1979) and Predator (1987) in the race for the top spot.
The premise of the film, being synthesized, is that a group of norwegian scientists in Antarctica found a 100,000 year old UFO buried in the snow. They find a frozen creature next to it, and thaw it out. The norwegian team proceeds to be almost entirely slaughtered by the unknown beast, that is able to shapeshift into other life forms. A dog, that in reality is the creature, escapes, and is chased all the way to an american base. There, it is unknowingly welcomed, until the Americans investigate the norwegian base. They find about the powers of the Thing, and from there on, the film assumes a “who-do-I-trust” suspenseful setting. The pace is never slow, because the viewer is always on the edge of its seat.
The protagonist, R. J. MacReady, is brilliantly portrayed by Kurt Russell, in what would be his third collaboration with John Carpenter. The partnership started with the 1979 TV movie Elvis, and continued with Escape From New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and Escape From L.A. (1996). As always, the chemistry between actor and director is important to build up a good result in the form of the film. Here, Russell brings in powerful voice tones, and his characteristic sheer physicality to give his best portrayal of a helicopter pilot who must assume a leading position with his colleagues in order to fight an unknown threat. Amongst the supporting cast, noticeable names are Keith David (They Live), Wilford Brimley (Country) and Donald Moffat (Rachel, Rachel).
John Carpenter is almost guaranteed to knock it out of the park when it comes to horror, having The Fog (1980), Halloween (1978), and so many others under his direction. The Thing wouldn’t put him in critic’s graces in 1982, but in the long run, it would define his directorial style, and find its appreciation, being one of the career-defining works that cemented him as one of the authorities on the genre.
The soundtrack is beautiful, and that is not for no reason. John Carpenter himself and his long-time collaborator Alan Howarth composed some of the tracks together. The fact that the director himself composes the pieces ensures an extraordinary blend between scene and music. But not only that: for select parts of the score, Carpenter had the compositions of cinematic-music icon, Ennio Morricone. The legendary italian composer made the iconic soundtrack to Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, apart from other big movies like The Untouchables and Death Rides a Horse. And to The Thing, he brought an electronic vibe, in order to approach Carpenter’s own style of music, while also incorporating european elements. The main theme for the film has its own deep meaning, representing the absorption process by the Thing, the main instrument being… An organ.
The visual effects were ahead of their time. So ahead of their time, that critics and casual cinemagoers alike bashed them for being “too gruesome” or “too gross”. There are ways and ways to create fear. One of them is properly scaring people - using jumpscares, or tense and uncomfortable situations -, the other is to gross them out. And The Thing, even though it does scare in the first way really well, relishes in this second one, utilizing the advantage of working with the anatomy of a fictional creature, especially a shapeshifting one, to create horrific settings and on-screen situations. Examples of it are an autopsy of what seems to be a burned human being by the beginning, and the Thing absorbing a few alaskan malamute dogs.
The thing about… Uh, The Thing, is that it is one of the early 80s monster flicks that would set the bar high for many others to come. Despite not being well received at its time, it would find deserved recognition after a re-evaluation. It has great attributes such as strong acting, directing, visual effects and a killer soundtrack. In its setting of Antarctica, The Thing delivers proper ice cold chills. For a movie about a shapeshifting creature, this one finds itself being inimitable. Oh, the irony.
**The Thing is a bloody disgusting groundbreaking masterpiece that reinvented cinema and reminded everyone that true fear lies in what can't be seen.**
The Thing might be the greatest horror creature film ever made. In an age where aliens were cute and friendly like E.T., John Carpenter's The Thing depicted a disturbing, grotesque creature of nightmare responsible for some of film's most terrifying body horror. The Thing was so far ahead of its time in horror and effects that it brought the terror into reality. Carpenter's brilliant decision to set the film in the frozen wilderness of Antarctica deepens the isolation and paranoia of every second. The practical effects are unbelievable and so impressive, allowing the actors to interact with the horror and make their performances that much more genuine and frightening. The Thing personifies paranoia as Kurt Russell's MacReady attempts to discover who is alien and who is not, with disgusting and disastrous consequences. Carpenter's The Thing is a gut-wrenching horror masterpiece that deserved so much more acclaim and recognition than it received upon its release.
As remakes go, this is one of the better ones that I have seen - though I still prefer the degree of menace generated by the 1951 iteration. A man in an helicopter is shooting at a lonely mutt amidst the antarctic wilderness when it arrives at an American scientific base. An accident ensures the inhabitants cannot interrogate the pursuing Norwegians and a quick visit to their nearby camp shows that disaster has struck. A large block of hollowed out ice suggests, though, that they may well have made an unique discovery - especially when they find some smouldering skeletal remains. Back at their own camp - along with their new charcoaled find - things get back to normal until the mysterious dog is put into the cage with the others and all hell breaks loose. It is soon clear to "Mac" (Kurt Russell) that they are dealing with something extremely strong, adaptable and ruthless. Can they survive? The visual effects here go a long way to compensating for the rather lacklustre acting - Russell isn't really very good - and the claustrophobic antarctic settings and howling winds add a richness and sense of peril to this superior horror story. The fact that the creature has a sort of Azazel-like ability to transfer from any life-form to another, and to more than one simultaneously adds some decent jeopardy to the plot, too, as neither they nor us know who is to be trusted right until the ending. This is certainly one of John Carpenter's better efforts - and is well worth a watch on a cold winter's night!
Told by way of a cycle of interconnected stories, this works well as a portmanteau of crimes and misdemeanours affecting a small town as it celebrates (or not!) Halloween. We start with a young couple returning from a party; the lady less enamoured with the occasion than her boyfriend. Suffice to say that there was no nookie for them that night (or ever again) as the series moves through a virgin, a group of glamorous vampires, a school principal with a penchant for the macabre and poor old Brian Cox's "Kreeg" who certainly has the most entertaining encounter with our tiny, pumpkin-headed, menace. The stories play well to our own fears and apprehensions, but there is also a soupçon of humour and a bit of a moral to it - suggesting, very strongly, that nay-sayers and folks who don't have treats are, quite literally, taking their lives in their own hands. There is no great reliance on visual effects. The presentation of the stories is characterful and genuinely scary a times without us looking for strings or CGI - and that makes this a more genuinely scary film that brings together many things evil and malevolent from the spiritual and fantasy worlds and couples them with some good old human vanity and nastiness. There is a sensible paucity of script - though some of Mr. Cox's one liners are potent, and Michael Dougherty allows the dark and eerie scenarios to evolve and facilitate the story with as few gimmicks as possible. Great fun, this.
The Thing is a claustrophobic, paranoia-driven horror film that follows a crew of American scientists trying to fend off an extraterrestrial monster before it picks them all off, one by one.
The film is incredibly grounded, in a way that increases the horror and tension surrounding our main cast. In the beginning, the story takes its time, building on the threat and fear of the creature. But this slowly transitions into a paranoia-stricken thriller that has everyone painted as a potential threat. This worked really well, keeping the audience constantly on their toes not knowing who to trust. Throughout the course of the film, there is not an incredible amount of action. The movie thrives on the tension that slowly builds through the characters distrust, but this lends itself to making the more action-packed scenes that much more effective. The prosthetic and prop department did such an incredible job on the effects. There are some really twisted scenes combining body gore and genuine horror that was ahead of its time.
Technically, this film is superb. The acting is great all around, but Kurt Russell shines in this role, taking over every scene he is in. The score is subtle but adds a sense of ominousness to the film that I really appreciated. Cinematography is top notch, with some impressive set designs and creative shots that create a great amount of immersion.
Overall, this film is amazing. Although it does impact me as much as Halloween did, it is still an instant classic that should go down as John Carpenter's 1B to his Halloween masterpiece.
Score: 90% |
Verdict: Excellent
I've seen this movie so many times. I own it twice on DVD, I own it on 4K, Blu-Ray and I even have a copy on the now defunct HD-DVD format. I regret not seeing it in the theaters back in 1982. I don't know why I didn't go. I was certainly old enough to appreciate it. Instead, I saw "E.T.". I got swept up in happy little alien fever. I went with the crowd. All I had to do was wander over to a different screen and watch Carpenter's creation in all its paranoid glory. Sigh...
As with all good movies, music, or books, I experience something new every time I view it. I keep trying to piece together how the Thing spread throughout the camp. I keep looking for clues. Like when Blair performs an autopsy on the recently roasted Thing. While he's presenting his thoughts on what the Thing is, he absent-mindedly taps his pencil eraser on the steaming carcass, crosses his arms and brings the pencil eraser perilously close to his mouth. Then he makes a talking point by waving the pencil in the air and ever so briefly...it touches his lip! Did he infect himself? Is it too late?!?!? Has the Thing spread itself to Blair?!?! These kinds of moments fill the movie. It so suspenseful and so paranoid. And the isolation is torture. You know they all have nowhere to go. All those nameless men. Well, they aren't nameless, it's just that it's hard to remember them all. And the strange thing about it is, we still seem to care about them. I think that's because Carpenter has done such a masterful job of building the suspense through threat and isolation that we can't help but subconsciously put ourselves into their places.
There are so many great scenes. The opening helicopter-chases-dog scene. The horror of finding the Thing in the dog pen. The death and subsequent transformation of Norris. Wow! Is it gory! And in this particular case, I think the gore is absolutely necessary. That's kind of the knock on this film. The gore has been classified as extreme. And it is. But this is a story about such a faceless, out-of-this-world beast that it all seems so appropriate. And those effects. I don't think I need to say any more than others have already posited about the very special practical effects by Rob Bottin. They have to be the best I've ever seen.
Then there's the "blood test" scene. All of the men at the Antarctic station volunteer to give a blood sample and then have it tested, while tied to chairs, to see if it reveals which of them are actually the "Thing". One by one, a heated copper wire is placed into a petri dish of blood from each one of the men. Seeing the smoke rise from the wire when it's touched to the dish of blood brings some relief. Will the next dish be Thing-free? You'll have to watch it and see for yourself. The setup and execution of this scene is one of the most intense and frightening things I've ever watched.
I am very happy that this film has found its place thanks to Home Video. It's now considered a Horror/Sci-Fi classic. It is without a doubt my favorite Horror movie, perhaps my favorite monster flick and quite possibly my top Sci-Fi feature. It's that good.
