The Thing (1982)

“I don’t know what the hell's in there, but it's weird and it’s pissed off.” Clark

Sometimes a monster movie is the right thing to do, so I popped my copy of John Carpenter’s The Thing into the player and settled back for a thrill ride.

As always, I wasn’t disappointed with Carpenter’s intelligent update of the Howard Hawks 1951 classic.

The movie is set at a weather station in Antarctica. The small scientific team consists entirely of men, with helicopter pilot MacReady (Kurt Russell) the protagonist.

We immediately learn that something is rotten in Denmark when a gang of overwrought Norwegians from the neighboring station appear, trying to shoot up a sled dog via helicopter. When the Norwegians kill themselves, the Americans adopt the homeless “pet” into their kennel. They should have listened to the Norwegians.

The dog turns out to be an extraterrestrial being with the capacity to take on the shape of any life form it comes in contact with. They learn of its masquerade when all hell breaks loose in the kennel and we see the first of the terrific special effects. Now, the damned thing has gotten away and everybody is suspicious of each other as any one of them may be harboring the thing.

John Carpenter (Assault on Precinct 13 ) does a fine job of creating and keeping up the paranoiac atmosphere that permeates The Thing. Due to Carpenter’s expertise, the viewer is psychologically right in there with the team and jumping at shadows, just like they are. And not all the shadows are benign; that thing appears often enough to keep you off balance the entire running time. Ennio Morricone's score is unobtrusive yet well integrated into the experience.

The special effects, by Rob Bottin, and there are lots of them, are still convincing and are likely to scare the viewer as much today as they did 30 odd years ago when the film was new. Even viewers raised on green screen CGI will probably be impressed. The thing where The Thing beats the modern CGI movies is that it is combined with a good story, which you very seldom see today.

I understand Carpenter’s The Thing sticks more closely to the original short story Who Goes There” by John Campbell, something that the 1951 Howard Hawks/Christian Nyby version could not, due to technical limitations on special effects.

The acting, by an ensemble cast headed up by Kurt Russell, with a lot of familiar faces, including Donald Moffatt, Wilford Brimley, and Richard Masur subordinated themselves to the tale entirely, making The Thing one of the tensest viewing experiences you’re likely to remember.

The Universal DVD is presented in 2.35:1 theatrical format, in color, and runs 108 minutes. The collector’s edition boasts a full length commentary by director John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, a documentary featuring interviews with SF artist Rob Bottin, Russell, and Carpenter, and several other extras, including subtitles.

If you want to see how horror should be done, pick up The Thing - you won’t be disappointed.

Thank you for reading!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening