1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- The Thing

#715- The Thing (1982)
Starring: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David
Directed by: John Carpenter


Plot Summary: In the Antarctic, a Norwegian helicopter chases an Alaskan Malamute to an American research station. After the Americans save the dog, they kennel him with the rest of their dogs. But this is no regular dog, as it begins to transform into something not of this world. After running some tests, the American researchers deduce that the creature can make perfect duplicates of living organisms they come in contact with. Led by their helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady, the team has to figure out which of their men are human and which are duplicates of this alien creature. Time is also not on their side, as they need to figure it out before their rescue team shows up and possibly transports one of these "things" to further assimilate the rest of the world.


If you're a director like John Carpenter and you've changed the world of horror and cinema with Halloween, what comes next? Well, Carpenter experimented with different concepts, but many of his releases in the '80s were not financial successes and have since become cult classics. One of his most popular films from this era is The Thing. Quick question for all horror fans: Do you remember the film that they are watching on the TV in Halloween? It's actually the 1951 film The Thing from Another World, which The Thing is technically a remake of. Both films were inspired by the science fiction story "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell, Jr., so it's just interesting to note the influence this story had on Carpenter in his early work. It then becomes very fitting to why this film stands out as one of Carpenter's best.

The Thing stars Kurt Russell as R.J. MacReady. A frequent collaborator with John Carpenter in films like Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China, Russell has that great '80s action hero persona in this film as well. Sure, he's no Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone, but you could still imagine him putting up a challenge in a fight. He's a realistic action hero like Bruce Willis in Die Hard and is the type of horror film protagonist that you can get behind and root for. I'd say MacReady was actually a prototype for many iconic horror protagonists. He was doing the same actions as Ellen Ripley in the Aliens (specifically this film in the franchise) and Dutch Schaefer in Predator and he was doing them about 4 or 5 years prior. Not to mention, MacReady comes up with the ingenious idea that if anything suspicious comes in his way to BURN IT ALIVE!

Throughout the film, the audience can trust MacReady, but that's about it. The rest of the characters can all be labelled "suspicious" since they aren't the protagonist. There are many great examples of suspicious supporting characters and plot points. When the doctors suggest a blood test to see who is not a duplicate, the blood they have stocked is destroyed. When many of the characters show resistance and question MacReady, they are instantly questioned about being human or not. The best character to challenge MacReady is Childs, played by Keith David. Known for his contributions to voice overs (such as Goliath in Gargoyles and Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog), David was also a frequent actor used in a handful of Carpenter's films and is used as a great foil for MacReady. There are moments where Childs has a hot temper and other times where he's a cool customer, but at the end of the day the one thing that stays constant is that they do not see eye to eye.

One of the elements that add to the horror is the environment of placing all of our characters in the Antarctic. These men all face a threat that is attacking them on a continent with little to no civilization. It keeps the plot and characters confined into a very small spot to the point where it almost feels like they are locked in an area with this creature. Not to mention the fact that in terms of production budget, the less they spend on creating elaborate effects, the more money they can spend in other areas as well, such as the special effects.

When creating the creature, referred to as a "thing," the filmmakers never give us a specific appearance of the alien so we know what to expect. Instead, the aliens can make a perfect duplicate of those it comes in contact with. That means anyone can be one of those "things," and you don't really get to see who is until they begin transforming into some of the nastiest and scariest creatures you can imagine. The transformations themselves look very organic and non-staged, and also feature some of the best creature effects I've ever seen. With today's films dominated by CGI, it's a shame that we no longer have too many filmmakers eager to utilize practical effects. I'm more partial to what can be man-made than what can be created through a computer. There's just that personal quality in the practical effects that makes them look more realistic to me. If an idea can be made a reality through existing resources, there's an added illusion in fear that it could be real.


Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The fear in The Thing comes from a combination of the confined environment and the amazing special effects. A film like this would hold up against any modern day horror film that relies on CGI and jump scares. This film will legitimately freak you out, and I recommend it for any horror fan's collection.

The Thing and movie images are copyrighted by Universal Pictures