The Thing (1982)
Posted: by Sean Gonzalez
John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982): Directed by John Carpenter
In One Sentence: Antarctic base gets attacked by crazy shape shifting creature, who’s next to die?
Why You Should Watch: My favorite part about this film is the ambiguity. It is a suspenseful flick that brings to life pure terror because of the viewer not knowing exactly what the entire thing to be terrified of looks like. Basically badass cold gear sombrero wearing Kurt Russell is in command of an American Research super cold base down in Antarctica that gets attacked by a shape shifting creature that can take form of a dog, a human or about virtually any other living thing that can live in order to continue passing on it’s deadly strain.
It’s my belief that the 1980s provided us with the best decade of horror films, with this move standing out in terms of pure horror while also having the ability to showcase just how fucking scary the 80s could be without CGI. I will say it now: this film features some of the best work of creating an animated fucking prosthetic ever. The stomach creature might be better visualized than Alien, the terror of not knowing exactly who is corrupted might be one of the more pure reasons why this film has such a beautiful premise. Fuck sex, fuck love and fuck everybody that pretends to be your friend, because you can’t be sure who is actually The Thing and just trying to survive. Just look at the picture above and try to believe that that terrifying creature was brought to life in the 80s. Every time The Thing actually makes an appearance it is drenched it disgusting fluids packed with grotesque visuals and bloody wretched noises.
Okay whatever, this is technically a remake of a 1950s movie (The Thing From Another World) but this one adds more that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth because you are fucking scared. Once you have seen John Carpenter’s remake once you start noticing who is possessed just by their actions, but before you know you are drawn in by the pure terror of not knowing who is out to get badass Kurt Russell. Give him shit about his sombrero and you might just be the next one to eat a flamethrower, hell give Kurt any reason to doubt you and you might go up in flames.
It is really the visuals and the lighting of the entire film that should be praised. Back that up with a great crew of actors and you have one of the purest films of actual dread to ever be released. Do you really know what goes on in the Antarctic? No? Okay then this entire plot is feasible and full of violent deaths of real people who care about the entire Earth. (also notice at the end how Childs has a complete different outfit on, you’ll know what I mean.)
Favorite Line: Yea, Fuck you too! ! ! !
