“I don’t know what the hell’s in there, but it’s weird and pissed off, whatever it is!”
And now to finish off our seasonal appraisals with a modern classic turning 40—although maligned on release, it’s since been re-examined as a masterwork, and perhaps the best of director John Carpenter. It’s definitely a favorite of mine, with, suitably enough, all sorts of facets lurking beneath its facade—it’s The Thing.
Lots can and has been said about this one, so I’ll try and keep it as simple as possible—every aspect of this one hits the nail on the head, and I’d show this one in a class as to how to pull off a real horror. From the beginning, we have the bleak and foreboding Antarctic landscape, itself a foe to be reckoned with as we find out, establish its atmosphere. We have a mystery to draw in the audience—there is a husky dog being relentlessly chased by a shouting gunman in a helicopter. Why? Well, watch on to find out. And not long thereafter, we get introduced to our main characters, including lead MacCready—played by Kurt Russel. MacCready is shown right away as someone who doesn’t take well to losing a game, setting up all we’ll se from him later.
A slow build follows. Something’s not right with that dog, observing everyone very deliberately. We know it’s not what it seems, but the characters continue their routine, as the tension gradually builds. And it all leads to that moment when we see the true nature of what the threat is—with effects that shocked the hell out of audiences in 1982 and still hold up oh so well right now. The macabre creativity is stunning, and it’s influenced all manner of creature to this day. True to the title, the threat here defies description even when we see it unfurl, being able to assume any chimeric combination, being truly unique among horror entities.
Paranoia and uncertainty hangs over everything after that. The characters can’t trust each other, and you can’t be sure who’s who either. Keith David, awesome as ever, is the one that manages to steal the show alongside Russel, and as the stress mounts, we can feel the (perfectly rational) fear wear down on all. The absolute best moment is a scene involving a blood test—even when you know what’s coming, the tension is executed so delightfully perfectly.
And the ending? One that expresses Carpenter’s penchant for resigned nihilism so perfectly? An absolute classic. Everything is built and executed wonderfully, and other than maybe one or two hokey moments or line performances that maybe could’ve used an extra take, there’s very little I can pick at here. I also love the bleak and moody soundtrack executed by legend Enrico Morricone—you can detect his signature touches even on just a casual listen.
There were followups to this one—comics, and eventually a tie-in video game, all of shall we say very mixed quality. A prequel movie, confusingly sharing the same title, was made in 2011—some people disliked it, but I thought it was watchable if nothing remarkable, with the creators evidently trying their best to honor the original despite studio interference. But for most, the original stands alone—still analyzed and discussed fervently to this day. Much like its titular being, there remains lots more to The Thing than meets the eye—and all that is the mark of a true classic…
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