The Thing (1982)

           Director John Carpenter is known for creating arguably the scariest and most widely known horror icon of all time, Michael Myers. When Halloween was released in 1978, it changed the game for horror and created an entire new subgenre, the slasher film. There were many films leading up to this moment that helped shape the slasher film, Italy’s giallo film craze and Black Christmas mostly, but Halloween definitely blew the doors open for the genre. After this film, Carpenter would go on to make other big hits such as The Fog, Escape from New York, and Big Trouble in Little China. But in the midst of all that, he directed one of his best works that is still widely under appreciated and over looked.
           In 1982, Carpenter directed his take on The Thing, a loose remake of the 1952 film, The Thing From Another World. When it was initially released, it was shunned by critics and failed at the box office. It was labeled as “excessive” and “nauseas inducing” and panned by nearly everyone who saw it. Years later, in retrospect, it is considered a masterpiece of the sci-fi/horror genre and hailed for its pacing and atmosphere, performances, and FX work.
           The film is set deep in Antarctica and follows R.J. Macready (Kurt Russel) and his research team after they come in contact with an alien life form that can assimilate into other organisms and in turn imitate them. The film opens with a helicopter chasing after a dog through the snow. Upon the dog’s arrival to Macready’s camp, the helicopter touches down and the pilot begins shooting wildly at the animal. After a skirmish with the research team, the pilot is killed and his helicopter destroyed. The team decides to adopt the dog and place it with the others kept on the site. It isn’t long before everyone realizes that this dog isn’t really a dog anymore and they have granted access to a being far more sinister than any of them realized.
           The first thing about this movie that works is the atmosphere that is increased exponentially as the film progresses. The claustrophobia and feeling of isolation is made apparent at the very first few shots of the film. With wide sweeping shots of the frozen tundra, and narrow tracking shots through the teams research compound, the camera works to create this sense of tension and overbearing dread. As paranoia sets in among the crew, we as an audience begin to feel their bewilderment and fear of the unknown. There are moments where the person you would least expect to be the alien comes out of no where and suprises you with a jolt of violence that will send you flailing in your chair. It has been called a “slow burn” film and I agree. It takes its time and lets things spin out of control. It all spirals to a bombshell climax that is an explosion of fire and gore. It never eases off of the tension pedal and by the time it is over and the credits roll, you will still be holding your breath.
           This kind of atmosphere and paranoia would not be possible to depict without the performances to back them up. And while all of the actors, there are no women at all in this film, do a commendable job, my main praise goes to Kurt Russell. Has anyone seen a movie with Kurt Russell where he isn’t just a complete bad ass? He takes control of the team and leads an assault against the creature with a calm and collected sense of responsibilty. But as things get worse, his mental state begins to collapse. He balances this calm and cool with the manic paranoia and desperation that only an actor of Kurt’s caliber could pull off. Even though we never know who the alien may be imitating, we as an audience root for Kurt all the way.
           I would be leaving out quite possibly the best aspect of The Thing if I didn’t mention it’s wildly impressive gore FX work. This film came out in 1982, but if it were released today, it would still be impressive. Some of the things that happen in this movie are absolutley insane; including, but not limited to: a dogs face splitting in half to reveal a vicious monster, a man’s chest opening and turning into teeth that bite off another character’s arm that spews geysers of blood, and a characters head splitting in half to reveal another set of teeth that in turn eats another man. Insane right? That’s not even half of it. Mere words can’t describe the insanity that is committed to celluloid in this fantastic film. You simply have to see it to believe it.
           I’m not sure if I need to do anymore glowing and raving to get you to see this movie, but if I haven’t said enough, GO RENT IT TODAY! It is widely available on DVD and can probably be found in any video rental store. It is one of Carpenter’s masterpieces that is too good to not be seen.

- Dave