The Thing (1982)
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The Thing Movie Review
The Thing is a 1982 science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell. It’s truly a horror classic that remains chilling to this day.
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“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding“
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A group of American researchers in Antarctica encounter the titular parasitic alien which imitates other organisms leading to major distrust between them as to who The Thing is among them. The film is a remake of ‘The Thing from Another World’ and it’s so much better, so much scarier and ultimately much better crafted and more effective than that 1951 effort that it quickly became one of the finest remakes of all time.
The storytelling is excellent and I loved the slower pace and how well the plot is crafted and never rushed. It’s riveting throughout and incredibly atmospheric. I loved the longer beginning as it perfectly established the situation the characters are in and the danger that lurks among them. Of course the horror scenes are so scary and meticulously crafted. And I have to say that the ambiguous ending is truly terrific. Not to mention that of course the scenes of arguing and distrust made this film very realistic and more sophisticated than your usual horror film.
There is only one problem I have with this classic film. It’s not a major one, but it still affects the movie quite a lot. I am of course talking about the weak character development. I am usually not asking for that in a horror flick, but this particular film was reliant on strong characterization having in mind that it set up this intriguing situation for the characters and their interactions are important. That’s why the fact that they’re underdeveloped hurt the film.
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But the performances are pretty good. Kurt Russell is quite memorable as the hero and I also really liked the Childs character. Others are okay, but again pretty underdeveloped. But I really admired the inclusion of a couple of black characters in the film and that they were well portrayed.
The Thing features some of the best special effects that I have seen from the eighties. They may just be the best honestly as the film hasn’t aged at all to this day. This is the kind of practical effects that really work. I don’t know how exactly they did it, but the results prove them to be the masters of their craft. The alien creatures look absolutely fantastic and better than the one in ‘Alien’ honestly. Their movements are realistic and the design is excellent and suitably gross. It’s one of the best body horror movies out there.
Yes, those scenes are immensely creepy. They are disgusting, but in the best way possible where you are not annoyed, but creped out. The scene with the dogs was particularly menacing as I love dogs so much. There are a lot of truly effective horror scenes here with one of the highlights being the unexpected alien in the examination sequence. That was so well done.
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The dialogue is excellent and the film is quite realistic overall. The cinematography is superb as the film is so well shot and utilizing on its Antarctic setting greatly. The direction from John Carpenter truly is terrific and this is probably his best film ever. And I have to praise the score from Ennio Morricone whose transition from westerns to this horror is highly remarkable. He delivered one very spooky, menacing score that led to a fantastic suspenseful atmosphere in the film.
It needed better character development, but The Thing is otherwise a classic filled with phenomenal atmosphere achieved thanks to greatly utilized Antarctic setting and a truly menacing, amazing score from Ennio Morricone. The film is positively disgusting, suspenseful and creepy throughout and it features many memorable sequences, a couple of fantastic scares and some of the best special effects from the eighties. The Thing truly is one of the best horrors as well as remakes of all time.
