Review The Thing (1982)

Who is the Thing?

  • Macready

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Childs

    Votes: 1 100.0%
  • Neither

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Both

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    1

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10



The Thing
(also known as John Carpenter's The Thing) is a 1982 American science-fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter, written by Bill Lancaster, and starring Kurt Russell. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a parasiticextraterrestrial lifeform that assimilates other organisms and in turn imitates them. The Thing infiltrates an Antarctic research station, taking the appearance of the researchers that it absorbs, and paranoia develops within the group.

The film is based on John W. Campbell, Jr.'s novella Who Goes There?, which was more loosely adapted by Howard Hawks and Christian Nyby as the 1951 film The Thing from Another World.[3] Carpenter considers The Thing to be the first part of his Apocalypse Trilogy, followed by Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness. Although the films are narratively unrelated, each features a potentially apocalyptic scenario; should "The Thing" ever reach civilization, it would be only a matter of time before it consumes all life on Earth. Carpenter acknowledged that the work of H.P. Lovecraft also inspired the film.

On June 25, 1982, The Thing opened in 840 theaters, and it was the #8 movie of the week at the box office. It remained in the top 10 for three weeks. The lower-than-expected performance has been attributed to many factors, the main ones being the runaway success of Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was also released by Universal Studios three weeks earlier and featured a more optimistic view of alien visitation,[8][9] and that another major adult-oriented science fiction film, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, was released by Warner Brothers the same day.[10] However, The Thing went on to gain a cult following. The film was eventually reappraised by critics, and is now considered to be one of the greatest horror films ever made.

The film subsequently spawned a novelization in 1982; a comic book miniseries adaptation, entitled The Thing from Another World, published by Dark Horse Comics in 1991; a video game sequel, also titled The Thing, in 2002; and a prequel film with the same title on October 14, 2011.




 
Last edited:

Hux

Member: Rank 6
One of my all-time favourites. Still not sure if Childs was Childs at the end.

Haven't seen the prequel.
 

Elliot Thomas

Member: Rank 3
It concentrates more on body shock scares (ala Cronenberg) than the unseen omni-presence of the original. Rob Bottin’s revolting special effects are undoubtedly the star of the show but director Carpenter also cranks up the feeling of paranoia as the differing character begin to turn on each other. Excellent movie.
 

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
A movie like this really challenges the idea of "genre zones". You could easily make a case for this being a monster movie, or a horror movie. Of course it belongs in sci-fi as it was written by a sci-fi master (or at least the story it was based on). But as Isaac Asimov once said, science fiction isn't really a stand-alone genre. It's often more of a setting. You can have sci-fi action/adventure (Star Wars), westerns (Firefly), romance (The Fountain), comedy (Galaxy Quest), and so on.
 

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
A movie like this really challenges the idea of "genre zones". You could easily make a case for this being a monster movie, or a horror movie. Of course it belongs in sci-fi as it was written by a sci-fi master (or at least the story it was based on). But as Isaac Asimov once said, science fiction isn't really a stand-alone genre. It's often more of a setting. You can have sci-fi action/adventure (Star Wars), westerns (Firefly), romance (The Fountain), comedy (Galaxy Quest), and so on.
I think that's the reason why I've always been drawn so strongly to the genre of science fiction. It seems to me to be the most flexible and versatile of all the genres. It can be combined with any other genre you can think of and be set literally anywhere and when you can imagine.
 

TheSowIsMine

What an excellent day for an exorcism
VIP
One of the best sci-fi horrors made. I always like it when people are isolated while dealing with a bad situation.
There is an X Files episode that is very similar, Ice, and its one of the coolest episodes.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
Who is An Alien at the End of THE THING?



thething.jpg dO7TJMVGOhqxOwEuacP638suqQE.jpg


Which - if either - of the survivors at the end of THE THING, is an alien?

Please explain your reasoning.



 
Last edited:

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
yGVu4.jpg


I know that Dark Horse did a direct sequel to the film, but I can't remember it in detail.

I think that both men were rescued and Childs was The Thing....

But I may be wrong.
 
Top