Such was the critical consensus surrounding John Carpenter’s 1982 The Thing, about a shape-shifting alien coated in “creamed corn, Jell-O, mayonnaise, microwaved bubblegum, and five-gallon.
Reviews: The Thing Review
Browse Movies by Title:John Carpenter's seminal 1982 sci-fi horror classic, The Thing, gets the deluxe treatment courtesy of Arrow, who deliver up a lavish set packed to the gills with extras, both old and new, and boasting a brand new 4K-remastered video presentation and a great choice of soundtracks. Whether you already own it or not, you simply have to pick this. FACEBOOK: TWITTER: OFFICIAL SITE: Chris Stuckmann r. The Summer of 1982 saw the release of two films that flopped at cinemas, but which have since gone on to be seen as classics of their respective genres. One was Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and the other was this, John Carpenter's horrifying remake of The Thing from Another World (1951). When it was released in 1982, John Carpenter's remake of Howard Hawks' 1951 science fiction classic The Thing from Another World spurred much debate about not only which film was more effective but whether Carpenter's version fit better into the science fiction or horror genre. In the end, such arguments, while not uninteresting, proved pointless.
The Thing (1982)
1982 | R | Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery
109 minutes / 1h 49min
109 minutes / 1h 49min
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The Thing Plot Synopsis:
A US research station, Antarctica, early-winter 1982. The base is suddenly buzzed by a helicopter from the nearby Norwegian research station. They are trying to k*ll a dog that has escaped from their base. After the destruction of the Norwegian chopper the members of the US team fly to the Norwegian base, only to discover them all dead or missing. They do find the remains of a strange creature the Norwegians burned. The Americans take it to their base and deduce that it is an alien life form. After a while it is apparent that the alien can take over and assimilate into other life forms, including humans, and can spread like a virus. This means that anyone at the base could be inhabited by The Thing, and tensions escalate.Featured movie quotes for The Thing are here.
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The Thing (1982) Review
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There are certain visuals that will always be scorched into my memory. Seeing the space shuttle launch, seeing the Statue of Liberty from the B train, seeing the videotape of my birth. Why would you film that, Dad!? And from such a low angle! BUT, when I think of the most vivid images in my now cobweb-laden memory, they’re all from horror movies. And at the top of those movies is John Carpenter’s classic The Thing (1982).
The Thing is a horrific movie about a crew of researchers that come in contact with an alien species. This alien species has a peculiar capability, being able to replicate and contort into any lifeform, becoming living camouflage. After several members of the crew are taken out by this shapeshifting creature, they must band together to survive. But, they can’t get too close to each other, as they never know who’s human and who’s The Thing.
I rarely consider anything to be perfect. I write reviews on the internet; obviously, I’m a pestering nitpicker. But, I won’t beat around the bush here, this movie is perfect. Don’t think it is? Well, that’s what comments section is for.
Seriously, what’s not to like here. The cast is incredible. The music is evocative. The direction is flawless. And the special effects are 100% what nightmares are made of. You ever have a dream where a man’s torso turns into a monster then chomps your arms off? No? You’re gonna.
But, let’s slow down all this hyperbole and talk about why The Thing really is one of the best horror movies ever made. John Carpenter is a master when it comes to tone. Even at its most optimistic points, The Thing has a cold, damp dread seeping through each scene. You know something terrible is going to happen, but you’re not sure when or how. This tone keeps the element of surprise fresh and makes you yearning to see more. I don’t think there’s a person in the world who would turn this movie off out of boredom. I can understand someone stopping it out of fear or nausea, as the special effects are quite disgusting. But, no one should ever get bored while watching this movie.
Next, the cast. You’re making a movie in the 80s; you need a hero. He can’t be too charming, and he needs to be grizzled. Clint Eastwood is already too old. You need Kurt Russell, and damn it you got him. Tell me you didn’t want to watch The Thing after seeing Russell in The Hateful Eight (2015). The guy works in the snow! He plays the reluctant hero so well. He’s in it for himself but will help others if he can. He’s everything I want to be. And speaking of mustaches, Wilford Brimley. Give it up people; this is the best movie ever, all it needs is a badass co-star that can hold his own against Russell. What’s that? Keith David? The man with a golden voice that can make you sh*t yourself? I’m watching this movie till the day I die.
Obviously, we have to talk about the biggest star of the movie, Rob Bottin. Who? Don’t worry; I had to look him up too. Rob Bottin was the special effects creator and designer of The Thing. Basically, he’s the dude that made going to sleep a chore for you. Rob Bottin’s horrific creations don’t stop at The Thing. He also worked on The Howling (1981), Legend (1985), Robocop (1987), Total Recall (1990), and the list goes on and on. Though he created some of the best special effects in movies, The Thing is his triumph. From the torso monster to the head spider, The Thing owes Rob Bottin all the credit in the world. He created something truly special that holds up to this day, a rarity in the world of practical effects.
And finally, the man who brought it all together, John Carpenter. He’s loved in the film/horror world but is disgracefully underappreciated and unknown by the average movie watcher. The guy has brought us some of the best movies in American cinema; he deserves the recognition.
The Thing is a perfectly acted, shot, and directed film. I believe it should be studied and dissected just as the organism in the movie was. This movie is a legendary film that will never be successfully recreated, and God help those poor souls that were tasked to do so.
Trusted platform module 2.0 driver windows 10ws 10. If The Thing isn’t on one of your lists to watch each year, it needs to be. I personally prefer to watch it as a Christmas movie. Because just like Christmas, it’s full of treats, snow, and the occasional human turning into a dog monster hybrid. Please watch this movie, and if you already have, watch it again.
5 Disgusting Dog-Things out of 5
- The Thing Rating Scores
- Our Score: 10
- Overall Score: 8.31
- IMDB: 8.1
- MetaCritic: 5.7
- Rotten Tomatoes: 8.4
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About The Thing 1982
Title: The Thing
Year:1982
Runtime: 109 minutes
Type: Movie
Genre:Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery
Year:1982
Runtime: 109 minutes
Type: Movie
Genre:Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery
Reviewer: Levi White Score: 5 / 5 starsAvg. Rating: 8.31/5 stars from 357,019 users.
Total Avg. Votes: 357,019 MPAA Rating: R
The Thing Cast Starring:Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Joel Polis, Thomas G. Waites, Norbert Weisser, Larry Franco, Nate Irwin, William Zeman, Adrienne Barbeau, John Carpenter, JedTotal Avg. Votes: 357,019 MPAA Rating: R
The Thing Writers: Bill Lancaster, John W. Campbell Jr.
The Thing 1982 Review Full
The Thing Director:John CarpenterProduction: Universal Pictures
The Thing 1982 Review Youtube
Website: http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/themovies/th/th.htmlLanguage: English, Norwegian
Country: USA
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Movies Total: 7,127
Reviews Total: 1,556
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Reviews Total: 1,556
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John Carpenter’s The Thing has everything – physical isolation in an antarctic scientific base, failed communication channels, a coming storm (literal and metaphorical), psychological horror as the threat grows and established friendships crumble, and really, really disgusting monsters that I couldn’t take my eyes off. There is a delightful yuck factor to The Thing’s Things. (That is genuinely what they are known as. The dog thing is, brilliantly, listed as Dog Thing in a cast list).
A Norwegian helicopter appears in the sky, with a marksman leaning out and firing at an unknown sled dog running loose. Soon the chopper lands but is accidentally destroyed, with the surviving crew member still shooting at the dog until one of the Americans from their own nearby base shoots dead the shooter. The dog survives. Two Americans, helicopter pilot “Mac” MacReady (Kurt Russell) and Dr Copper (Richard Dysart) fly to the nearby Norwegian scientific station, only to find it burnt out. Their search results in them finding a giant block of ice with the insides chiselled out, a hideously damaged body, and an even more hideous creature lying dead in the snow, charred but with two faces still clearly identifiable.
Taking the thing (they don’t know anything about it yet so my editor’s decision is that it is still the thing, not The Thing) back to the American scientific base, team biologist Blair (A. Wilford Brimley) performs an autopsy and finds perfect human organs inside. The Norwegians’ recordings also lead the Americans to what looks like a space craft in the ice – Norris (Charles Hallahan), the geologist, identifies it as potentially being 100,000 years old because of likely ice movement.
There are several “hasn’t anyone ever watched a horror film” moments, with Copper and MacReady bringing back the thing, and the stray dog later kennelled with the Americans’ own sled dogs leading to a hideous dog decimation soon afterwards.
The post-dog autopsy results in Blair surmising that the creature can perfectly assimilate any lifeform from the inside out.
As team members are picked off by (now a proper noun and therefore deserving of initial upper case) The Thing, people also disappear and reappear as they start fearing each other. Equipment is found sabotaged. Decisions are made to isolate individuals. Copper tries to work out how to identify which humans are infected and which not, with a blood serum test, but it’s tampered with – cue more paranoia. How do you protect yourself and everyone else? Isolate them? Tie them up? What if they are the ones that you need to come help you later on? What if you’re the infected one?
There are some genuinely creepy moments – when we find out that there is “still cellular activity in the burned remains. They’re not dead yet”, my spine tingled (luckily nothing shot out of it). It’s the kind of film where you study the whole scene, willing characters to turn around because a blanket is twitching. The rising sense of mistrust as people realise that anyone could be infected is palpable.
And although there is a strong element of psychological horror in The Thing, Carpenter doesn’t flinch from repeated, disgusting transformations. Considering when the film was made they really are impressive. The creatures are truly hideous. Contorted faces with just enough humanity remaining to be recognisably people, mouths twisted in screams and grimaces, eyes half popping out of sockets, gunk and gunge everywhere, bodies exploding as strange spiky legs appear mid-transformation and scuttle away… usually ending in a screaming fireball as infected Things are incinerated before full assimilation can take place.
The film is 35 years old and apart from the ancient technology it could be set today. And actually the technology is pretty impressive for its time. Yes it brought back memories of dark screens and big coloured type, and they pretty much only have computer chess to amuse themselves, but Blair is able to use the machines to estimate the likelihood of infection affecting someone on the base, and also the chances (not good, frankly) for the wider world if it ever gets out. (And let’s face it for people my age, you can’t beat a scene with an early 80s tape recorder, even if just brings back memories of pressing Play and Record at the same time to tape the UK Top 40 on a Sunday night).
The sense of isolation on the base is itself menacing, and rising distrust among the group is well-handled (by the time the action starts they have already been without communications for two weeks). Like the best horrors the actual monster is ably assisted by the humans’ reactions to the situation they find themselves in. In fact if it was slightly more evolved it could have saved some energy by only taking over a couple of dogs and everyone would still have gone loopy and turned on each other.
The Thing was a commercial and critical failure on release – it came out in 1982, the same year as ET, and I can understand people at the time wanting to watch a cute alien who you can dress up and leave with your children, rather than a Cold War-era allegory channelling our fears about communist invasion and aggression hiding in an even Colder War story involving a hideous creature that leaves victims looking like a human / spider hybrid.
But the passage of time has led to its completely reappraisal and it is now seen as a cult classic. It really is a very good, multilayered film where allegory, bloodshed and paranoia come together – and I’m much more likely to watch it again than ET, though probably not straight after eating my dinner this time.
The ending is bleak, but it has to be. As MacReady says “When a man bleeds it’s just tissue. Blood from one of those things, it’ll try to survive.”
Check out my review of the 2011 prequel, The Thing.