I want to start off in short stating this film is what birthed the "horror nut" i am to this day and the fledgling screenwriter i hope to become very shorty.
Onto the review, This film came out after Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981) which also starred the very talented Kurt Russell. Now the Film itself is based upon the short story "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campell. Knowing that there was a 1951 film made by the very similar name (The Thing from outer Space), i must state that this film stands on it's on two gory legs of true genius.
The film starts off with a terrific foreboding score by the master Ennio Morricone that grips you right from the first 5 seconds of the film, that my friends is what a great musical composer can do for you and your film. Suddenly we see a a space craft hurtling out of control and into the main title "The Thing", you just know it's gonna be good. Our next scene is of great importance, it's of the Norwegian expedition crew hurting that dog, but it's not the insanity of them hunting the dog that draws your attention, no it's the bleak and stark wasteland of the Antarctic winter, nothing for hundreds of miles, nothing but snow and ice for the men and the unavoidable thing.
Kurt Russell plays our hero "John MacReady" a hard nosed S.O.B. if there ever was one, and then there's his direct nemesis "Childs", a thick headed and take no bull kind of guy. The go out to the Norwegian camp to look for any other survivors after one of the U.S. camp members is shot and Garry is forced to shot the attacker. What they find is both baffling and horrifying to them all; a alien space craft and what looks like a chunk of ice where they took a body out from. Back at base camp 31, nobody knows what to make of it or the strange dog that starts to act funny. This i'll digress for a moment, i must state that Mr. Rob Bottin's practical special effects are still to this day horrifying and as brilliant as they were 30 years ago.
Back to the review, the so-called dog being held in the kennel erupts with such gore and utter disfigurement they don't know (no pun intended) what the hell it is. Once it starts getting to the camp members that's were the fun starts, everyone is on edge, the isolation and no hope for a rescue come into play as a unnamed cast member and i have to give Mr. Carpenter the highest praise for using his setting to it's fullest potential. Now as the thing starts moving from one cast member to the next and the rest of the cast lose the grips on humanity and sanity it's interesting to note that MacReady always stayed calmed and never once lost his cool truly like everyone perhaps wanted to see.
In the final reel we're treated to a very gory and in my opinion interesting scene, when Palmer is tide to the couch with Childs and Garry. Palmer is the thing at this point and starts to convulse and eruots from his seat tearing in half, he is killed off by Russel but my only complaint of the film is with the amount of blood being spilled in that scene wouldn't both men become the thing? The ending is of complete genius, who is the thing, is it the out spoken and hardass Childs or the level headed and understanding MacReady?? I give this movie ***** (FIVE STARS) AND IT'S A MUST WATCH
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