The fear of the unknown has long been a thematic staple of the cinematic sci-fi genre. Whether exploring the cosmos in 2001: A Space Odyssey, policing replicant androids in Blade Runner, or the choice between the red pill and blue pill in The Matrix, the best science fiction tales rely on the tension, suspense, and psychological unease of not knowing what lies ahead. Arguably John Carpenter’s finest work, the 1982 masterpiece could be considered the best sci-fi movie ever made.
A genuinely horrifying remake of the 1951 Howard Hawks movie The Thing From Another World, John Carpenter’s The Thing is a towering paragon of practical FX-driven terror. If the movie didn’t retain the growing mistrust and palpable paranoia that made the original so unnerving, the eye-popping visuals wouldn’t resonate as much. Fortunately, my all-time favorite sci-fi horror movie hasn’t lost a step and is currently available to watch for free on YouTube.
Despite being panned by critics and barely breaking even at the box office during its initial release in June 1982, John Carpenter’s The Thing has been reappraised as a stone-cold sci-fi horror classic in the past 40 years. Honoring Hawks’ version of the 1938 novella Who Goes There?, Carpenter set the story in the icy, otherworldly environment of Antarctica. That’s where a team of scientific researchers led by R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) is systematically stalked, gorily mutilated, and physically imitated by a mysterious, shapeshifting alien organism with hostile aggression.
Once the crew deduces that there is an extraterrestrial scourge that is assimilating their behavior and replicating their physical form, they try to stop the gruesome killing spree by discovering which researcher is infected. This leads to one of the most harrowing scenes, which retains the fevered paranoia of Hawks’ original. MacReady gives the group a blood test, one by one, to learn who is the alien in human disguise. As you wait to see who is assimilated, you can feel your heart skip and palpitate right out of your chest as the fear, suspense, and escalating distrust among the researchers reach a boiling point.
‘The Thing’s Landmark Special Effects Are Preserved in Amber
Immediately before the chest-pounding blood test to determine which crewmember has been bodily subsumed by the alien menace, John Carpenter delivered a nasty, nail-biting dose of sci-fi horror that hasn’t lost its power since its release in 1982. Carpenter allocated $1.5 million of the movie’s $15 million budget to 22-year-old Rob Bottin’s special effects team. That led to the most unforgettable moment: when Norris (Charles Hallahan) suddenly goes into cardiac arrest. When Dr. Copper (Richard Dysart) tries to revive him, Norris’ chest turns into a giant pair of jaws that rips Dr. Cooper’s limbs clean off the bone.
MacReady blowtorches the monster’s head, which gruesomely detaches, slides down a slab, uses an elongated tongue to pull away from the fire, and sprouts spindly legs out and scurries away. Thanks to the tactile, practical FX work devoid of any phony CGI, the indelible sequence retains its jaw-dropping shock value and still delivers spine-chilling thrills nearly 45 years later. As if preserved in amber, the only thing that holds up better is The Thing‘s ambiguous ending.
With Ennio Morricone’s simple bass line echoing a heartbeat, The Thing‘s final moments are truly what give the movie its lasting longevity. As MacReady and Childs (Keith David) sit among the smoldering wreckage as the lone survivors, neither can put their guard down and rest easy. However, as the audience wonders which of the two has been assimilated (if either of them has), Childs and MacReady recognize the hopelessness of their situation and pass a whiskey bottle back and forth. The movie concludes on this open-ended, unsettling note, leaving viewers to ponder who The Thing is forever. Fear of the unknown indeed.
