The Thing [1982] - Universal Pictures UK

once upon a time....

Contains one little spoiler.
once upon a time not so long ago film makers did not have computers and the magic of, say a human head ripping itself of its shoulders, sprouting spider legs and scuttling across the floor, was done by skilled effects artists and model builders and shot in front of the camera. Unlike the films of today these effects were convincing and brilliant. they actually made the audience gasp out loud, hey they still do which is more than you can say for most CGI imagery in movies today. Am I alone in hoping that the days of Computer fakery is almost over and realism will return. The Thing is an awesome horror.

More Carpenter than him you die

This film is a sort of Matrix for many modern films about aliens. It has antecedents for sure but they did not have enough special effects and big enough budgets enabling them not to show the zipper in the back of the monsters. The original element is the location: the Antarctica. A place that has been re-used since by a certain Predator when he met with some Aliens of a more recent generation. There, if an alien life form that can penetrate any living organism and take it over completely appears it can disrupt any human group so much that they will self destroy in order to destroy the alien thing forgetting that anyway the alien form can survive even centuries of glaciation because it is not human or animal and hence it is not even sensitive to cold. The alien is always the winner and it will sooner or later manage to learn how to be patient, penetrate a living organism and stay rampant in it long enough to be taken to real society, to millions of people concentrated in small areas That's the idea of the film. And it ends the way it has to end. Two apparently human beings are still alive. One is contaminated, probably not two, but they are going to die of cold in their human form, their human organism. Carpenter even makes one black and the other white and the circumstances he uses makes the black one dubious, suspicious, whereas the white one seems to be the normal one, but who really knows? The alien or aliens will go dormant in the cold, in hibernation. There is no escape, no end. Our human world is bound to be taken over not by more intelligent beings but by biologically more advanced life forms. And we may wonder if our intelligence will be enough to compensate for the handicap.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Beware - non-anamorphic picture

This is a classic sci-fi film and arguably the best film that John Carpenter or Kurt Russell have ever made.

To modern viewers some of the special effects may look dated now, but they were state of the art at the time. Regardless, there are still some genuinely tense/scary moments in this film.

But I can't understand why so many people have given it a "perfect" 5 stars when the picture on the DVD is non-anamorphic and this results in a tiny image in the middle of your TV screen.

Great film? yes, great DVD? no!

Great down beat finale

Director John Carpenter and special makeup effects master Rob Bottin teamed up for this 1982 remake of the 1951 science fiction classic The Thing from Another World, and the result is one of the best movies of the 1980's. No doubt about that.
"The Thing" has a wonderful atmosphere right from the beginning, when the director establishes the vast isolation of Antarctica with some stunning shots. From there, he draws closer and closer in, with some actual horror mixed with well-done suspense (highlight = a dog that splits open and blossoms into something gruesome). An added bonus: the glimpse at the technology of yesteryear, especially the computers and boomboxes. All the actors are well-chosen and create defineable characters and the fate of each comes as something of a shock. Carpenter even preserves the original opening of the movie he's remaking. Unfortunately, lately, I have to say he's rather lost his touch.
PS. the sound track is excellent.

John Carpenter at his best!

Classic horror from one of the masters with some of the best special effects I've seen in an early 80's film - not one to watch if you're squeamish!!

The plot focuses on an antartic outpost where a group of researchers are isoloated and alone, it brings together science (blood infection) and science-fiction (aliens that can take on the appearance of humans) and adds a big dose of psychological suspense.

Definately one for horror fans to add to their collection.