There is no way to describe the titular Thing. Since I’ve seen the film, I’ve talked to many people about it, each person describing their favorite morbid moment, and all of us cannot properly convey the image of the Thing. With every viewing of the movie, The Thing manages to make me squirm, shiver, and moan with disgust. John Carpenter is one of the horror genre’s most well-known names, creating some of the most iconic films. Halloween, The Fog, Prince of Darkness, and other classics make him a household name. His best work offers great action, comedy, suspense, and commentary. The Thing is his masterpiece. Many have tried to instill the fear of the unknown onto audiences, but none have perfected it as well as Carpenter does here.
Something that modern horror movies often get wrong is their storytelling (not to mention many other mistakes). Just because it is a horror movie doesn’t mean that the story should be thrown away in favor of jump scares and stupid decisions. The Thing is compelling, offering suspense and paranoia to build before the Thing even appears. It is established that the group of men stationed at the group have been in the antarctic for a long time. Their cabin fever already makes them prone to something disturbing the day to day routine they are so accustomed to. The setting is important for the film, not only for the aforementioned reason, but it is also part of the horror. The tension starts as soon as the film does. These men are in the middle of Antarctica. They have nowhere else to go, no contact with the outside world for weeks, the freezing weather, and the never-ending reminder that there is nowhere to hide. Suspense rises when Ennio Morricone’s score is brought in. The heartbeat of the thing thumps at the beginning of the film, and his music escalates each scene it is used in.
The men are always together, and when the Thing is finally brought in, every scene with them together is tense. If you are the thing, it has the ability to act just like that person did. There’s no clear indication of what makes it different, except if you test some blood. These characters wouldn’t have the emotional investment that the audience has is that they make smart choices. They don’t make decisions in order to get a good scare out of the audience; these decisions are thought out or made during fits of logical paranoia. Kurt Russell and the gang also give great performances, making sure that each horrible encounter with the Thing feels natural. It all feels very believable, thanks to Carpenter’s attention to story. There’s mystery, logic, and horror wrapped into an amazing package.
Not to keep bringing up modern horror, but I will one more time. I saw the prequel, horribly titled The Thing as well, back in high school, soon after I watched the original. The biggest flaw of that movie is the use of CGI for the Thing’s transformations. They all feel too clean and none of them are memorable. In the original, the use of practical effects for the thing’s transformations will haunt your nightmares forever. For starters, practical effects, for me, are more impressive when it comes to something like what Carpenter wanted to do for the transformations. With CGI, you can do whatever you want. The practical effects require handmade props, materials, makeup, and other tools to create something horrendous. Every single time the Thing is shown, it’s different. Not one time is it similar to the last, meaning an incredible team had to create all sorts of horrible things. I can’t even picture creatures in my mind as horrible as the Thing in the film. Most of the film relies on the Thing for the scares. A few jump scares here and there, but the primary source of horror is seeing how awful this thing can be. I love how in the beginning of the film, a standard looking UFO crashes down to Earth. It gives you the impression that the alien aboard is going to be an ordinary threat. When you see it, it won’t leave an image burned into your mind forever. Instead, Carpenter is wise and creates the worst thing ever. I’ve watched this movie a handful of times, and I still have no idea how they accomplished these visuals. I urge you to watch behind the scenes features about the creation of the thing.
The Thing is a perfect horror movie. It’s a smart story, the creature is worse than anything someone could imagine, tension that builds from the very beginning, and more. I am always blown away with every viewing of the film. I’m also still flinching at every transformation like it’s my first time watching them.
The Thing
1982
dir. John Carpenter
109 min.
Screens Friday, 10/27 @ Brattle Theatre
Part of the ongoing series: Strange Inspirations
Double feature with Alien at 7:00 pm, both in 35mm!