The Thing

In Theatre : Unknown
Director(s): John Carpenter

John Carpenter's The Thing is both a remake of Howard Hawks' 1951 film of the same name and a re-adaptation of the John W. Campbell Jr. story "Who Goes There?" on which it was based. Carpenter's film is more faithful to Campbell's story than Hawks' version and also substantially more reliant on special effects, provided in abundance by a team of over 40 technicians, including veteran creature-effects artists Rob Bottin and Stan Winston.

The film opens enigmatically with a Siberian Husky running through the Antarctic tundra, chased by two men in a helicopter firing at it from above. Even after the dog finds shelter at an American research outpost, the men in the helicopter (Norwegians from an outpost nearby) land and keep shooting. One of the Norwegians drops a grenade and blows himself and the helicopter to pieces; the other is shot dead in the snow by Garry (Donald Moffat) the American outpost captain. American helicopter pilot MacReady (Kurt Russell, fresh from Carpenter's Escape From New York) and camp doctor Copper (Richard Dysart) fly off to find the Norwegian base and discover some pretty strange goings-on.

The base is in ruins, and the only occupants are a man frozen to a chair (having cut his own throat) and the burned remains of what could be one man or several men. In a side room, Copper and MacReady find a coffin-like block of ice from which something has been recently cut.... That night at the American base, the Husky changes into the Thing, and the Americans learn first-hand that the creature has the ability to mutate into anything it kills. For the rest of the film the men fight a losing (and very gory) battle against it, never knowing if one of their own dwindling number is the Thing in disguise. Though resurrected as a cult favorite, The Thing failed at the box office during its initial run, possibly because of its release just two weeks after Steven Spielberg's warmly received E.T.: The Extraterrestrial. Along with Ridley Scott's futuristic Alien, The Thing helped stimulate a new wave of sci/fi horror films in which action and special effects wizardry were often seen as ends in themselves.

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Related The Thing Movie Reviews
Critic reviews are fantastic and we have many great critics but our community members ARE the horror audience and it is their reviews that really tell you if a film is worth watching.

John Carpenters The Thing Review by Arleigh

In what has to be his best film --- even better than Halloween and Escape from New York --- Carpenter does a remake of Howard Hawke's classic 50's scifi The Thing and actually surpasses the original. Carpenter drops the ...

The Thing (1982) Review by azathoth

John Carpenter's best film and also the best remake ever made, in my opinion. After my stint with bad 1970s movies, I needed to review some great movies. Hence, I first did "Alien", and now "The Thing". ...

The Thing Review by Ashton Butcher

This is one of my all time favourite sci-fi/horror movies. Its creepy, the fx are sick, the acting is A+ and the score delivers a cold and freaky atmosphere. This is a prime example of why Carpenter is one of the greats ...

The Thing Collector's Edition Review by Dirigible

A Classic Horror film if I've ever seen one. Albeit a swear word in film, a remake, it stands on a peak with few films of its kind. It's a brilliant film, story, and of course the special effects. The opening lettering...

The Thing (Collector's Edition) Review by prddad

As I hear things on the internet, I’ve decided to go back to the original movies before remakes or sequels come out. It’s all for sh*ts and giggles anyways, right? The sequels/remakes. Hollywood seeing what t...

The Thing (1982) Review by BlackTequilaKiss

I am ashamed to admit something as a horror fan. Prior to this review I had never seen The Thing. I had heard much of the movie and longed to see if it was as good an experience as stated, it was and so much more. ...

The Thing (1982) Review by Decisi8ns

This movie is a remake, which might be a surprise to some. The original, which made in 1951, was titled “The Thing From Another World”. It is still a very good movie, but it just doesn’t hav...

The Thing Review by BASSI

John Carpenter's The Thing is one of the best horror film ever made. John Carpenter brings us this Brilliant remake of the thing from another world. An alien is found in the Antarctic, frozen in time awaiting its chance ...

The Thing Review by MacReady

This movie represents for me one of the best horror/sci-fi movies ever made. All works perfect. The cast, the directing, the effects and the music.

The Thing Review by Meh

Everyone hales Blade Runner as the best scifi flick ever made and I am going to throw that trophy crown to the remake of The Thing. I saw this movie kind of late in the game when my good buddy MacReady pointed out to me ...

The Thing (1982) Review by DeathbyHighKick

"The Thing", a title that stands on it's own...a masterpiece of the highest proportion....and not only that...a ride into the deepest fears of any person. I can't begin to explain how much I admire John Carpenter f...

The Thing Review by Orphan

(SLIGHTLY SPOILERISH…YOU WERE WARNED, DUDE) In my own personal pantheon of horror flicks, there are a few that I hold in the highest regard. They’re the truly terrifying, they are the breeders of nightmares, the stai...

The Thing Review by Googopqp

From director John Carpenter, Halloween, comes this classic remake from the 80's. The Thing while using great use of prothetics and robotics to create a realistic and creepy atmosphere also performs well on the acting ...

The Thing (1982) Review by Gardenofstone10

I first watched this movie about 6 years ago in high school in a science fiction class. We watched the original, The Thing From Another World, and then the remake to compare. I remember loving the movie quite a bit, bu...

The Thing (1982) Review by The Creature

Okay. I'm not going to spend much time talking about the plot. But I will, however, give you an extremely breif plot outline of the film. A 100,000 year old alien is found buried in the snow on the South Pole. The alien ...

The Thing Review by jamhorner

I remember when I first saw this movie, I was 7 or 8 years old and I was so excited seeing my first R rated movie, I got as far as the dog kennal scene and I had to turn it off cause I was too scared. The outline of...

The Thing (1982) Collector's Edition Review by gab...

John Carpenter's The Thing is a movie that any fan of horror....or any fan of movies for that matter really needs to see. I just worship everything this movie throws at the audience. Its funny, tense, unpredi...

The Thing Review by Dabodi

As a kid this movie gave me nightmares for weeks! I never understood why this movie has never really received the credit that it deserved. It has everything necessary to be a great horror classic. ...

The Thing Review by Norrock The Zombie Eater

Damn!!! what a good movie i could watch this one over and over and never get sick of it. this has got to be one of John Carpenter's best movies. it has enough special fx and gore to last a life time. nothing sucks about ...

The Thing Review by Jay K

There is not a bad thing to say about this flick,not one negative. the story is great basically a team is in the artics and have to deal with and alien type force that intrudes your cells and takes over you while trying ...

The Thing Review by alex1176

Repulsive special-effects are the major higlights of John Carpenter's remake of "The Thing from Another World". Kurt Russell leads the cast as a blowhard helicopter pilot who is stationed at a scientific resear...

The Thing Review by MistressOf Horror

Carpenter’s film The Thing a remake of the 1951 classic --The Thing From Another World. The story starts out in Antarctica, where a group of scientists are bunkered until one day they are disturbed by the sounds ...