The Thing
Directed by John Carpenter
Written by Bill Lancaster from a story by John W. Campbell Jr.
1982/US
IMDb page
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
First viewing/YouTube rental
Nauls: Maybe we at war with Norway?
John Carpenter’s “The Thing” blends science fiction, horror, and gore into a neat package.
As the movie begins, we see a helicopter chasing a dog over Antarctic wilderness and shooting. American scientists nearby deduce it is a Norwegian chopper and find its actions weird and alarming. Ace helicopter pilot and general bad ass Mac Ready (Kurt Russell) and the base’s doctor Blair (Wilford Brimley) go out and investigate and find that the Norwegians have burned their base and there are apparently no survivors. The two discover a disgusting thing. Of course, they must take it back to their base for an autopsy.
Before long they find out aliens are among them and are slowly assimilating into the bodies of first dogs and then men. The men become paranoid as it is impossible to tell who remains human.
The selling points of the film are the horrifying and gruesome special effects during transformation sequences. They are truly awesome but not awesome enough for me to want a rewatch of all that blood and tissue.
This time I’m with Roger
