The Thing - 1982
Happy to report what to many is probably painfully obvious - on rewatch four decades later, The Thing is STILL a stone cold masterpiece. In fact, with Carpenter at the helm, a bearded and bedraggled Kurt Russell casting enough machismo to reach the other Arctic circle, Ennio on the boards, and Rob Bottin in all his spectacular creature-design glory, this picture's bona fides are as much of a lock as a Wilford Brimley chest hair sighting. I'll put it simply - this thing doesn't age; it just gets better.
I've said before and in other places (see link below) that The Thing is a quintessential example of what big budget horror looks like in the era of 80's blockbusters. John Carpenter makes full use of the increased resources, but perhaps his biggest stroke of genius was the selection of a claustrophobic base in the Antarctic Circle as his lone setting. This is such a unique locale to tell a story like this, and it makes the feelings of building tension and palpable dread all the more palatable.
That is, I think, the question at the heart of whether one loves or merely tolerates these proceedings, namely “Is the film captivating?” I was struck on this most recent encounter by how much room Carpenter gives this picture to breathe. There is less of an internal engine driving it along than I recalled. It's far more slow burn than all out aural assault.
This is because, at its heart, The Thing is as much a paranoid thriller as a creature feature. It is, in fact, BOTH (and is all the more brilliant for it). But I suppose how well that sense of mounting paranoia and dread works on the viewer will determine how highly one esteems it.
For my own part, I find that the transformation sequences are top-notch. The cadre of cast members are all effective and idiosyncratic in the best ways. There are some great line readings, some of the sickest creatures ever captured on celluloid, and one memorable blood test sequence which is among the best of any picture anywhere.
At its heart, The Thing is a mystery of crafted appearances and hidden intentions. It's a feeling that the darkness could lie within any of us, and it is the glorious marriage of that suspense to the master craftsmanship of a director operating in his wheelhouse which causes The Thing to linger still today.
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