Some things work, some things don't

Rating: 6/10 (5 June 2014)

The Thing is a monster movie with a twist. The monster could be the guy standing next to you. Or maybe the monster could even be you. The story unfolds at an American research outpost in Antarctica. Some crazy Norwegians show up, shooting at a dog. Before the Americans can ascertain what is going on the Norwegians are dead. Soon everyone will realize this dog is no dog at all. It's, for lack of a better term, a thing. This thing can take the appearance of other creatures it absorbs. It can become a perfect imitation of any living creature. So now how much do you trust that guy standing next to you? Paranoia overwhelms the group very quickly. This thing is, quite literally it appears, eating the group alive.
Kurt Russell plays MacReady, the helicopter pilot who becomes the leader of the group as they try to stop the thing before it destroys them all. If they don't stop this thing in its tracks and it manages to make its way to civilized areas it will be the end of humankind. So some pressure on our little group then. MacReady is a take-charge kind of guy. But who's to say he's not a thing now? Certainly other members of the group have their doubts. Trust is a commodity in very short supply. Where the film fails a bit is in failing to really establish any characters beyond MacReady. A couple of them stand out because they're portrayed by actors we recognize, Wilford Brimley for example. But it's a largely faceless bunch, not a whole lot of personality in the group. And for a bunch of supposed scientists they're not the smartest group either.
The movie has some decent twists and turns, leaving you guessing along with the characters as they try to determine who's still human. It's an intriguing story but it certainly would have grabbed you more if you really identified with all of the characters. As it is there are too many guys whom you really wouldn't care about should the thing make a meal of them. Characters, and the story as a whole really, too often take a backseat to the gore which director John Carpenter piles on liberally. If you're looking for a gross-out movie you'll find few better. The creature effects are very well done but maybe a little too repulsive for some people's tastes. A little more story, a little less blood and guts, probably would have served the film well. It is a very compelling story. You just wish the filmmakers trusted that story enough to allow it to carry the film. The paranoia, the mistrust, there's so much great tension there potentially. But tension loses out in the quest for gory, scary moments. In a movie such as this you want to have some good frights. But you want the scares to enhance the story, not overwhelm it. The balance in this movie is just a little bit off. It's an interesting movie but there is definitely the sense more could have been done with such a fascinating concept.