Not only a good horror film

Rating: 10/10 (13 April 2000)

The Thing is Carpenter's best work right after "Halloween" (which is almost impossible to surpass). It was also the first film of J.C. which he did for a big studio and on a rather large budget. Contrary to other films Carpenter was given much more time to complete this masterpiece. What he achieved has since become a true classic in the horror genre even if it is quite different from most of the other films that were made in the 80s.
The Thing is not just a normal horror film trying to scare the audience with cheap thrills but is also some kind of a psychological drama. Throughout the whole movie you can never be sure who to trust. The thing moves from body to body imitating the victims perfectly and that's why anybody among the men could be possessed. The theme of paranoia and mistrust is very strong in this film and cleverly done.
The Thing is set in the Antarctic (in fact it was shot in British Columbia). It is made clear to the viewer that there is no possibility of escape for any of the members of the research crew. The location also creates a feeling of loneliness and isolation where each one of the dozen men is basically on his own and therefore contributes to the paranoid undertone.
And of course the film has state-of-the-art special effects and lighting. Rob Bottin simply did a great job. There is lots of gore and some very inventive scenes were the thing changes its shape. Some of the effects had to be done several times and others were deleted because Carpenter and Bottin didn't want the effects to be laughable or cheesy. The effects are outstanding and astonishing even for today's standards. They are much more interesting to look at than modern computer-animated special effects.
But the most important thing that made this film believable are the actors (it is a male-only film by the way). Each and everyone of the cast was convincing which is a rare thing. Although there are twelve or so men in this film who are almost equally important (with Kurt Russell becoming some kind of a leader) Carpenter managed to give each one of them an own character in a very short time. He didn't even need to include much dialogue to make the persons seem real.
I recommend this film to anyone who is interested in Carpenter's work and/or horror films and doesn't have a weak stomach.
My rating: 10/10