I can't get enough of this movie. Love the outdoor footage and the monsters kick ass.

Rating: 10/10 (18 September 2007)

I remember peeking into this movie in the movie theatre when I was too young to see it- and seeing the most famous scene right at that moment. I was both shocked and scarred and excited at the same time- this was a movie that had just short circuited me- I had to see the rest of it!
And I did- and I have watched it several times since then. I have also watched the interviews with the director etc...
Carpenter has made some CRAP films in his day. This is not one of them- and in the interviews he blames short schedules and low budgets for the crappiness of some of his films (not in so many words) and judging by this masterpiece of science fiction horror I think he's onto something. Give John Carpenter enough time and money to do it- and he'll do it right!
The Thing is based on a science fiction novel called "Who Goes There" and was inspired by Carpenter's repetitive viewing of an earlier film of the same title- but this version is a thousand times better, scarier, and also much more true to the original written story and it also captures such an awesome feeling of isolation and spookiness with the scenery and the camera angles and lighting.
What can I say- it's a masterpiece.
PLOT: A number of scientists and their support team are out in the arctic doing research- one day a crazy Norwegian shows up wanting to kill a friendly dog. They keep the dog.
big mistake. What ensues next is a captivating tale of horror and suspense with special effects that still hold up to today's standards- more than 20 damn years later.
I can't praise this film enough. It is a classic for the genre that has already stood the test of time.