the best sci-fi /horror crossover along with alien!

Rating: 9/10 (13 May 2006)

I am not a horror fan but I am a great admirer of John Carpenters work and, having helmed such classic films like Escape from New York, The Fog and Halloween I believe he is a very understated director. The Thing is possibly his greatest achievement and has all the ingredients you don't see in the horror genre today.
For a start the casting is superb, the Kurt Russell/Carpenter marriage is on top form here again as Russell gives gruff coolness to the anti-hero Macready. The rest of the cast members also excel in their roles as they are faced with a terrifying and insurmountable foe from outer space. Ennio Morricone's score adds to the tension and becomes kind of an extra character creating a feeling of isolation for the central protagonists. A vital ingredient for any horror flick.
The effects are quite simply years ahead of its time, and I would say the creature still stands as being possibly the most highly original of all time. The idea of having an alien being an infection is a landmark in the genre if compared to such modern bores like monsters in caves or hillbilly cannibals. when the creature reveals its form it is truly heinous and revolting. The death scenes are amongst the most inventive I've seen on celluloid and it will be a long hard stretch to be beaten even by todays technological standards.
All in all The Thing is a prime example of how the genre should be projected to the audience and still sets the benchmark for suspense horror today. Untouchable.
Man is the warmest place to hide....