As graphic as they come!

Rating: Null/10 (9 December 2003)

John Carpenter takes horror to a new level by thrusting the viewer into the bleak, frigid expanse of the Antarctic, where an American expeditionary research team encounters the unexpected.... a rescue of a sled dog pursued by a pair of Norwegian paramilitary types from their camp miles away. In so doing, the Americans unwittingly provide a safe harbor for what turns out to be a hideous alien creature capable of assuming any life form in close proximity to it- in this case, the Husky.
Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley and Richard Dysart head a cast of scientists, and support personnel who are yanked out of their sheer daily boredom and cabin fever to confront the Thing.
Problem is,WHO is the Thing, and WHO is the genuine human? A bitter battle for survival ensues,complete with the dark paranoia and exhaustion caused by each of the men not trusting each other.
Carpenter follows John Campbell Jr.'s short story, "Who Goes There?" far more closely than Howard Hawks did in the original 1951 release. By doing so, Carpenter was allowed to capitalize on 1982 special effects in order to portray the alien at its goriest splendor. Rob Bottin's latex and mechanical effects are superb, and will still evoke a sense of disgust from even the more seasoned horror movie buff.
The sense of distrust, vulnerability and anxiety mounts among the research staff as they try to figure out how to bring this perfect imitator out into the open... before they are all consumed by It.
Definitely graphic. Definitely claustrophobic. Definitely one of Carpenter's best films. It will leave you trembling in your bed at night, whispering, "who goes there?"