Slow moving, but with some genuine scares, and amazing effects!

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2008)

It's no wonder why John Carpenter's The Thing has gained a cult status today. The special effects in this movie are amazing, and possibly the best looking animatronics ever in a movie. The scares are plentiful, with lots of effective jump scenes. This movie may be slow moving, but it has enough content to please any horror or science fiction fan.
An Antartic research station of twelve men is alarmed when a strange body is found near an abandoned Norwegian research station. It looks like nothing ever before seen. Soon after the find, the team realizes that there is a shape shifting alien amongst them, and it can take any form. The Thing (as it is called) can take over anybody and change them into bizarre monsters. RJ MacReady (Kurt Russell) takes charge when no one else will and tries to find who the monster is. Lots of scares and violently amazing effects ensue.
If nothing else, this movie should be remembered for it's animatronic effects. These are some amazing animatronic creatures, and the most realistic looking one's of any of these 80s movies. One of the best looking scenes features a husky dog being eaten by a Thing husky imitator, with it's bloody tentacles wrapped around the dog.
The direction is good. Lots of establishing shots are used, and where in most movies this would be annoying, it's fine here. The characters are a bit generic, but they have enough likability to them to make them stand out. The story can be very tense, and many scenes should have your heart racing. The musical score is...OK. It's a bit scarce, with the main theme being a bass pluck. It worked for Jaws, but it's not quite as effective here.
This is a slow paced movie, and the action scenes are few and far between, but if you can keep your attention focused on more than just violence, this will be an enjoyable horror film filled with some spectacular special effects.
My rating: *** out of ****. 105 mins. R for language and strong violence.