"The Thing" - Repressed homosexuality? or homophobia?

Rating: Null/10 (25 May 2000)

*Spoilers*
I must be the first person to post a review here for this film that is not hero-worshipping it.
First of all, I must say, it was a very well cut film, and the sense of mood it created, whether deliberate or accidental was very effective. The unspectacular, minimal eerie score was just right for adding to the feeling of cold and isolation in the film.
But I'm quite puzzled at the cult status this film has achieved over the years. The effects were supposedly quite revolutionary for their time, though I didn't think they were anything more than 50's schlock horror effects with a bigger budget. By today's standards, the effects are downright cheesy and I found myself chuckling rather than chucking at them. Indeed, the sense of suspense was well built up, and the plot mostly consisted of "who will die next, and what disgusting way will it happen?". This is sufficient motivation for the characters in the film, and though there wasn't much character development, I suppose it wouldn't have been worth it as they would just die by the time you got to know them.
But overall, the film was reasonably average. What's all the fuss about?
Finally - I could go into this at some length if I had the energy, but I couldn't help notice the film being a metaphor for repressed homosexuality, or men's attitudes towards homosexuality among their own ranks.
"The Thing" is fear, repression; "Does he have the thing? What if _I_ get the thing? Everyone will want to KILL me if I get The Thing! Maybe if I try to KILL the Thing, they'll think I don't have it!"
I thought maybe I was reading too far into this, you could apply any primal fears to the thing, but what did it for me was three things (!). Firstly, there are NO women in the film!!! Why? It was totally possible, in fact likely that there would be women on the base, but they are noticeably absent. Secondly,the ending, where only Kurt Russell's and one other character are left alive, around a fireplace (burning debris). Perhaps it was poor acting, but there was warmth in their characters, and the final words uttered were to the effect of "What do we do now?", to which Russell answers "Well let's just see what happens.". And finally. The tagline for the film : "Man is the warmest place to hide".
Hmmmmmmm. Eh? No doubt hundreds of angry fans will send me evil hate mail, it's just an opinion. I did think it was an entertaining film. Honest. :)