John Carpenter's early films are amazing - this is one of them

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2012)

It was difficult for me to decide how many stars to give this wonderful film. It is certainly an 8 or a 9, I thought, and I've ended up giving it a 9 because every second of this film - from the first to the very last - is riveting and engrossing.
Yes, perhaps this reason was what persuaded me to give the 9 rather than the 8 rating - so, so many horror and sci-fi films begin slowly, with action not occurring until 30 or 40 minutes into the film. In other words, the first 1/3 or so of the film is spent in characterization, setting, and building up the conflict. From the first second of "The Thing," however, the suspense and the mystery are immediately evident, with the excellent score to the film (the Carpenter-esque, bass-pounding "bum-bum......bum-bum") reinforcing the drama unfolding.
This is a very, very smart film. It amazes me how fine Carpenter's early films were - Halloween, The Fog, The Thing, Escape from New York, and, perhaps the best of all of them, Christine. Wow, what a list!