An Admirable, Yet Generally Average Film.

Rating: 6/10 (24 September 2011)

R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russel) is a helicopter pilot stationed at a US research facility in Antarctica along with ten other researchers and staff members. While prepping for a pending snowstorm, the team encounters a group of Norwegans desperately shooting at a lone sled dog. In the ensuing scuffle, the Norwegans both die and the dog is adopted by the Americans. It turns out, however, that the dog was really an alien lifeform capable of disguising itself as any living creature it "samples" and spread like a virus to other organisms. Now the team is being picked of one by one, and anybody could be a "Thing." Despite the familiar and generally worn down plot, "The Thing" boasts some of the better visual effects ever caught on film. The depiction of "The Thing," especially as it mutates from a seemingly mundane source (a dog or a average-looking human) is nothing short of nightmarish. Most times it comes off as a mix between a zombie and a spider, although at others it more ambitiously sports an extensively twisted, tortured-looking face, rows of unnaturally-placed teeth and other Hellish details. The hollow, soulless moans that the transforming Things give out is genuinely unsettling, moreso than any mere scream could achieve.
The arctic setting perfectly expresses the sense of isolation and hopelessness that the titular Thing thrives in. Carpenter realizes a near "Shining" level of isolation through the film's bleak, unending whiteness (sharply juxtaposed against the night sky). Even during brightly lit daytime scenes, Carpenter never fails to create an atmospheric sense of unease.
Kurt Russel does a commendable job in the lead role. While nothing exceptional in its own right, it does get the job done here. Keith David is an actor that I'm never disappointed to see. Even if he's not a particularly talented individual, he has a commanding presence on screen that makes him something of a poor man's Samuel L. Jackson.
Despite excellent visuals and solid direction, the film never really rises beyond simply being average. It's entertaining more than anything, which can hardly be considered a bad thing. Fans of science fiction or horror alike will enjoy this eery, effects-laden remake of the original 1951 film.