A masterpiece of horror which rates high against other genre classics too.

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2018)

A great film, truly chilling and gruesome, a true work of horror with an element of sci-fi thriller thrown in! I remember this film from my youth and watching it recently I confirmed that that film knowledge (lines, scenes, etc.) never really went away - they just lie dormant in my mind waiting to be reanimated.
The minute the film starts events are in motion, all the way through it, right until the second the credits roll. An alien parasite/monster has infected a human host and taken its body, wearing it like a shell or a mask and taken it for a walk. It manages to get into a US run, scientific station in the frozen wasteland of Antarctica. The American scientists are about to get cut off from society due to adverse weather condition - little do they know, of what is trapped in there with them - a shape shifting evil alien that can take on the form of its victims and shapeshift at will. The film primarily uses Kurt Russell as its vehicle and he puts in a great performance, as does the entirety of the cast for that. Stuck in a remote location with an unknown killer they all come across as authentic.
The strength of this film has been proven time and time again. During the year it was released it bombed, people were more interested in "E.T." and nicer films. Fast forward ten years - this film still has a following, and it's grown too. Fast forward another ten years and yet more fans and followers, and the film is still adored. If film is art and all good artists are looking for their one masterpiece, then this cult film has to be John Carpenter's masterpieces. The chilling synth soundtrack, works, it's spooky and more so - with the film emerging the viewer in the action, its believable to think hat this is the only musical score we have access to when locked away in the Antarctica.
When I started writing this reviews I swore that I'd never give a ten out of ten because that would indicate perfection, and to my knowledge and beliefs there are always things that could improve - with everything. This film however, pushes that believe to the limit. In its horror genre this scores damn high, when compared to films in other genre's too - this still scores highly! I'm going to write 9 out of 10 - but then I'm going to have to run away and take some deep breaths as this pushed my rating rationale to the limit. It may even have broken me for today - Film fans, you cannot go wrong watching this classic masterpiece - it still stands tall nearly 40 years later!