A horror film that stands the test of time

Rating: 7/10 (7 March 2003)

Less than successful on release, "The Thing" is a horror film that really stands the test of time. Its special effects (which are key to the atmosphere of the film) haven't dated that badly at all and don't distract the watcher from the film with too much obvious "fakeness". That's not to say everything looks ultra-real, but given that two decades has passed since the original release, this movie has done pretty well.
The major attraction to this film is its atmosphere. Stuck on an ice base with an alien that can impersonate anyone, a type of claustrophobic paranoia starts to take shape. This is aided that characters will disappear for long times only to reappear later and not all the action is shown - the audience is never quite sure who hasn't been contaminated.
"They Thing" is a seminal horror film that relies on tension rather than gore to draw the audience in. It's a pity that not more horror directors haven't learned from this film (and what's even worse is that Carpenter himself seems to have forgotten too!).