Easily Carpenter's best

Rating: 10/10 (4 March 2010)

'The Thing' came out in 1982. Back then, John Carpenter was already a quite famous director, with hits like 'Assault on Precinct 13' or 'Halloween'. And with the success of 1981's 'Escape from New York, Universal Studios gave Carpenter a free pass to adapt John W. Campbell Jr.'s short story 'Who Goes There?'. The problem is that 'The Thing' came out only two weeks after Steven Spielberg's 'E.T.: The Extra- Terrestrial'. Therefore, 'The Thing' was a massive fail with the public, and also didn't go well with the critics, saying it was too gore and violent. Now, 28 years have passed, and 'The Thing' acquired a cult status, having the recognition it always deserved - as the best John Carpenter movie.
'The Thing' follows a group of American researchers in Antarctica that are confronted by a blood-thirsty alien creature that assumes the identity of whoever it kills. Now, they don't know who to thrust, and if the other researchers are human or alien. The movie's screenplay is based on a short story by John W. Campbell. Written in 1951, and adapted firstly for the big screen in the same year, this story clearly represents the fear of communists taking over America. But Carpenter's movie came out in 1982, so the Cold War fear is long gone, and he adapts the story in a much more present way. The paranoia subject here is also treated very nicely. The feeling of getting stuck with an alien and to don't know in who to trust builds up along the movie perfectly. There are a few things still unexplained about the movie's story, which proves how well-written this is and also explains why there are so many fans of this. The writing here also allowed John Carpenter to create some of the most scary sequences ever.
The cast here is not very big and is composed only by males, and is headed by Kurt Russell, back then a rising star that also had the leading role in Carpenter's previous movie, 'Escape from New York'. He does his job pretty well, as so did all the other actors. Of course this isn't the kind of movie that depends on the acting in order to work - it's all about the writing and the directing. Aside from Russell, that aren't many famous actors, maybe with the exception of Keith David. A name that is worth mentioning is Wilford Brimley. He was certainly the best member of the cast.
John Carpenter's directing work is, as always, incredible. He has a very strong style, that is present in every single frame of this movie. He manages to create completely scary sequences out of the nowhere, and it's his directing that keeps the movie going. The movie, like every Carpenter one, has that claustrophobic feel to it, and the way Carpenter handles the characters is simply amazing. The opening sequence - with the helicopter chasing the dog, is one of the best opening sequences in the horror movie industry - it settled the mood perfectly, and showed this was no ordinary horror film.
The mood in here is also built by all the other aspects of the movie. The creature design is one of the best in movie's history, and the animations are perfect. As there was no CGI, the movie utilizes makeup to create the illusion of the creatures, and is considered until today a landmark on makeup special effects. It couldn't be better. Ennio Morricone's original music score also did it pretty well, with the use of bass chords pretty common on Carpenter's previous films. The cinematography is also excellent, with a dark and scary mood.
Overral, 'The Thing' is easily John Carpenter's best movie. The reception of the movie when it first came out wasn't really fair to what this movie is. But now, 28 years after the release, people finally realized how good this movie is, acquiring a well-deserved cult status. The excellent writing, along with the good acting and Carpenter's perfect directing make this one of the best and most scary horror movies ever made.
10/10