Who can you trust?

Rating: 9/10 (21 June 2016)

What fuels "The Thing" is a feeling more than an idea. After establishing the characters and the premise that any one of their colleagues could be an alien impersonator, the plot takes a predictable line, as character after character's humanity is tested. But what kept me engaged was feeling the need for a community. Kurt Russell's MacReady maps out the lay of the land for us, but then needs to determine who he can trust. Poor judgment here could be fatal. His methodology to determine who is human and who is not is simple, but we soon learn that the answer always changing. An ally now may try to kill you an hour later. A great theme given today's political struggle to accept refugees while faced with an attitude of xenophobia. Considering the "aliens-as-us" premise, Carpenter sketches out the characters well, and they are convincing, given the extreme circumstances of the story. Although the pre-CGI special effects may seem dated now, they are still effective and make your skin crawl. I recommend this to a new generation of moviegoers.