Terrific film has hardly aged at all.

Rating: 8/10 (21 October 2007)

John Carpenter's The Thing is what a remake should be. It takes only the most basic thematic elements of the original, and then takes them in an almost completely different direction. Carpenter gives us a film that is not as taut or suspenseful as the 1951 version, but it is light years ahead of that film in terms of f/x. This film is a lot more moody and ambiguous, as well. This time, we aren't dealing with an actual "man from mars". We are dealing with an organism that can take the form of any living creature. The dozen or so cast members seldom have any idea which of them is human or a reproduction until it's too late.
The film begins with a couple of Norwegians in a helicopter shooting at a snow dog from the air. Had the guy with the rifle been an even half-way decent shot, maybe the events of this film would have never even happened. Anyway, the dog makes it to an American compound nearby on the frozen tundra of Antarctica. The Norwegians are unable to explain the dangers associated with allowing this dog inside the camp, and the two are soon dead. Within a few hours, the organism from another world spreads through the dog population in the American camp on to the human crew. The cast starts dropping like flies in some incredibly gory ways as their bodies are taken over by this hostile life form that seems bent on conquering all life on earth. The brutal cold and isolation of this Antarctica outpost don't make survival any easier for the crew, and time is quickly running out on them. Do any of them survive? Watch and see. You may have to draw your own conclusions, however.
Is the film frightening? Absolutely. The original film relied more on suspense. The scares in Carpenter's film come mostly from gore-related shocks. Rob Bottin's wonderful creature work has to be seen to be believed. These were the days when you couldn't just sit back and rely on CGI. You had to actually construct these monsters and find a way to make them move convincingly. The gore f/x here are incredible. The cast and acting are uniformly excellent. We get to know enough about virtually everyone who lasts long enough to care about. Kurt Russell is top-billed and gives a typically great performance. He looks to be hiding under about three year's worth of facial hair. Wilford Brimley stands out in an early role for him. T.K. Carter found a lot of work back in those days, and I had not realized that Keith David got any good parts like this so far back in his career.
Is this a great film? Not quite. There are some glaring flaws. The film is allowed to cheat by never really explaining just how the creature can morph so easily from one person to the next. Also there are typically dumb moments where the characters split up when they should obviously stick together considering what they know about the enemy organism. The film looks wonderful, and it has some nice homage scenes to the original here and there. Be warned, though. You will need a strong stomach for some of the gory scenes. The R rating is very well justified. In sum I'd recommend watching this film. It never seems to get shown on television anymore, so you may have to turn to Netflix or something similar to find it. 8 of 10 stars.
The Hound.