Quickie Review: The Thing

Rating: 9/10 (25 August 2015)

Dumb-Dumb Dumb-Dumb Dumb-Dumb...so goes the now chilling theme (which was originally nominated for a Razzie, you know) which, though it sounds like classic Carpenter, was actually composed by the legendary Ennio MorrIone. It perfectly captures the sense of dread and foreboding that The Thing emits. I remember when I first watched this on TV years ago. I didn't know who John Carpenter was or Kurt Russell or Ennio Morricone. All I saw was the title, and it was intriguing enough for me to go in blind. And what an experience it was. Paranoiac, gut- wrenching and filled with outstanding special effects, The Thing left me with my mouth open long after the credits started rolling. Set in the isolated Antarctica and filled to the brim with a memorable supporting cast, each of whom threaten to steal the scene they're in, The Thing is far more than an "Ooh. Ahh!" splatter fest. Though the creature effects (completely practical – take that, CGI!) have gone down in history as some of the most inventive and disgusting in cinema, the paranoia and mistrust between the characters is just as nail-biting to watch. The all-male group of actors are constantly at each other's throats, prioritising their own survival, and anyone could be 'the thing.' The creature is t it's most powerful when the humans are doing the killing and fighting for it. There is a constant sense of dread, as previously stated, of what is to come, of who to trust, that when one of 'the things' is revealed an orgasmic amount of colours hit the screen - there is blood and body parts flying in all directions. It's an excellent film that is essentially a collection of memorable scenes. Take the blood test scene – the protagonist, played by Russell, ties up the rest of the cast and takes a sample of their blood in a petri dish to burn and, hopefully, reveal who is not human in the group. There is arguing as Russell moves from one dish to the next, and Carpenter cleverly distracts us with the dialogue – we become do engrossed into what the characters are accusing each other of that when the alien blood 'jumps' out of the dish it feels as though someone has stamped on your heart. Then the character who was the thing transforms, and our nail-biting is rudely interrupted by a terrifically tense showdown between Kurt Russell and the thing (the others are, of course tied up). After the hullabaloo is over, tensions rise again, but not quite as much, as Russell's continues with his tests, untying those who have been had their blood tested. It ends with the final character, exasperated after having been finally cleared, bellowing a hilarious line at the rest of the cast, after which we fade to black and are given the chance to breath. It's masterful direction. The Thing is, quite simply, one of the all-time great horror/sci-fi films and undoubtedly John Carpenter's best work.
Best Scene: There are so many to choose from, from the nail-biting blood test scene to the cringe-worthy deliberator scene. But like with most of Carpenter's work, I'm going to go with the ending. It's a cliff-hanger that is just so brilliant on so many levels that you really have to watch the film to appreciate. So if you haven't seen The Thing, be sure to add it to your watch list.