The best monster movie of the last 20 years

Rating: 10/10 (15 February 2000)

It's only serious competition for that claim to fame is the undoubtable "Aliens," which has to be the most imitated monster flick for the last two (and the trend seems to be continuing) decades. Unfortunately, that makes Aliens a bit hard to swallow nowadays (although, that one remains J.Cameron's best work). With everything else being a 'Jaws' retread, 'The Thing' is a bit refreshing, using a plot line that isn't done much anymore, even with its over the top effects--an isolated, spooky bump-in-the-night story. Carpenter does a delicious job of presenting enough shadows, questions, and uncertainty to capture the effect. The acting is top-notch, with every character a level deeper then caricature. But clearly, what everyone remembers is the best special effects scenes ever made, and stand-up incredibly well today. The Thing also is a credible point in the war against CGI effects: imagine those gooey episodes today, with fake-o looking CGI, for example, as in 'The Faculty,' and you can see how the animatronics and latex still are the most credible looking effects that can be used in a film.
'The Thing' wouldn't be even close to successful with CGI.