"Maybe we at war with Norway?"

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2014)

American researchers at an Antarctic outpost find themselves faced with a shape-shifting alien that can assume the form of any person or animal it absorbs. The rarest of the rare: a remake of a great film that is just as good, if not better, than the original. I don't know if I would say it's better but it's a damn fine film. I love both movies equally. It doesn't just copy the original. As a matter of fact, other than the bare bones of the plot, it's completely different. It adheres more closely to the short story that both Thing films were based on, which was more of a 'body snatchers' paranoia type of story.
The Thing boasts one of the strongest casts of any movie made in the last forty years. There's not a weak link in the bunch. Kurt Russell's MacReady is one of his best roles. Wilford Brimley, Richard Dysart, Keith David, Richard Masur, and on down the line are great actors. Everybody gives their all. John Carpenter's direction is excellent. It's been said by many that it's his best work. It's really hard to argue with that. Surprisingly, he doesn't do the score for this one. Instead the great Ennio Morricone scores it but does so in a manner very similar to what Carpenter himself might have done. Rob Bottin's special effects are terrifically fun in the way only old school effects could be. I can't say enough good things about this movie. It's a classic. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?