Greatest horror/sci fi film of all time

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2002)

This is hands down the greatest horror/sci fi movie of all time. I'm not biase anyway in this decision considering John Carpenter is my favorite director of all time, because this movie led me to believe he is the greatest director out there. I remember seeing this movie for the first time a long time ago on A & E, of course it was edited for television but I was hooked on it. It took me 5 years after that to get around to actually renting it, and it was greater than before. I don't think I'm alone when I say that 90 % of all horror movies today suck ass, because it is true, and sorry to say thats in no way opinionated.
For 1982, this movie really did break a lot of boundaries. Now I'm not saying Alien was a bad movie, I liked it, but The Thing kicks the Alien's ass. I mean, the alien in Alien was so crappily made, it seemed to float, and you never saw it actually walking, and the suit the guy wore was obviously too obstuse and mechanically mediocre, hence the alien moving along sluggishly at the speed of life. At least with the Thing, you had something original, which was something that could be just about anything. Whether it was a spider, a crab, a walking head with snail eyes growing out of it, the Thing was virtuous and worked things out in an incognito manner. Whereas Alien seemed terribly drab and bleak, the Thing was explosively original. Now I'm not too big of a fan of Rob Bottin's work, but this movie really showcased his ability to make some freaky stuff. I always saw Rob Bottin as the poor man's Rick Baker, but with this movie, he's right up there with him without a doubt, no lower.
Other great aspects of this movie are the lighting and music. I loved the dark and light shades of blue that illuminated the set, especially the lights outside and color of the windows at nighttime. The music was cool too, but I really only liked the John Carpenter music, because a classical Ennio Morricone score just doesn't fit a Carpenter movie, considering he has been credited as scoring all of his films, with the exception of this, Starman, and Memoirs Of An Invisible Man. Only Carpenter's electronic realization of the score brings the oddity and isolation of the film.
The Thing is a movie that any true horror fan will appreciate. If you see anything wrong with this movie, then I feel sorry for you, because you probably pertain to the crappy demented slasher movies, by the way which all spawned from Halloween, another Carpenter classic. I'm sorry, I just couldn't ask for anymore, and the several thousand people out there that see this underrated movie as a classic, I have to admire you all, I really do, you all have my gratitude and accompanying salute as people who truly know what a great cinematic piece of work is.