The most perfect alien film ever made...

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2009)

From the opening shot and accompanying (and memorably haunting) Morricone score, the scene is set: A helicopter chasing a seemingly innocent dog through the Antarctica wastelands.
And Kurt Russell's (MacReady's) first appearance is also characteristically anarchic and stubborn: calling a computer chess program a "cheating bitch".
This film's plot is spot on. The acting feels real, even with the (now dated) mechanical props. The all-male ensemble cast (with some classic B-role actors acting perhaps their life's roles), the claustrophobic set, the palpable personal tensions between diametrically disparate characters... then add to all that a near-perfect alien entity that melds with whatever it touches. Human or otherwise. One word: Atmosphere! The biggest tribute this film has ever had is that NOBODY has ever had the brains or courage to try a remake or a sequel.
You think of some of the top-rated films here on IMDb - or anywhere really, films that stand by and for themselves, such as Casablanca, Shawshank Redemption, 12 Angry Men, The Usual Suspects.. and you will know that they were great and remain so purely on their own merits.
Well, The Thing is the same. There may be many Star Wars, many Aliens, many Predators... but there is only ONE The Thing.
Why? Because apart from its seamless plot, it has possibly the best ending of any Sci-Fi flick ever made. An ending that's simultaneously so open yet so unequivocally definitive.
Enjoy. This is Carpenter's masterpiece. An utter masterpiece within the horror alien genre.