Carpenter's Masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (1 May 2004)

Ill be the first to admit, I am not a big fan of the horror genre. However, an early memory of mine is sitting with my father watching "The Thing From Outer Space." Oddly enough, nearly twenty years later, watching it on TCM, it still scares the daylights out of me.
However, John Carpenter, who admits to an influence of the original film also takes great care in preserving the original story set forth by "Who Goes There?" takes a much different route in the creation of his film. The result is a vision of harrowing emotional impact not seen in contemporary horror films of the past twenty years.
The greatest factor in speaking of "John Carpenter's The Thing" is the claustrophobic feel of its environment. Being trapped in Antarctica is likely enough to drive anyone to madness, but introducing the idea of an elusive intruder furthers this concept. We the audience find ourselves freely engaging and interacting with the characters who are equally terrified of this new and frightening otherworldy force of nature. To see these people (not heroes or villains by any stretch of the imagination) deteriorate throughout the slow pace of the film, we experience a fear unlike that of any film that was released during this period. Instead of being affected by great special effects (to which this film can boast for its time), we are instead trapped inside the same research station as the characters, trapped and victim to our own machinations and fears of lonliness and desperation.
This truly is John Carpenter's gift to film lovers and horror afficianados alike. Please watch, fear, and enjoy.
*** 1/2 out of ****