VIdeo Discussions: The Thing

Rating: Null/10 (28 August 2010)

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC4HArjL4bg
Welcome back to Video Discussions with the BRB. The subject for this episode is the Ultimate In Alien Terror: John Carpenter's The Thing.
This film is without a doubt an all time classic, but it was certainly a struggle for it to achieve that status. Released in the summer of 1982, it was considered a disappointment with critics and audiences alike. Many people, including John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, attribute this to the popularity of E.T., a film that stands in sharp contrast to the nihilistic tone of the Thing. However, the film found its audience when it was later released on home video. It soon achieved cult status. And slowly, but surely, over the course of the 28 years since it's theatrical release, The Thing has risen to the ranks of being one of the greatest horror films of all time.
It's of general consensus that John Carpenter's two greatest films are Halloween and the Thing. And even though I personally am a HUGE mark for anything involving John Carpenter, I would agree with this assessment. Both films have had a substantial impact on the genre, the difference being that Halloween had an immediate impact upon it's release, whereas the influence of The Thing was more of a gradual process, fittingly enough. And neither film, in my opinion, is necessarily better than the other. What makes The Thing so special, and is more than likely one of the major reasons why people have embraced this film, is that it is a culmination of every great aspect of John Carpenter's filmography. In other words, it's the ULTIMATE John Carpenter movie.
FOR MORE, CLICK ON THE LINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC4HArjL4bg