Carpenters best film.

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2006)

I remember when this came out and how it was pounced on as simply a superficial gore remake of the '51 version. The reviews at the time were silly and relied on memories of the previous version while ignoring the fact that this was not a remake. Not to mention how ET was the darling of all involved (I will never understand how ET made so much money, It was a minor bit of confection) This film is not a remake of "The Thing From Another World" though it does use elements of that version of the story as an homage. This is an adaptation of the story "Who Goes There?" which the other film also used as source.
The '51 version is a great film worth watching, but it is a very different movie with an approach based on the time it was made and should not be used as a comparison to Carpenter's "The Thing". Well, now that I got that out of my system...
This is a gory film in the sense that it shows all sorts of bizarre and gruesome events in astonishing FX sequences, however they are not there simply to be grossouts. The scenes are essential because they demonstrate the nature of the alien and are actually fascinating. Seeing how the creature is formless and just a mad collection of what it has infected can only be expressed through the scenes some find so repulsive.
When the dogs are infected how they begin to morph makes me think about where the creature came from and what other previously absorbed creatures alien dna is influencing the process. Every time an infection/transformation takes place it is so bizarre and seems to meld different species and biology. When the humans get infected I wonder does the creature have intelligence? Does it retain knowledge or simply mimic? Where did the creature originate and how many others has it infected? What if it eventually infected everyone? The actions of the team are understandable and realistic to me, they have no clue what is going on most of the time and some of the complaints I have read tend to come from people who are looking at this as if the characters should have known what the viewer of the film does.
The characters split up numerous times but each time it is obvious why they do. Either they don't know the things the viewer does or the situation demands it.
I have read some comments about how the characters are not fleshed out and the FX take it over, the people who say this saw a different film than I did. I remember each character distinctly. They all have scenes where they become individuals we recognize and their characters nature are essential to the progress of the plot. Watch the movie once and each character is memorable. At no point are the characters interchangeable fodder like in so many other Horror/SF films. The actors are all distinct fully realized and the performances are memorable and unique.
The film doesn't spell anything out, it is a great example of both SF and Horror. It is thought provoking and truly scary and it also has a perfect ending.
Great Ennio Morricone score, great cinematography, the best performance by a dog ever, great mystery, and the list just goes on. This film, with precious few changes (some computer scenes date it), could be released today and would be hailed as a masterpiece and make a fortune.
Was Childs infected? Was MacReady? What happens next? Great film.
It also has my favorite line in history. Palmer's reaction to the spider-head... "You Gotta be F**king kidding me!"