Good Horror in its Purest Form

Rating: 7/10 (11 July 2005)

I just finished watching John Carpenter's "The Thing" for at least the 25th time. I've been a huge fan of the flick since the mid 80s (I had a mad teenage crush on Kurt Russell at the time, thanks to "Escape from New York"), and I considered the John Carpenter / Kurt Russell association to be a winning one.
I'm not shocked or horrified by the gore anymore, but that's only because I've seen it so many times. The gore is totally believable, and slightly understated (considering the subject matter), and there is no end to my amazement that it's just as good - if not better - than the cookie-cutter CGI horror flicks that have been released more recently. This movie holds up to anything recent in the genre, and will probably continue to do so for quite some time.
Russell does a great job (as he always does, regardless of the Grizzly Adams impression in this one), Keith David (I'm a big fan of his voice work) is outstanding...Wilford Brimley was a bit of an odd choice for this flick, even though he does do a good job. You think of the Quaker Oats / Diabetes Test Equipment guy playing that sort of role...it's a bit of a head-scratcher.
My point, I guess, is this: I've seen this movie many, many times, and it still holds my attention. No sexual tension, no political intrigue...just a bunch of guys playing with flame throwers and bad-tempered aliens. And the ending is phenomenal!!!!!! The only reason I didn't give it a higher score is because there are obviously many movies out there that ARE perfect 10s, such as: Hitchcock's Rebecca, the LOTR trilogy, American History X and the Shawshank Redemption. But John Carpenter's the Thing is definitely high on my horror list! Though it isn't my perfect 10, I still give it 2 thumbs up from my thumb and my other thumb. There you have it. Enjoy.