The Thing Analysis.

Rating: 10/10 (20 January 2005)

Very good........ I think after 23years I may be close to fully understanding the film. The first to be infected/ imitated is Palmer..... When Nauls is told to turn the music down by Bennings, the suspect dog is looking for a host to hide within. We only see a shadow as he turns to the doorway to see the dog but I'll explain why it has to be Palmer. Until the "blood testing" scene Palmer shows no sign of infection, then just as he's blood is about to be tested, he shows the look of "my game is up"..... he transforms to take Windows and both are destroyed by flame throwers. So how does the Thing remain living? After it takes Palmer it can rely now completely on the diversions of the others' to remain anonymous, no-one suspects that someone else could be imitation (except Blair but not for very long) for he is quickly overtaken... as he analyzes the dogs' remains he unwittingly uses his pencil to point out that "That's not dog. It looks like dog. But it ain't dog. It's imitation." Then touches his lips with the same pencil- he has started to transform from that very moment. No- one realises at that time. Blair begins to destroy the camp and shoot up the place to limit the chances of outside contact or escape for anyone, but it doesn't like the Antarctic either and has to leave to survive, and so dismantles the chopper to construct his own means of escape. That is another story how Blair can orchestrate his imprisonment so he can remain alone to engineer plans for departure out of that hostile land in which survival comes from residing in the humans or dogs which are offer no protection at all to the Arctic conditions. Both Man and Thing are equal here. Both have to fight to survive here. Not only the environment but each other to live on........anyway, We see Blair running from the helicopter, then again prior to taking Garry thats it he is part of the 75% he computes at the beginning. The computers..... we know The Chess computer is a cheat? It makes mistakes....can Blairs computer be as unreliable? Think about that one. His ploy is to remain totally unsuspecting to all, whilst destroying the camp, the transport, the blood stocks. He also sets up his only threat, Macready, by placing his torn clothing around the camp, Blair left Macready's cabin light on as well. I have more to discuss about The Thing. The fact it wasn't a hit was because it wasn't a fairytale, where everyone lived happily ever after. It looks like no-one lives even the Thing. No-one won the battle to survive. Or did they/ it? I like to think Macready remains human, he has to be when no-one is left to fight, he still continues to finish off The Thing.... with "...k you too!" and some dynamite. But if Childs had seen Blair in the final scenes there is a real chance that when he goes outside to investigate that Blair deals with him there. So Macready is a doomed human destined to be frozen with or as a monster. Regards Marty. P.S John Carpenter offers us a chance to look outside the box and think about what we see. I'll love to write a sequel one day.