A True Horror Gem

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2020)

For many years already, even after seeing the majority of John Carpenter's films, "The Thing" has still remained my favorite of his. From its awesome opening sequence to the ominous ending, "The Thing" is an atmospheric and cold journey through a siege against the unknown, masculinity in crisis, distrust, and just the most amazing practical effects galore.
John Carpenter's initially underappreciated horror gem is not exactly flawless, but it is, in my opinion, one of the best exercises in the horror genre of the 20th century. Taking place in a remote outpost in Antarctica, "The Thing" executes a kind of a haunted-house atmosphere and finds the horror in the tension between the all-male habitants. The Thing is found (well, the Thing finds them) and an icy bucket of fear, stress, paranoia and distrust is thrown onto the characters. On one hand, the characters are not very deep or multi-dimensional, Kurt Russell's MacReady has as much character as Clint Eastwood in most of his westerns, who is merely a clever and brave hero figure with good morale; on the other hand, during my every watch of "The Thing", it has never mattered much. As far as I'm concerned, there's no space for more. Although "The Thing" is most likely best known for its special effects, I think that the horror and atmosphere exist there independently, a work of a great director. The special effects are the tastiest cherry on the cake ever - gory, gooey, macabre, creatively and professionally made, the kind to remember and get impressed at every re-watch. On top of everything, the cast seems to be enjoying their every minute & Ennio Morricone delivers the least Morricone original score ever, and makes it as macabre as the movie demands.
Whenever the topics of wintery, gory, sci-fi or 80's horror movies get brought up, "The Thing" is one of the first movies popping up in my head. Thank god for John Carpenter. My rating: 9/10.