A horror classic

Rating: 8/10 (23 July 2016)

A US research station, Antarctica, early-winter 1982. The base is suddenly buzzed and attacked by a helicopter from the nearby Norwegian research station. They appeared to be trying to kill one of the dogs from the US base. Having dealt with the threat, the members of the US team fly to the Norwegian base, only to discover them all dead or missing. They do find the remains of a strange creature the Norwegians burned. The Americans take it to their base and deduce that it an alien life form. After a while it is apparent that the alien can take over and assimilate into other life forms, including humans, and can spread like a virus. This means that anyone at the base could be inhabited by The Thing, and tensions escalate.
A horror classic. A well crafted story, directed by horror legend John Carpenter. He builds the plot well, meticulously setting the scene and ramping up the tension with good effect. The period where anyone could be infected / inhabited is particularly suspenseful.
Excellent special effects, especially for 1982. Very gory, imaginative and realistic. Some of the images from the movie are quite iconic and will be familiar from pop culture, they've been reused so much.
Ending is maybe a bit too ambiguous for my liking. While I don't generally like neat, happy Hollywood endings, this possibly went too much in the opposite direction. A greater degree of closure, or at least an indication of where the story was heading, was in order, I think.
Solid performances all round. Kurt Russell is particularly good in the lead role, playing the quick-thinking action hero very well.