Tag: the hateful eight

The Tarantino Influences: The Thing

The Thing is a 1982 movie directed by John Carpenter. Its themes of isolation and trust and its remote setting are influences on Tarantino’s Hateful Eight and Reservoir Dogs.

The Thing tells the story of a group of scientists and related crew who encounter an alien being on a research base in Antartica. The alien is able to assume the form of the life around it, which forces the crew to battle both the creature and themselves.

Tarantino has admitted The Thing was an influence for his Hateful Eight. There are clear similarities in the settings for both movies – a remote Antartica research base and the wilderness of post-Civil War Wyoming. Brutal cold conditions serve as the backdrop for each movie, although they influence The Hateful Eight much more than The Thing. Perhaps the most striking link between the two movies is the mistrust that develops between the characters. Someone is not who they appear to be: be it an alien in Antartica or an outlaw in Wyoming.

I’ve been hesitant to watch this movie, despite its clear influence on Tarantino.

I’ll admit that I’m not a huge horror movie fan. For whatever reason, the genre never connected with me outside of the bad, schlocky variety made in the 1960’s. Also, Escape From New York is one of my least favorite movies of all time. It’s a brilliant concept made extraordinarily dumb in its execution. Every character in the movie is a dull, unfinished cartoon void of reality. Escape From New York is painful to watch – especially when in the hands of a more talented writer/director, it could have been amazing.

Additionally, I possess a bizarre dislike for Wilford Brimley….more on this later.

After watching The Thing, I hold similar thoughts – although not to the level of Escape From New York. The Thing is an improvement. It’s another terrific concept and although Carpenter still fumbles with the character development, the pacing, tone and special effects keep the movie interesting. However, the selling point of the movie – the alien – doesn’t live up to Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic.

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The Quentin Tarantino Movie Rankings

Quentin Tarantino movies have now been a part of my life for 25 years. I recently decided to take the time to rewatch and rank all nine of his movies – mainly because I wanted to see if tastes have changed and really, because why not? I’m far from a movie critic and I’m not concerned about film theory or anything like that. These are my personal rankings.

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Without Pulp Fiction, I would have never known that movies existed. Of course, I was aware of movies and sometimes went to the movies. However, movies were a passing interest – something easily detachable. Pulp Fiction changed that. I had no idea that something could be so cool, original, fun, violent, hilarious – let alone a movie.

What I later learned was that Pulp Fiction was an entry to everything that made it cool, original, fun, violent and hilarious – all the little movie, TV and pop culture references that shaped Tarantino’s vision. Because of this one movie, I discovered hundreds more and all the wormholes attached – great directors, cool actors – all the influences both great and awful. I learned movie history from Anthony Cocca 49 cent general rentals and in each one, there’s some path that leads you back to Pulp Fiction.

Naturally, I’ve followed Tarantino ever since. And naturally, the movies have changed. Tarantino is still innovative, writes killer dialogue, creates visually stunning environments and is remarkably – still cool. I’ve loved all of his movies but I would always go back to Pulp Fiction as his best work. Or at least my favorite.

Maybe nostalgia informs this ranking – there’s a comfort in the characters, the soundtrack, the moments – being in the Warren Twin Cinema and for the first time experiencing a Royale with Cheese, personality going a long way or “I shot Marvin in the face!”

But then again, maybe there’s more to nostalgia.

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