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.
In lieu of creating relatable characters, The Thing presents broad stereotypes.
Kurt Russell’s MacReady is a cocky helicopter pilot who likes to get drunk. How do we know this? When a Norwegian helicopter is circling the research base shooting a dog, MacCready is caressing a bottle of J&B Scotch, before carrying the bottle outside and then propping it up next to his injured teammate. The scotch is about as well developed a character as MacCready. Even more maddening is the idea that MacReady never appears drunk during the movie.
The rest of the bloated cast each get one feature to distinguish themselves. Blair is paranoid, Nauls has roller skates, Palmer likes pot, Childs is the stereotypical angry black man, Vance is afraid, Clark loves dogs, Fuchs is whiny, Bennings is going to die and I’m not sure who Windows was supposed to be.
In the hands of a more talented storyteller, these characters could be fleshed out in a few scenes. Instead, they are sketches barely based in reality – which makes it difficult to care when they are destroyed by the alien. I found myself more invested in the fleeing dog – even before knowing there was an alien being inside.
Anyway, The Thing is about an alien and Carpenter does special effects and suspense well. The autopsy scenes are fun and the chest defibrillation sequence is the highlight of the movie. There is genuine suspense throughout – especially after we learn that the dog has already been invaded. The Morricone score provides a constant eerie beat which aids in the suspicion the characters develop for each other.
Carpenter almost takes the movie to a higher level during the blood sample test scene. Here, MacReady takes a heated iron to each surviving member’s blood to see which sample tries to flee from the sensation. There is a brilliant jolt when Palmer’s blood comes alive, turns into a spider-like creature and kills Windows. This scene also establishes who MacCready can trust – although the meaning of the alliances is quickly buried under the sloppy storytelling and meaningless ending.
Russell is effective as MacCready. Again, he’s playing a one-note Carpenter character – so there’s not much for him to work with. However, Russell is a movie star which makes him the established leader. No one else jumps off the screen with the slight exception of Keith David’s Childs. David plays the character with a fun intensity and gives him a menacing edge, which collides with Russell’s ease. Unfortunately, we don’t ever learn why the two characters seemingly are at odds beyond the alien distrust.
As for Wilford Brimley’s Blair, I have to give credit to the actor. Perhaps no one plays a cranky old man better than Brimley. His Blair actually has a bit of depth – at least compared to the other lacking characters. Brimley is in command of this character – likely because he’s playing the role that kept him prominent for much of his later career. Brimley oozes a know-it-all, judgmental octonegerian feasting on scorn and paranoia. Of course, he’s about 40 years younger here but the sentiment is the same. Brimley was born to be a cranky old man.
The BEST – Copper’s Return
I’ll admit to some cynicism regarding the movie’s writing, but I did enjoy the scenes with Dr. Copper. Like the others, we know nothing of his motivations – but he gives the audience a great jolt when he returns during the climatic final scenes.
The BEST Part 2 – The Husky School of Acting
I’m only partially exaggerating when I say the husky was either the most effective actor during the movie’s first third or at least the one given the best material to work with. Either way, the dog says a lot when it sulks.
The WORST – Alien After Alien
I can’t put myself into a 1982 audience but I feel this movie can’t stand on its own without the 1979 original. The Thing is basically Alien-esque – it’s an imitation of a far superior movie.
The WORST Part 2 -That Ending
“Why don’t we wait here for a while….see what happens?” No, let’s not. Maybe we should come up with an actual ending instead?
FOX FORCE FIVE RATING – 2/5
There is a ton of promise in The Thing: the setting is unique and John Carpenter does suspense and creatures really well. Unfortunately, too many poorly developed characters spoil what should be a great movie.
