I still distinctly remember the first time I saw John Carpenter's The Thing. It was a warm, sunny weekday July afternoon and it was showing on cable. I was probably no older that twelve or thirteen at the time, home on summer vacation. I knew of the movie by reputation from a book on movie monsters that I read many times in the school library (the fact that this movie was featured in a book on movie monsters clearly written for kids is hilarious to me now because this was easily one of the most terrifying movies I have ever seen in my entire life). It was a warm July afternoon and after watching it I was chilled to the bone.
At the onset of Winter at the Antarctic Research Outpost 31, a group of U.S scientists are biding their time, trying to stave off cabin fever when their peace is interrupted by a helicopter from the nearby Norwegian camp, with one of the men trying to shoot a fleeing Husky dog with a rifle. They land at Outpost 31, where the dog is trying to find refuge and continue to try and kill it. In the ensuing confusion, they wind up accidentally blowing up the helicopter when one of the Norwegians tries to use a grenade to kill the dog, while the other shooter is shot and killed by Garry (played by Donald Moffat). After sorting through the wreckage and trying to make sense of what happened, the camp doctor, Copper (played by Richard Dysart) decides that he should go to the Norwegian camp and convinces one of the camp's helicopter pilots, R.J McReady (played by Kurt Russell) to fly him over there to check it out. They come across a camp that is completely destroyed, with many of the buildings a smoldering wreck. Everyone else is dead and among the wreckage they find some odd and disturbing remains, as well a giant block of ice that something was cut out of. Taking what research they can find and the remains back to their camp, they begin to decipher what they found. Meanwhile, the dog that came from the Norwegian camp is put in with the other dogs in the camp kennel. Once alone, the dog begins to transform, attacking the other dogs. Clark (played by Richard Masur), who looks after the dogs, discovers what is happening and alerts the others, who are horrified at what is happening. They use a flamethrower to seemingly kill the monster, which one of the camp scientists, Blair (played by Wilford Brimley), then examines the remains of. What they discover is that it is a creature that mimics other lifeforms perfectly. Since the dog had the run of the camp until it was put in the kennel that night, the men quickly realize it could have infected and replicated any of the men in the camp. Paranoia and distrust quickly set in as none of the men know who of the others is still human or a thing. One thing becomes clear though, they need to figure out who is who and fast before this thing has a chance to reach civilization, where it could spread among the entire population.
John Carpenter directed the film from a script by Bill Lancaster. The film is technically a remake of the Howard Hawks film, The Thing From Another World, but is actually a closer adaptation of the novella that film was based on, "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell, Jr., which the original film deviated from significantly. Carpenter does a fantastic job of creating a growing sense of dread and tension as the film works towards it's climax until it becomes almost unbearable at the end of the film as the film repeatedly surprises us with who is the Thing and who is still human. The Thing is brought to life with the incredible practical effects work by Rob Bottin, who worked tirelessly to bring the various forms of the alien creature to life. The production design of the film is perfect as well, filmed outside Juneau, Alaska, with the sets built well ahead of time to allow them to be covered with a significant level of snow. This approach lends the film a convincingly frigid atmosphere. It also establishes them as isolated and alone, which only helps to amp up the tension. The score by Ennio Morricone is a nice finishing touch as it's pulsing beat puts me on edge almost as soon as I hear it.
The cast of the film is stacked with great performances. Kurt Russell leads the group as R.J McReady, a no nonsense kind of guy who quickly takes command as they find themselves having to deal with this strange and lethal monster. Wilford Brimley has a good performance as one of the camp's scientists, Blair, who is one of the first to realize what they are dealing with and the ramifications if it ever got to a civilized area. Brimley does a great job handling both sides of his character, the quiet reserved scientist and then later the more panicked and crazed Blair when he realizes he can't let any of the others escape. Richard Masur has an interesting turn as Clark, the dog handler of the group, a character who was always more comfortable around the sled dogs than the people at the camp. He also does a great job walking the tightwire of sorts with his character where as the film goes on you are never quite sure if he's human or not. Keith David makes a memorable appearance in the film as Childs, and adds a strong and forceful presence to the film that has always been memorable to me.
It's funny to think back on John Carpenter's The Thing as a film that was initially not well received by critics nor did it do well commercially (to be fair, it was released in the Summer of 1982, where America was in love with a far more lovable alien called E.T: The Extra Terrestrial. Today though it is a highly regarded film and considered by many to be John Carpenter's masterpiece, a conclusion I can agree with. With nerve shredding tension, jaw dropping effects and filled with fantastic performances that actually make you care about the characters, this film reigns as one of the scariest films I have seen, ever since that one July afternoon so long ago.
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