The Thing

Man is the Warmest place to hide. that says it all. when i first saw this on ITV4 13 years ago i was hooked. have it on Blu Ray and its amazing in HD. an absolute master piece from John Carpenter exploiting isolation, paranoia, fear with a twisted who-dun-it. i also recommend reading the short story that inspired THE THING films, called "Who Goes There?". it's a mad read and John Carpenter stays true to the book for most of the part with a reduced number of characters compared to the book. slated many years ago because it was an all male cast and released in America during difficult times with politics and the rise of AIDS. might say timing was bad as it competed with E.T, a friendly Alien and people were still reeling from Vietnam and the movie Alien by Ridley Scott released two years earlier. but there is something about watching this during these covid days that kind of links with... the isolation and paranoia and uncertainty of what to come and if the cold you have is just a cold or worse. if i could put 10 stars i would. note, special effects are non CGI. all a work of art with practical effects by Rob Botin (The Howling). some people born in last 20 years may find it "boring". The rest of us... this film beats most stuff that came out with all their sparkly CGI. it's the story and the atmosphere and also the mystery about THE THING and what it is exactly... when you're done reading it, are you still the warmest place to hide THE THING?

Used to go watch this in a double-bill with Cat People back in the 80's. Even then it was obvious that this movie was so far ahead of it's time. The effects, the build up of tension, the humour, even Carpenter's score was never better. As close to a perfect film as you could possibly get.

This movie is amazing! They don't make them like this anymore. Maybe it's because they ruin their films with CGI, or maybe it's because we're all so desensitised & unimaginative now that we don't know what true horror is. 'Jump moments' & plot-twists are not what makes a great horror movie. Watching a husky explode into a hideous gut-monster while its pack helplessly whimper & cower in their kennels: that's horror.