Written by Bill Lancaster (based on the novella by John W. Campbell Jr.) Directed by John Carpenter Starring Kurt Russell Willford Brimley T.K Carter David Clennon Keith David |
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The Thing (1982)Even though it was badly recieved at its release, The Thing remains one of John Carpenter's most memorable works, made when his career and talents were at their height. The Thing more or less followed in the footsteps of 1979's Alien by becoming a hybrid of sci-fi and horror, although I would argue that The Thing leaves behind many of the sci-fi trappings of its father film, The Thing From Outer Space, in favor of an approach more inclined toward horror.
The set-up for this film is brilliantly simple. A group of American scientists working in Antarctica discover after a bizarre encounter with a gun-wielding madman that something strange and terrible has happened to a Norwegian camp of scientists. As the American camp's helicopter pilot MacReady investigates the Norwegian camp to find some footage of the Norwegians trying to uncover a spaceship trapped under the Arctic ice, a strange massive container, and what appears to be a hideously transfigured human corpse frozen just outside the camp. Unfortunately for all of them, it turns out that the corpse is more than just a corpse, and that an alien lifeform has already infiltrated their camp; an intelligent, predatory being that literally drains away its victim and then is able to 'mimic' it down to the last cell. As the camp's inhabitants become increasingly aware of the creature's nature and that it has been among them for some time, the question is raised: who among them has already been taken and who will be next?
Undoubtedly, just as in many films of its kind, the driving force behind the movie isn't the protagonists, but the monster, and what a monster it is. Like Alien before it, The Thing is, in many ways, a glowing special-effects fest, and the effects here are used to create quite a down and dirty film. Nevertheless, the gore, while possibly guilty of excess, creates the impression of a creature that is truly monstrous, Lovecraftian, and especially, well, alien. One of the film's most endearing moments is when our heroes catch the creature mid-transformation, shifting into the form of one of their own with Cthulhu-like tentacles instead of arms and issuing an unearthly wail. Another more darkly humorous moment, demonstrating the fluid nature of the creature, has a human head detaching from a body imitated by the creature and slowly crawling on the floor, unnoticed, on spider legs...
What the monster has, however, the protagonists lack. Kurt Russell is...well, Kurt Russell, while we never get a sense of what sort of people the other characters are. Even though, besides the monster, the other source of suspence in this movie is the gnawing paranoia between the characters, the detail given over to characterization is rarely more than paper-thin. We aren't even given a good sense as to the hierarchy of responsibility here (save that, for some reason, MacReady has been in a strong leadership position in the camp even before the movie starts). We don't even find out exactly why they're in Antarctica, except for some vague scientific purpose, or why they'd have an arsenal of flame throwers at hand (rampaging glaciers, perhaps?). In spite of the shallow characterization and the lack of background information, the scenes where the miniature society of the camp breaks down provide the bulk of the movie's tension as well as leads up to one of the best endings in quite some time (and one Carpenter had to struggle to get into the finished product).
Although The Thing has been rightfully accused of being too heavy on the special effects and too stingy with the other elements that make a classic movie, it isn't fair to dismiss it as just another Hollywood 'frill-fest.' Sure, there are some 'blockbuster' elements here-a couple of big explosions here and there, and Kurt Russell does expel one or two choice one-liners with Schwarzenegger-esque ease-but still this is not only a fresh and entertaining 'people trapped in an isolated environment against a relentless monster' film, but an interesting look at human nature at its worst and most vulnerable. It is also, like it or not, a landmark film. Just look at the care and attention that one X-Files episode, "Ice," took in ripping it of-er, I mean, 'homaging' it.
Now go read Liz's analysis of the movie that inspired this film,Howard Hawks' The Thing From Outer Space, and then read a review of the novella that inspired it all, John W. Campbell's Who Goes There?. Finally, you can see our discussion on the whole 'thing' (har har har) here.
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