#28 - The Thing - 1982
"I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I'd rather not spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!"
-- Garry
This is the 3rd of John Carpenter's film on this list (With one more to come, I wonder which one?) and of course it's a classic. It was actually a toss up between this and 'The Fog' but I decided this should win out. Mainly because it remains one of my favourite films.
An American camp in Antarctic are visited by a Huskie Dog being shot at by some Norwegians in a Chopper. The Chopper explodes and one of the Norwegians gets himself capped. The Huskie settles into the camp, and bad things happen.
'The Thing' is a quintessential Man film. The Cast is all Male, save for a female voice on a Chess Computer (Which is referred to as a "Cheating Bitch"). Even the production itself was all male (With the lone female member leaving because she was pregnant). That's not to say it's a tough guy film, but it's rare to see something where a love interest isn't forced upon us. I can guarantee you that when the inevitable remake comes along there's a Woman in the cast. I realise how misogynistic that sounds but...I don't care. Imagine watching the 'Sex and the City' movie and suddenly finding the new Male member of the Gang. Just doesn't work.
More than that the film is about paranoia, and as such is a sign of the times in which it was made. The Cold War was about, the Space Race was still thriving. Both things that this film taps into. Other than that the central idea that we could be perfectly assimilated by something and no one would notice is hardly an old idea (And indeed the short story this film was based on, 'Who Goes There?' was written in 1938). However, Carpenter and screenwriter Bill Lancaster (Son of Burt) handle the conceit masterfully. It's a film that takes its time and does so largely in one location. The film does divulge from one Research Base, but only to go to another one. It's this that adds to the film's increasing sense of claustrophobia, ably backed by Carpenter and his common use of shooting in Widescreen.
Kurt Russell, an Actor forever undervalued, turns in some magnificent work here as MacReady, the appointed leader of the group. He's the Chopper Pilot and seems to the only non Scientist of the group. He also has the baddest beard you've ever seen on a Man, occasionally topping it off by wearing a Sombrero. In the Arctic. That's how badass MacReady is.
The rest of the cast turn in great work, from Wilford Brimley as the Fatherly figure of the Group to Keith David (Also a Carpenter semi-regular). But the part that people always remember are the effects. Arguably the finest practical effects work to date, and all created by F/X Guru Rob Bottin when he was only 22. When we do see the...Thing in all it's glory it never looks less than fantastic, and stands as a testament to why practical effects remain the most convincing. It's a real living, breathing thing Bottin created and it's all there in Camera, rather than added later.
The film has a wonderfully pessimistic ending which just adds to the allure for me. It's open ended but not in the way that invites a sequel (though there was a video game released that serves as a direct sequel to the film). In fact the end just strikes the perfect balance, capping off the first part of Carpenter's 'Apocalyptic Trilogy'.
More than anything, the film is a sheer joy. Watch it. But do it with the lights off.
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