Review of The Thing (1982) by Christopher H — 22 Oct 2012

Director John Carpenter's Halloween is almost a dictionary definition for the idiom "rags to riches". Carpenter spent all of 1962 through 1969 directing a series of short films; his first two works, 1974?s Dark Star and 1976?s Assault on Precinct 13, still struggle in obscurity.

Then comes 1978, and all of a sudden this average joe is now the filmmaker behind what could be the most influential horror movie ever made. Essentially, all Carpenter did was build off the "shower scene" from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (and cast the lead actress's daughter as his lead actress), but just that spawned numerous sequels and remakes, lowered SAT scores with the Friday the 13th saga, and designed an entire oeuvre for Wes Craven, in which every film from A Nightmare on Elm Street to Scream 4 leaks Halloween's own blood.

Carpenter continued with three consecutive works that, after his breakthrough, are easily recognizable. The third follow-up was The Thing, a remake of the 1951 B-movie The Thing from Another World. Let's admit, this 1982 remake is lots of fun.

Much of John Carpenter's style returns, with eerie cinematography that leaves more of the graphic violence to the viewer's imagination. However, the initial work should have been left to stand.

The trashy archetypes of B-movie atmosphere permeate casually, and as a result, any hope of terrifying an audience is demolished.