Review of The Thing (1982) by Zach G — 23 Aug 2012

This is in my top ten movies. There's no question that this is the best movie that John Carpenter has ever made. It's probably one of the most hopeless movies you could ever watch. The entire cast deliver great performances and give the right level of paranoia to make the movie work so well. There's definitely the right amount of "I can't believe this is happening" that's missing from most movies of this nature. How many times do you watch movies about alien invasions where the people aren't really freaked out by what's going on? The arctic setting is just brilliant.

The special effects by Rob Bottin are amazing! This movie came out 30 years ago and the effects are incredible to this day. There aren't too many movies that old that can make that claim. Take a look at The Terminator (1984) and try not to laugh. The effects in that movie, though brilliant at the time, are just ugly by today's standards. Somehow Bottin was able to transcend generations of advances in special effects. Just brilliant!

It's an absolute shame that this movie did not get the credit it deserved when it was released. The movie was very poorly received by the public and critics alike. The movie's commercial failure really impacted John Carpenter's career in a very negative way and he was never quite the same afterward. Yes, he did release two very good movies after The Thing (Starman; Big Trouble in Little China), but neither movie even came close to the level of craftsmanship he displayed in The Thing.

Alas, the movie has become a big hit amongst the public in the last 30 years. Thank goodness for cult followings!