The Thing – 35 Years Of A Horror Classic

Whenever one thinks of legendary movie Director John Carpenter, there is no question his 1978 iconic Horror film Halloween first comes to mind. Beyond such, he is also responsible for 1976’s Assault On Precinct 13, 1981’s The Fog, and 1988’s They Live, among many others. A master of cinema, with plenty of films tucked heavily under his belt, there is one in particular that stands out like a red-petaled flower in a black and white photo. Carpenter brought it to the big screen on Friday, June 25th of 1982, and doing so, gifted fans The Thing, arguably one of the most terrifying Sci-Fi/Horror movies ever made. 
The Thing movie still. © Universal Pictures.

Well known and respected upon viewers today, however, upon initial release via Universal Pictures in 1982, The Thing saw a less-than-warm reception from moviegoers, and some known-it-all critics left a downtrodden Carpenter feeling as if he had short-changed his fans. Little did they know that The Thing would take the form of an all-time Horror classic 35 years later. 

Before acknowledging the power and importance of The Thing, it must be noted it was notoriously ignored, fared poorly at the box-office, and as stated, was not at all a top choice for movie critics. Putting all of this into perspective, The Thing was also released just a few weeks after the now-classic movie, Steven Spielberg’s  E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Clint Eastwood’s Firefox, and Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky III. Even the Action-Fantasy flick The Sword and the Sorcerer was faring better than the expectant box-office numbers of The Thing. It was nobody’s fault, of course; it just seems that, at the time, a smartly written and incredibly acted Sci-Fi/Horror film was not on anyone’s must-see list.

Sometimes brilliance needs time to be recognized. Thus, after The Thing was released on VHS, and eventually made its way onto television, it found a new audience that kept growing, and growing, and knitting, and knitting. As a result, there were new reviews praising the film, heralding it as one of the greatest Horror flicks ever made. Drastic turnaround in opinion, right? It was now that people were celebrating every nook and cranny of this slick and scary Sci-Fi flick, and because of such, The Thing became a cult classic. Which leads to the discussion, what makes Carpenter’s The Thing so good?

The Thing movie still. © Universal Pictures.
The Thing movie still. © Universal Pictures.

There were no computer effects and no fake-looking CGI used; just bona fide prosthetic effects, made by hand. That in mind, there are plenty of scenes in The Thing when the alien surfaces in many different slimy, contorted transformations. During these scenes, the actors look downright frightened by what they are up against. The fear showing in each of their faces can never be mistaken for acting. And while Bottin deserves a great deal of praise, because of being overloaded with work, SFX Artist Stan Winston (Terminator 1984, Aliens 1986) was hired to handle one truly terrifying dog-transformation scene, and it is one scene not to be forgotten. 

 
It would be impossible to run down every scene, but another worth mentioning mixes elements of incredible SFX, suspense, über-intensity, and straight-up horror is the “blood-test” scene. For any viewer, a word of advice, pay attention to each of the actors’ facial expressions, because there is a nightmare happening right before their eyes, and it shows. All in all, Bottin really outdid himself with his outstanding special effects and his work remains a fan-favorite helping make Carpenter’s The Thing in no way a remake of the 1951 film, but a re-do, done well.
 
Speaking of which, in 2011, Universal Pictures released a “prequel”/remake with the same title, but many would argue the film missed the mark and was dressed with lazy-looking CGI effects. As for John Carpenter’s The Thing, it is an incomparable classic that will be poorly imitated into mediocre replicas. It is an entity in and of its own nature, crafted in hard labor and dedication from an outstanding cast and crew. Despite any of the negative reviews from critics in the past, every little aspect of The Thing works: the gloomy, cold atmosphere; the growing paranoia between each member of the research crew; the fantastic (and inspiring) SFX work; right down to the eerie synth score lowly playing in the background from Composer Ennio Morricone.
The Thing movie still. © Universal Pictures.

Remaining relative in popular culture, to satisfy the hungriest of The Thing fans, back in 1992 Dark Horse Comics released an unofficial 2-issue comic book sequel, titled: The Thing From Another World, that occurs around 20-minutes after the ending of the 1982 movie. Also, online art gallery/movie-store site, Mondo (Mondotees.com), in affiliation with USAopoly’s designer games division, Project Raygun, are releasing a board game called The Thing: Infection At Outpost 31, with a possible October 2017 release.

Additionally, the film has influenced countless other artists. Mindless Self Indulgence’s Jimmy Urine states, Every single Halloween, without fail, I always watch The Thing by John Carpenter! I think it’s pretty much a perfect movie and it’s probably his best.
 
Which leads us back to the question at hand, what makes The Thing so good? Well, it was the work that had gone into making the movie and all the layers within its 110-minute running time. It is the type of movie that will never age and really holds up to this day. Despite being deemed a box-office failure, and not reviewed well by critics back in 1982, The Thing is a winner in the hearts of many Horror movie fans, and will be for many more years to come. 
Universal Pictures
Purchase The Thing: iTunes | Amazon
Like the in-depth, diverse coverage of Cryptic Rock? Help us in support to keep the magazine going strong for years to come with a small donation.

Steven DeJoseph Jr.Author posts

Avatar for Steven DeJoseph Jr.

No comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *