I really liked that line from the summery of my review of the 2011 The Thing, another film I might revisit, so of course I'd use it again. And I did review this film once before on this blog, 2 years ago, but that was back when I put no effort at all into things like presentation, or grammar and spelling, and as such it's really not that good, and I like to think that since then my reviews have improved in quality, so let's go for a second round on what many people, including myself, consider to be one of the best films ever made.
The Thing's opening is beautifully creepy, and one of the most immediate signifiers that this film is something else, as the opening titles play over a silent, black background, and the ominous and outstanding music begins to rise slowly. What follows is our introduction to the setting, Antarctica, and the film very effectively establishes the loneliness of that setting, with the huge mountains and desolate snowy stretches. What this intro also establishes is the film's marvellous cinematography, as we are shown the Norwegians hunting down a dog, a deliberately confusing action. Rather than an introduction to the characters, we are first introduced to the base itself, with a simple but effective wide shot of the base, surrounded by snow and mountains, and to the seemingly mundane life of its crew, as they play table tennis in the rec room. I could probably go through this film shot by shot and explain the effectiveness of each one, and maybe I will one day, but let's keep it simple here. Like a film I may make a few references to; Alien, The Thing does a great job of setting up its characters, while Kurt Russell's MacReady is a more pronounced main character than Ripley was in Alien, it does a fine job of making its other characters compelling as possible suspects in this mystery, no one character is less relevant than the rest, and each one has the spotlight thrust on them at one point or another, as the paranoia sets in. This actually serves the film better than it did in Alien, as the audience, like the crew in the film, have no idea who is the imposter, and the films cleverly throws clues to incriminate people, only for the Thing to be someone else entirely, this misdirection keeps the audience constantly on their toes. It's this sense of paranoia that makes the film so creepy, as anyone could be monsters in hiding, waiting for their chance to eat and copy you, that paranoia is the kind of shit that can really mess with people, and in a way it's the scariest part of the film; The Thing completely destroys your sense of trust, the feeling of knowing someone, and knowing you're safe with them, out the window, replaced by a constant, oppressive and self destructive feeling of dread, it's some of the best horror you're going to find in movies. Adding to that feeling of dread is the setting, like Alien, the film puts its characters in a claustrophobic, isolated environment, where there is no hope of rescue, and that hopelessness of Antarctica builds the horror perfectly, as like Alien, there's nowhere to go, the film traps its characters, and its audience in this environment, where they and you know a monster lurks. The Thing also does a perfect job of pacing its horror; near the beginning of the film, we are shown the ruins of the Norwegian camp, some not so subtle foreshadowing, we are also given some foreshadowing for the creature itself, but the film really takes it's time in revealing the monster, not giving us a really good look at the Thing until a good way into the film. Where The Thing couldn't be more different to Alien however is in its portrayal of the monster, where the Alien lurked in the shadows, and was rarely shown, and never shown in its entirety, The Thing holds nothing back, we, on several occasions, are shown the Thing in its full glory, and it's nasty.
That brings us onto the special effects, something The Thing is known for. The film's most dated effect is, weirdly, the first Thing it shows, an immobile, slimy mess on an operating table, maybe it's the fact that we never see it move, and it is a very creatively designed thing, but it doesn't look as good as, say every other Thing in the film. the first live Thing we are shown is one of the film's most memorable scenes, and it shows all, as a seemingly normal looking animal transforms into a monster, one with multiple heads, and insect limbs and tentacles, it's not only some of the weirdest and most creative creature design I've seen, but it's fucking freaky. The gore is a nice icing on this film's cake, as while you leave with the paranoia, what you either look forward to or dread, depending on your perspective, is the Thing scenes, when the imposter is revealed, and when the film shows off its frightening effects, which, since this was the 1980's, are entirely practical. And when those effects are used, it's brutal; earthly forms mutate and distort into nightmarish perversions, the creativity in their designs and the skill in their making cannot be understated, when the effects are at their best, it's hard to believe that what you're looking at is real, and it masterfully adds to the otherworldliness of the Thing, and to its evil, as it takes things we're familiar with, like the human body, and perverts it. Adding to the terror of The Thing is that the Thing isn't the only monster, metaphorically speaking; through the paranoia we see a pretty comprehensive breakdown of these characters, as the distrust starts to drive a few of them mad. Whereas the ideal action in such a situation would be to band together and defeat the enemy, the crew in this film instead turn on each other, suspecting everyone else to be the Thing, with some characters even taking drastic action to ensure the Thing doesn't get them or escape the camp. As bleak as it is, this is probably how it would go down, I love a film that looks at our humanity, and The Thing beautifully explores our darker side. There are very few notable flaws in this film, and the vast majority of which, that I've found, are technical, and understandable, mistakes happen, they're barely noticeable. The film's ambiguity could be seen as a flaw if you want all the answers, if you want to know who got to the blood, or what the ending meant, The Thing will leave you disappointed, but these decisions are deliberate, never finding out who the blood saboteur was adds to the paranoia. And the ending is amazing; if you've read my Life review, you'll know I adore films that nail the unhappy ending, but while Life educed in me a feeling of pure terror, The Thing's ending instead lingers on the unknown, it's ambiguous, and up for interpretation, you never get given all the answers before you leave, the film let's those questions get into your head, and it's beautifully bleak.
John Carpenter's The Thing is a film that I love, it's one of my favourite films, and I regard it as one of the best films ever made, and it's certainly up there with Alien as one of the finest horror films you can find. Sure the practical effects are superb, even after 35 years, and the creature designs are horrific, but what truly makes this film a masterpiece is the antitrust element with its characters, and its exploration into the isolation and paranoia besetting these characters. The Thing certainly doesn't have any jump scares, thank god, but what it offers instead is an intense, psychological sense of dread, one that stays with you long after the film ends, and is bolstered by its wonderfully ambiguous ending, The Thing is a masterpiece of science fiction horror, and is an absolute must watch.
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