by Robert Scocchi
| Published
Every once in a while, a classic horror film like a John Carpenter film comes on The thing It makes the rounds on live streaming and reminds us how far it was ahead of its time by elevating such a simple story with next-level creature effects. Now that The thing Streaming in all its violent, nihilistic glory on Shudder, you can see for yourself how tense and nauseous it makes you feel yourself.
From the remote wilderness of Antarctica to the ever-looming sense of paranoia that drips from every scene, you'll be hard-pressed to find a sci-fi horror film that makes you want to test the blood of everyone living in your world. Home before going to bed just to be safe. Or, if you're like me, your next viewing of The thing On Shudder it may or may not make you read Amazon Reviews of flamethrowers.
Why it works
Nevertheless The thing precedes predator By five years, both films have one thing in common that sets them apart from their contemporaries: a sense of routine and camaraderie from an experienced crew disrupted by external factors. Alien Troops. Kurt Russell's RJ “Mac” MacReady has a relationship with the rest of the research crew that easily lets the audience know how these people generally trust each other and get along in any other circumstance prior to the events that take place in The thingnow My neighbor On trembling.
When an American team's research station in Antarctica is raided by a Norwegian helicopter (not Swedish, Mac!), Mac and Dr. Cooper (Richard Dysart) decide to fly to the raider's station to see exactly what set them off. Their initial assumption is that the Norwegians had developed a case of cabin fever brought on by isolation, and for unknown reasons wanted to snipe one of the many sled dogs living on the American base. It doesn't take long for Mac and Dr. Cooper to find a badly burned corpse that appears to be a human in the suspended stage of mutation after being incinerated by the Norwegian crew.
Searching for a logical explanation, Mac and Dr. Cooper bring the body to their base of operations, along with any research the Norwegians have compiled before things get worse. Senior biologist Blair (A. Wilford Brimley) confirms that the body is human despite its deformities, but has a change of heart when one of the station's dogs mutates violently while confined in the kennel. The crew now knows that they are dealing with some kind of “Thing” that takes the form of its host in order to assimilate and eliminate any living being that can host its DNA, and they shudder at the implications.
While there is some suspicion at first that they are dealing with an alien life form, it is difficult for everyone to ignore the buried alien spacecraft that the Norwegians discovered before they began their rampage.
An exercise in futility
The thing It represents an ethical dilemma that must be addressed immediately. Blair, growing in his paranoia, makes an executive decision that the Thing's contamination and assimilation efforts should remain isolated after predicting that any life form they come into contact with could take over the entire planet within a few years if released throughout the world. the world. . He destroys the radios and sleds and kills the remaining dogs to make sure no one can escape.
Armed with flamethrowers and enough explosives to blow the research station to the sky, the crew is certain they won't survive the winter. When Pennings (Peter Maloney) and Norris (Charles Hallahan) become infected, the surviving crew's paranoia takes over because they have no real way of knowing who else is infected with this thing. Although Mac and Childs (Keith David) have more than enough reason to distrust each other at this point in the ordeal, they have no choice but to put their heads together in their efforts to survive.
Next level creature effects
Aside from emotional and existential turmoil, The thing It shocked everyone upon its release in 1982 because of how far ahead of its time it was with its creature design and stop-motion animation, which still holds up when it airs on Shudder. Special effects designer Rob Bottin requested a budget of $1.5 million (one-tenth of the amount). The thing entire production budget), and used a mixture of chemicals, food, rubber, and mechanical parts to bring the eponymous thing to life in various bizarre permutations. If you see this one way or another John Carpenter A classic debuting in 2025, you may not believe you're watching a 43-year-old movie because of how well the practical effects are executed.
Certified cult classic
The thing It's a creature feature that actually benefits from having its monster on screen, and there's no shortage of blood, ectoplasm, saliva, and bones to make that point. As the intensity of each surge increases, so does the sensation TRUE The fearlessness of the main cast is made all the more convincing by the frigid temperatures on set, which likely kept adrenaline levels high during production, giving the film an air of authenticity that I haven't seen beautifully replicated since.
You can stream The thing now On tremblingAnd I highly recommend you do so the next time you want to see the world burn. And if you want to explore The thing Moreover, TypeVision The podcast offers excellent analysis that you won't want to miss.
