John Carpenter takes a brilliant concept and lanches it ten fold. This movie scared me for such a long time after the first viewing then to learn that it was not only a remake but an adaptation as well it blew my mind. When talking about some of the best horror movies ever this movie comes up on several lists even all of the way at number three. This in my opinion is one of a few films that surpasses the source material.
The film opens in space and shows a ship being pulled into the atmosphere and thus the movie begins. After the title opening a dog is seen running in the snow from a helicopter that is shooting down at it, It goes to a camp of twelve men who all seem a little bored and a little anxious to leave, Things only go down from there for these men as the begin to loss complete trust in one another Already things are shrouded in mystery and it escalates dramatically as the movie progresses. To say anymore of the plot would spoil the movie as knowing as little as possible gives the movie a huge advantage to frighten the viewer.
Some of the aspects and themes that contribute to what makes a horror movie for me are something unknown that lacks normal human morals, panic by the characters, isolation, and a large lack of knowledge of what to do and what is going on. These are all aspects of this film from start to finish. It hits all of the right notes and makes a constant level of mistrust and lack of knowledge. This can not be done without good direction and great acting. The cast is a group of just men fourteen men in total, the two Norwegian men and then all of the Americans, This is a big change from the novella as there are thirty-six men but this way the men have some character development and are fleshed out, so when things start to get tense in the film and you don't know what is going to happen you care for each person their. This is not only done by the acting but by how Carpenter set up each scene and leaving all of the windows open so that you feel the same mistrust that the men at the facility feel. Some of this and more themes lead to this film surpassing the novella. I watched the film before knowing about the novella so going into this film with not knowing what to expect and wanted to be scared and I can say without a doubt I was, from the mystery to the stunning practical effects this movie is one of the best.
Every aspect of this movie felt real, from all of the costumes to the practical effects of the beast and the setting, it feels as though I am watching these events first hand. The setting of the film is one of its strongest points, stranded in the middle of a desalite continent with no where to go as the storm covering the glacier would kill you within the hour. It creating such a feel of isolation for these men as they could not escape this thing. This film is probably most famous for its effects. They are perfect. A question was asked about how the effects look today and if they hold up, I heard some people mention that they are dumb looking now but I guarantee that if they were in the presence of the thing they would turn running with their tails between their legs. They are so real and terrifying that it has become one of the most renown horror movies of all time.
There is a definite main character of this story, R. J. McReady, as he takes charge of the group and it follows him, but not for the entire film. This film follows a handful characters to expand the view of the mistrust. Even if it is just with a character for a moment it gives a look to what they are thinking and feeling, adding some small things to each of the scenes brings it so much further than the novella was at. Like the scene when McReady goes to ask Blair a question in the shed and they open the little hatch in the door to see him and there is a noose hung by Blair at the table and it is never mentioned, and Blair walks by it not even looking at it. I thought that this was brilliant and it brought a lot of mental distress his character, even though he just walks past it and asks to leave. This sort of pain can be seen in a lot of the characters as they are having inner conflicts not knowing if some of their best friends have been taken over by this monstrosity.
One of the most prominent themes of this movie is mistrust. The men all have their composure and are level headed until they get to the Norwegian and realize something very bad is going on. Soon after that everything starts to fall apart for the men, as they can't trust each other at all in fear that the person they are standing next to might not be a person. This leads everyone to be very upset and even to do rash things throughout the film. This same feeling is felt for the viewers as you have no idea if any of the characters are themselves or not.
John Carpenter's The Thing is one of the best horror movies of all time. It far surpasses all of the source material. The film as a whole was almost perfect with a few technical flaws here and there concerning time lapsing, not knowing how much time has gone by when they find the tunnel and the amount of fuel they have for their flamethrowers. Other than that I thought the movie was great and I would give it an A on a letter grade scale from A+ to F. I gave it 10/10 on here but I'd give it a 9 and a half if I could do halves
