The Thing (1982)

Rodders said:

This movie stand up after multiple viewings. Excellent special effect, a great cast and a great script. There are so many great scenes that it's difficult to pick one out. Still one of my favourite movies, even now.

It's a shame they didn't do a sequel. Now that would've been dark.

I didn't mind the prequel and I get the criticism that it was essentially the same movie, but there's not a lot that you can do given it's the same setting and the same situation.

Click to expand...

I thought the ending was brilliant.

The Thing is, in my opinion, one of the best horror films ever made. Genuinely scary, tense and extreme paranoia, not to mentim great casting and direction.

One of the best lines ever -

"What is that thing?"
"I don't know, but it's wierd and pissed off."

Perhaps my favourite Carpenter film, although "Assault...", "Escape.." and "Halloween" are not too far behind in the entertainment stakes!

Rob Bottin's prosthetic sfx were, and still are, exceptionally well done, and truly terrifying even after repeat viewings!

And I particularly liked the downbeat ending!

And as for favourite lines!

Palmer's "You gotta be f***in' kidding!" always raises a smile. But the best of the best would be Fuch's "There is still cellular activity in these burned remains. They're not dead yet!"

I'd have to go with Macready's "Cheatin' bitch...".

No girls in the Thing, only the computer voice that MacReady pours a drink into...
Part three has to come along eventualmoi. The Thing has to get loose, it's still alive, some bit of it, under the ice there...

Such a good movie!
One of my favorites to bring up when discussing practical effects. Now I wanna re-watch it over the weekend.

Rodders said:

I'd have to go with Macready's "Cheatin' bitch...".

Click to expand...

Being a bit of a computer geek (although more so in my youth 20 odd years ago), I was quite shocked when MacReady poured that scotch into the innards of his "cheating" computer!

I kept on thinking to myself "But the motherboard, man! You've blown the motherboard!" (Never mind all the subsequent violence, terror and grizzly deaths to the humans: the guy blew away a perfectly good PC!!)

I seem to recall wanting The Thing to take swift & merciless vengence out on MacRready!

I remember seeing The Thing in the cinema in 1982. It was and still is the scariest film I've ever seen. When the head sprouts legs and starts walking I still cringe in fear.

One of my favourite quotes is when Garry says 'I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I'd rather not spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS F**KING COUCH!'

Ignited Moth said:

Such a good movie!
One of my favorites to bring up when discussing practical effects. Now I wanna re-watch it over the weekend.

Click to expand...

Alan Dean Foster did the novelization of movie.

BAYLOR said:

Alan Dean Foster did the novelization of movie.

Click to expand...

I read that one. It was pretty good as I recall. I may even still have it buried away somewhere.

Vince W said:

I read that one. It was pretty good as I recall. I may even still have it buried away somewhere.

Click to expand...

Foster is a terrific writer.

Indeed. Probably the largest single contributor to my adolescence reading.

BAYLOR said:

Foster is a terrific writer.

Click to expand...

I have that book buried in my attic! It's been an age since it last saw daylight. Might be inclined to "go hunting" for it, or better still just download it to my Kindle, and see if it still stands up against the film

Leto said:

BTW, someone have seen the recent remake of Assault on Precinct 13 with Laurence Fishburne and Ethan Hawke ?

Click to expand...

Yes, I actually ended up seeing it in the theater. It's not an all time classic or anything, but it's a decent dirty cop/siege type film. Worth seeing at least once. Good actors, good performances.

BAYLOR said:

Alan Dean Foster did the novelization of movie.

Click to expand...

If you get an opportunity to read Campbell's original story, it still retains all the suspense and paranoia that Carpenter captured in the movie. Even all these years later.

Absolutely love this film, one of my favs of all time. Loads of great characters and lines, and the sfx still hold up today, which is more than be said for a lot of the dross out there (i happened to catch a bit of Phantom Menace on TV the other day, man that dated horribly!). Gotta love Macready and the gang, many of the infamous scenes and lines have already been mentioned, although the autopsy always stuck out in my mind as a great scene as well, particularly the gagging by the doctor whose carrying it out!.

Never saw the prequel, heard so many bad things about it, always had in mind that they would make a sequel whereby the radio operator (Windows?) has actually managed to get the message out, and once the storm clears a rescue team from McMurdo Station which is much larger (~250 inhabitants) comes to get them, possibly led by some form of military (I believe it's a US base so they're bound to have an armed presence ). Of course, Macready and Childs are still alive, although Macready is unresponsive so they take them both back and, well you can imagine how it continues from there!

**Spoiler Alert** You just know Childs was infected at the end of the original, although it's never revealed, else where did he go during the climatic battle? It's probably a bit late to do the sequel now so we'll just never know, but I always had it as the transition a la Alien > Aliens

I didn't think that the prequel was that bad. The problem with it is that it's essentially the same movie. (although in fairness, given the location it could only ever be the same movie.)

Something that i didn't think was explored enough was the intelligence possessed by the creature (either natural intelligence, or gained as part of the absortion).

The prequel did a good thing though. It left our heroine headed back across the ice, towards the camp where MacReady and the other guy are still alive.
So we can start with her getting there. Kurt Russel doesn't have to be there, or the other guy, they can be Thinged by then, or whatever. It's pretty well set up.

Well this has just made me want to watch it again

Has anyone else listened to the Carpenter/Russell commentary on the DVD? I think they may both have been a little . . . tipsy

Tis such a great film. Talking about drinks and the film, I love the fan theory that McCready actually starts drinking petrol (or gasoline for our American cousins) right at the end instead of scotch, to test Childs to see if he was an alien. From memory Childs takes a big slug with no ill effect, so McCready knows all he can do is do nothing, freeze it (and himself) to stop it spreading...