By Geno McGahee
When it comes to filmmakers, there aren’t many with the track record of John Carpenter. HALLOWEEN, THEY LIVE and THE FOG are just three of the many hits. The films all have this great atmosphere and feel to them. The 1982 film “THE THING” is another quality film from Carpenter, using a group of characters trapped with a killing force.
Antarctica is the setting with a group of American scientists on an expedition. A helicopter lands and two Norwegian men chase down a dog, shooting, missing, and clipping one of the guys at the base, prompting the Americans to open fire and kill the Norwegians. They adopt the dog and are all confused. Why did they attack? What is going on? RJ MacReady (Kurt Russell) goes with some of his crew to the Norwegian base to see if they can find any clues and discover a mutilated thing and a destroyed building. Something terrible went on.
They bring the body back and have Dr. Blair (Wilford Brimley) dissect it. All seemed normal as far as the internal organs, but from the outside, it’s a monster. Everything returns to normal and the boys continue to play ping pong, chess, and anything else to keep them busy. When the dog gets a little intrusive, Clark (Richard Masur) brings it to the dog kennel with the other dogs. That’s when it gets weird.
Immediately, the other dogs start barking and backing away from this new addition. The dog’s head breaks open and it transforms into some big grotesque beast that begins killing the other dogs. Clark comes back to find it and calls in the forces. MacReady and the gang begin shooting at the thing. Childs (Keith David) burns it with a flamethrower and they now have another one of the things to contend with. Dr. Blair does another autopsy and determines that whatever it is, it can take the shape of what it kills. This sends the crew into hysteria, each suspecting each other of harboring this killer force.
When Dr. Blair begins going crazy and destroying equipment with an axe and hurting the others. They attack him and lock him up and he notes that “if there was something wrong with me, I’m fine now.” They are not convinced, rightfully. MacReady takes over and isn’t taking any chances, trying to expose which of his crew may be infected. It was nice to see T.K. Carter in this. I loved HE’S MY GIRL…a totally underrated 80’s comedy. Sadly, there was never a HE’S MY GIRL 2.
MacReady ties everybody to chairs and does a test to expose them if they are infected, leading to an awesome scene where three people are tied to a monster that is going crazy. I don’t think that MacReady thought this one out too well. Whatever the case, it worked, but things go from bad to worse and it becomes obvious that there is no way to defeat this thing. When they discover the alien ship, the determination is made that they have to destroy the thing and not allow it to attack the rest of the world. It will end now, even though the crew will most likely all die.
THE THING is a masterpiece. I’ve often wondered why Kurt Russell never took off as an action star. I think that he never defined himself in the film business because he floated around to so many different genres, but despite his success in comedies, I think his calling was to do gritty action films and horror/action films like this one. Perhaps he would have had a fatter bank account had he stayed in those genres or perhaps I have no fucking idea what I’m talking about.
Keith David from THEY LIVE once again plays the role well as the tough guy that is battling very hard for the lead. The battle for control plays out through the movie to the very end. Like most of his films, John Carpenter surrounded himself with good people. This is a classic monster movie with great practical effects that stand the test of time. It looks far better than the CGI we see nowadays. This film is a must see.
Rating: 8/10
Wait until Christmas Day when Quentin Tarantino’s new movie, the Hateful Eight, starts at theaters. Kurt Russell plays a bounty hunger called The Hangman. Whenever he captures someone, he always takes them back alive so they can hang. This time he’s bringing back a crazed woman, who seems to be as batty as a fruit cake. When they get snowed in at a way station, the other men who are also stranded there, decide to kill both the Hangman and the woman, and then take the woman’s body back for the reward money. Killing the Hangman, however, isn’t going to be easy. Actors in Tarantino movies have been known to win Oscars!