Fante’s Inferno revisits the films of the Summer of 1982, considered to be the greatest movie summer for fantasy and sci-fi fans.
The Thing
Directed by John Carpenter; Screenplay by Bill Lancaster based on the story Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr.
Starring: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Donald Moffat, Richard Dysart, T.K. Carter, David Clenn0n, Richard Mazur, Thomas G. Waites, Joel Polis
The trailer can be seen here.
I haven’t seen John Carpenter’s The Thing since the mid 80’s, and I don’t remember it having as big of an impact on me as several of the other films that were released during the Summer of ’82. Over time I may have dismissed The Thing as an Alien-esque knockoff, but watching it again this weekend I realized how little I remembered about this film and how wrong my initial assessment was.
Back in ’82 I was too young to really appreciate this film as a psychological thriller. As a ten year old I cared more about the special effects and gore. This time around I was able to truly appreciate the performances of the entire cast, particularly Wilford Brimley and Donald Moffat. The scenes of confusion, paranoia, and survival had more of an impact on me as a viewer than the gory sequences. I thought Kurt Russell was the epitome of badass as Snake Plissken in Escape From New York, and his character of R.J. MacReady in The Thing oozes the same confidence. Maybe a little too much at times. Considering the fact that they’re dealing with a shape shifting alien that can easily take over their bodies, he seemed a little too much in control for me to find his character believable today. Although Keith David did give him strong competition in the badass category when he broke out the flame thrower.
One thing I loved about The Thing was the pace of the film. The opening shot of alien’s ship in distress as it entered Earth’s atmosphere was quick and effective. The sequence of the Norwegians chasing a Siberian Huskie along the frozen landscape of Antarctica in an attempt to kill it adds to the sense of mystery. The introduction of the staff at the American scientific base quickly and effectively sets up their situation in Antarctica (boredom and isolation) without wasting too much time on exposition. Alien ship crash lands on Earth, dog chased along the frozen landscape, Norwegian gets shot. What the heck is this group in for?
The gore and special effects were great for the time, but the autopsy scenes creeped me out more than the alien working its way through the members of the camp. One thing that really surprised me watching it with today’s sensibilities is that these characters were way too comfortable with exposure to germs and blood (MacReady inspecting what could be contaminated clothing without gloves, and Windows simply wiping the blood off of a scalpel before cutting his own finger with it). These little things actually got me to cringe more than the gory scenes.
Based on the short story Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr. (who is considered the father of modern science fiction) The Thing was the second adaptation of his story on film (the first was The Thing From Another World in 1951). John Carpenter had been at his A game for years by 1982, but his storytelling reached a whole new level with The Thing. In my opinion the heightened sense of isolation, paranoia and distrust among the characters makes it hold up better today than Halloween and The Fog. Bill Lancaster’s screenplay keeps us guessing as we try to figure out who in the group was the next one to be infected by the thing. At one point I thought to myself that this story could have also worked as a stage play. Prior to watching it this weekend, I expected a lot more gore and a lot less psychological drama and was pleasantly surprised when the opposite played out. Each scene makes you wonder when and how the axe will fall on these guys. I enjoyed it back then, but watching it again 30 years later turned out to be more enjoyable than I expected.
Fante's Inferno 