Angie B's 31 Horror Films in 31 Days Kicks Off With... THE THING.
JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING
(1982)
STARRING: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David.
DIRECTED BY: John Carpenter (I don't want to say "Duh", but...)
RATED: A hard R.
(NOTE: For the past three years I have attempted to watch a horror flick a day for the entire month of October. I've come close before, but have never quite made it. Here's hoping that this year proves the winner!)
I can't remember the first time I was subjected to the malevolent, horrific creature that is THE THING, but I do remember that I was far too young to see a dog turned inside out like that. The images in this film -- from the Thing dissolving a husky with a spray of acid, to Bennings crouching in the snow with tentacle-claw hands wailing in an unearthly dirge, to the man's stomach opening in a giant maw to bite the arms from an attending doctor, to the head of that same "man" breaking off and growing crablike legs and eyes -- have haunted my nightmares for many, many years.
But God, if this movie isn't the stuff of the most exquisite nightmares.
A remake in the loosest terms -- the original flick, The Thing From Another World, was a pulpy mess from the Fifties that portrayed the Thing as a sort of blood-sucking vegetable eventually eradicated by the application of an electrified conveyer belt -- the film takes place in one of the most remote and barren of locales: Antarctica. A small American scientific base finds itself under attack by a nameless creature that has the ability to perfectly mimic other living creatures: it first appears to be a simple husky, but quickly begins to emulate the more complex humans within the compound. The merest contact with this creature can lead to infection and transformation -- it's actually more of a virus than a monster, though it's plenty monstrous.
Our hero is MacReady (Russell), a boozy and cynical helicopter pilot who rallies gamely in the face of this interstellar menace, and proves a deft hand with a flamethrower. Wilford Brimley (yes, the former cowboy-turned-Walrus Man from the diabetes commercials) is the observant Dr. Blair, who goes a little crazy once he realizes the true extent of this Thing's abilities. Keith David plays one of the many skeptical crewman who quickly turns paranoiac and violent.
I blame this film and Big Trouble in Little China for my love of Kurt Russell and his epic hair.
After I recovered from my initial shock, awe, and abject terror -- so, a couple years after my first viewing -- I became a devoted champion of this little cult classic. It's a real shame it did so badly in the box office when it was first released, because I think this is a truly stellar film on several levels. Carpenter has long claimed The Thing as his favourite creation, and while Halloween is great and a classic for good reason, I have to agree with him on this pronouncement. Halloween is one of the best slasher flicks yet created, but The Thing... It's in a class all its own. It could be taken as scifi, or horror, or action, or a simple gorefest. It's a film that presses a number of subconscious pressure points directly wired into our fears: isolation, paranoia, invasion (at a literal bodily level).
A lot of people focus on the gore aspects of this film -- and I agree that the special effects are phenomenal, and truly memorable -- but that's only half of the horror in this film. There's also the pervasive unease and paranoia that settles in as soon as the base realizes exactly what they're up against. They're thousands of miles away from any help, in a place that's incredibly unforgiving and deadly, and they can't even trust the man beside them to actually still be a man. It's easy to go mad and become violent in such a setting; the suspicion is everywhere, and not even the audience can be sure about anyone (except for Mac, perhaps, as our determined hero). It's this tension in combination with the grotesque and incredibly gooey special effects that make this film so memorable.
To the bare bolts of the production: Cameron's direction is great here. There's plenty of off-kilter shots, people shot out of focus, extreme close-ups, and slow pans across frozen puddles of blood. At times it can be difficult to see exactly what is happening -- there are hectic shots and close-ups of flailing tentacles, stretching skin, bloody and vague forms emerging from twisted flesh -- but that only adds to the horror. Perhaps we're not meant to fully understand the Thing's transformation; like Lovecraft's Elder Gods, it's simply something beyond our total comprehension.
The lighting and colors are vivid, from the snow to the brilliant flares and flamethrowers, from the Karo syrup blood to the green ooze and pus. Ennio Morricone, that genius of a composer, barely scored the film -- more often than not the background noise is the howling Arctic wind -- but his simple tracks are simply perfect, emulating Carpenter's signature musical style and emphasizing the slowly creeping dread and moments of horrific realization. And I can't discuss The Thing without tipping my proverbial hat to Mr. Rob Bottin, the designer and mastermind of those inhumanly grotesque shapes and transformation sequences. He was only 22 when he set to work on crafting the Thing, and for such a spring chicken he proved himself most admirably. Everyone in the industry lauds Stan Winston, Tom Savini, and Greg Nicotero (and for good reason: they've all been masters at their craft), but it seems Rob Bottin's efforts have largely been ignored. Which is a real shame, because while he hasn't had a huge filmography to boast on his resume, his efforts on this film alone should entitle him to entry in the hallowed Gallery of BadAss SFX Masters (a purely fictional organization, but DAMN IT, it should exist).
Thanks again, Mr. Bottin, for giving us such wonderful nightmare fodder. FOREVER.
Of course, even with such a great concept and solid production values, this film could have been an utter waste if the cast hadn't been up to snuff. That isn't the case, of course. Kurt Russell is almost perfect as MacReady; Wilford Brimley is at times sage, at others completely unhinged, and then again deathly calm; and the rest of the assorted cast fill out the Gallery of Victims & Monsters nicely, most distinguishing themselves from the collective with nice personality quirks and tones. This is a grim scenario, and these are strong-willed men who rally with differing levels of success.
The Thing is a film that I tend to watch year-round, it's so good. But it's an especially fun outing during the Halloween season, when the possibility of a nasty alien invasion seems just a bit more likely. Sure, it has a dark and almost nihilistic tone -- especially with that killer of an ending -- but I rather enjoy its darkness and ambiguity. This is a film with bite, and it never hesitates to really chomp down and draw blood. You've got to applaud a filmmaker willing to be that brutal, and a hero willing to sacrifice all for the greater good. This comes highly recommended from Angie B., though I must caution those with weak stomachs: this may not be the film for you, as it's rather graphic and disgusting at times. And the animal lovers should be warned that there are some pretty nasty atrocities committed against man's best friend. I definitely sympathize with Clark's feelings on that particular count.
FAVOURITE SCENES: Oh, God, can I just say "All of them"? In particular: the first true sight of the Thing, when Mac and Norris bring the body back from the Norwegian base, in all of its malformed, half-burned, and gooey 'glory'; the scene with the shock paddles that goes horribly awry; the detached head becoming a skittering crab creature (which is also the moment that convinced Guillermo del Toro he wanted to make horror films -- one of my favourite anecdotes!); the blood-testing sequence and subsequent Shit Hitting The Fan. Oh, and Kurt Russell in that Arctic Sombrero of Awesome -- the man was so manly, he only needed his beard and a sombrero to stay warm in Antarctica. X^D
FINAL SCORE: A solid 9 out of 10, for a great concept, great acting, great SFX, and truly disturbing horror.
Click to viewNow THIS is how you make a horror trailer -- give just enough to tease, not enough to give away major plot points.