The Thing

Archived Review
November, 2004

The Thing
Carpenter, 1982



The reason The Thing is one of the most effective horror movies I’ve ever seen is that it has a perfect combination of genuine scares and haunting, terrifying atmosphere. From the very beginning of the movie there is a chilling sensation about it, something that makes you tense and uneasy. And then when ‘the thing’ begins to terrorize the Antarctic scientists, there are plenty of really effective ‘jump’ scares, making for a very frightening movie overall. Most horror movies are lucky to achieve even one of these two types of horror, but The Thing is an embodiment of both, and example by which all horror movies should strive for. I should also mention that this movie has some of the best pre-CGI special effects I’ve seen, and many of them are frankly disturbing. It was unfortunate that after this movie, films started to really mess with CGI, and gems like The Thing began to disappear to be replaced with the likes of Independence Day. Another interesting duality that I loved was the sensation of claustrophobia contrasted against the wide opened ‘nothingness’ of Antarctica.

There is a feeling of dread because they are stuck on a near lifeless continent, cut off from all communication. You look anywhere and there is only white. There is no police, there is no safe haven, there is no civilization. They are utterly alone in the massive expanse of the Antarctic. Yet, there is a very powerful feeling of cluster phobia throughout, both because they decide to hole up in their small research facility, and because you they can’t trust anyone. You see, the monster in this film takes shape of living creatures, including humans, so the band of scientists cannot even trust each other, also making for some very dynamic and compelling scenes, as you can imagine. Anyone of them could be the monster, ‘the thing’, and therefore it lends to the movie’s feeling of cluster phobia which ultimately lends to the entire films masterfully crafted atmosphere. The ambiguous ending also goes down in my books as one of my favourite horror movie endings ever. All in all, The Thing is a master of scares and atmosphere, and this dynamic horror movie is something that I use as a benchmark when comparing to any other horror movie.