Review Recall: The Thing
Due to not having a lot of time this week, I haven’t written a review recall. Mainly because I haven’t watched any old movies. That changed last night when I re-watched John Carpenter’s suspense ridden horror, The Thing. Does the suspense hold up? Or is the film as outdated as Kurt Russell’s hair? Well strap in to our cinema screen time machine as we head to the year of the male perm: 1982.
The Plot: R.J MacReady (Russell) is just one of a group of scientists investigating in the Antarctic. The American science group are disturbed by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians shooting a dog. The Americans rescue the dog before the Norwegians helicopter blows up.
Things take a turn for the worse when the dog shape shifts into an Alien and attacks all the other dogs. Macready and the others discover that the dog was a shape shifting Alien hell bent on surviving. However, The Alien can take the shape of any one of them. Who can MacReady trust, when the Alien can be any of them?
The Film: We are treated to hundreds of horror films now, all claiming to be filled with shocks and suspense. The majority of them don’t hold a candle to The Thing. John Carpenter is undoubtedly one of the masters of suspense and along with Christine; the Thing is carpenter’s best work.
Any new film maker should study the thing and how the film gives very little away to the last moment. John Carpenter definitely lulls the audience into a false sense of security, before hitting them with a shock or a splattering of red corn syrup.
It’s not just the action on screen that brings tension as everything adds to the suspense of this movie, whether it’s the shaky camera, the jumpy cutting or the ominous score, everything has it’s unique place to unnerve the audience.
I would like to make a special note to the special effects team. OK, today they look slightly dated, but this is due to the fact that the film is 30 years old. In 1982, I imagine the effects were pretty gut wrenching. My only problem with the film is at nearly two hours and with such a simple plot it does seem a tad too long, only by a couple of minutes or so, but too long none the less.
The Acting: With Carpenter favourite Kurt Russell being the only named star in the film you would think some of the performances would leave a lot to be desired. However, this is not the case. The cast across the board is pretty impressive with everyone being a believable mix of paranoid and scared.
Donald Moffat is probably the best of the rest playing Garry, boss of the station and accused Thing Victim. That being said, this is Kurt Russell’s film and he knows it. I have always been a Russell fan as he plays the gruff bad ass to aplomb. He is especially good here as helicopter pilot R.J MacReady who is forced to lead this group of paranoid men to safety, without getting eaten.
Also, with those shades and that hair he is definitely a sexy man. In a heterosexual way of course.
The Conclusion: An intense but slick thriller. Horror movie directors of the world take note; this is how you make a thriller. 8.5/10
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Until next time, go to the movies
Daniel Morris
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