The Thing
Dir. John Carpenter, 1982
| Rated: R | Writers | Starring |
| Runtime: 1 hr. 49 min. | Bill Lancaster | Kurt Russell |
| Producer: David Foster, et al. | John W. Campbell, Jr. ("Who Goes There?" source story) | A. Wilford Brimley |
| Production Company: David Foster Productions | T.K. Carter |
Reviewed by Robert Ring. 8.18.08
The Thing presents itself as a remake of The Thing from Another World, but the original really serves as little more than an inspiration for this production. The only thing the two have in common is snow and the fact that there is a monster. This one is also not as good. If you're looking to get grossed out, give it a shot, though there are plenty other films that I would suggest you look to first for that end. The Thing has its moments, but it is overall too shallow.
Though as far as its setting and focus on group conflict goes, it does have a lot in common with The Thing from Another World, The Thing bears a more noticeable resemblance to Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). The monster of the film is one that takes the form of whatever host it can, much like the latter's podpeople, except for the fact that only one person (or animal) is taken over at a time. This, as you can probably guess, leads to a sense of paranoia among the characters since we usually do not know if any given character is the real McCoy. Invasion of the Body Snatchers shared this strategy as well.
This paranoia is what the film is banking on. Unfortunately, it doesn't end up working to much effect because instead of getting to know the characters and understand that paranoia, we follow R.J. MacReady, the Kurt Russell cowboy scientist, who quickly becomes a bullying dictator. People who like this film (there are a lot of them) point to it as a study of paranoia, but the film is ultimately more interested in creating a badass than someone we can relate to. All we end up seeing about paranoia is what it looks like on the outside, and we already know what paranoia looks like -- fear and distrust. It takes no amount of insight to see that paranoia's symptoms include shout matches and physical scuffles. The film does not delve into paranoia to see what it feels like. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, for instance, does put you into the heart of paranoia and is therefore much more effective. In that film we are placed in the characters' shoes and feel the paranoia ourselves rather than only watch.
As I said though,The Thing does do a good job with its gross-out visual effects. In this sense it is more like the insanity of Re-Animator or David Cronenberg's The Fly than its source material. The body takeover process is as distortive, bloody, and bizarre as you can imagine, often leaving skeletal remains unidentifiable. If it had taken this strategy and run with it, we would have one heck of a film. The problem is that there is not enough of it.
I think that if this film had more of either its graphic, shocking imagery or story-driven, creeping paranoia, it would have been to great benefit. As it is, it doesn't build up enough suspense for the payoff to be worthwhile. It also doesn't have enough visceral scenes to make it enjoyable just for its imagination and intensity. That being said, even though it has not enough of either of these things, it does have a little of both, which is more than some films can boast. Also, I cannot deny the fact that this has been an oft-loved movie by many a science-fiction fan. The gore and jump scares should keep your interest for the duration of the film. If you require a little depth in your movies, there's not much to go back for in The Thing.
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