Most remakes are studies in folly. No matter how much more ‘modern’ you make it or how much you dress it up in contemporary cinematic technique, the original film will always be the one an entire generation or more has grown up with. It is the rare remake that captures the imagination as thoroughly as the original. John Carpenter’s THE THING is arguably the greatest remake of any film ever made. This movie is so good it has completely supplanted the 1951 original (“The Thing from Another World”) as the definitive telling of this story. THE THING boasts the kind of paranoid, claustrophobic atmosphere that John Carpenter excelled at. The tour-de-force ‘blood testing’ scene is a microcosm of how this entire film plays - lulling you with compelling dialogue and rhythmic comfort, then springing the Horror trap and unleashing some of the most terrifying creature designs you’ll ever see.
This was John Carpenter’s passion project, and it shows in the grand quality of the final result. Carpenter, working for the first time with a budget and with a major studio, poured everything he had into this film - bringing a calculated and meticulous approach to every detail. The cast is lead by Kurt Russell (who had just created the iconic Snake Plissken character for Carpenter’s “Escape from New York”) and Wilford Brimley. THE THING also launched the career of the great character actor Keith David. The cast, however, is not the only place where Carpenter brought in the absolute best.
Up to this point, John Carpenter had scored his own films, often composing music that has since become iconic in the horror genre. Recognizing, however, that this film needed a more experienced hand, Carpenter passed the scoring duties to legendary film composer Ennio Morricone - who created an eerie, atmospheric vibe. For the creature effects, Carpenter turned to Rob Bottin, and the models and costumes that make up this film’s creature effects still hold as some of the most convincing and most original ever conjured - and all created a full 11 years before CG was to take over the special effects world.
Given all of this, it’s difficult to conceive that the film was considered a failure when released in 1982. The studio blamed the bleak, unsettling ending for its poor reception among mainstream filmgoers and they may well have been right. The important fact is that THE THING has since rightfully taken its place as a Horror masterpiece and John Carpenter’s highest artistic achievement in film.
THE THING fun facts - In an unaccredited performance, Adrienne Barbeau provides the female voice on MacReady’s computer. Barbeau was John Carpenter’s wife at the time.
Creature effects creator Rob Bottin was only 22 when he was brought onto the project.
Windows - “We're a thousand miles from nowhere, man. And it's gonna get a hell of a lot worse before it gets any better!”
Childs - “I just cannot believe any of this voodoo bullshit!”
Macready - “If we've got any surprises for each other, I don't think either one of us is in much shape to do anything about it…”