Rating: 
Summary: Hand made monsters
Review: Since I was a child my favorite movies have always had good, gruesome monsters. I recently sat with my 14 year old son and we watched "The Thing" together. He knew it was my favorite horror film and he wanted to see why. At the end he just sat there with his mouth hanging open. You will never see a horror movie like this again simply because it is all done the easy way now. Computers. And we all know how real THOSE look! It was fun for my son to watch the extra features about the making of the film and the special effects. He never knew these "monster makers" ever existed and he wished they still did. "Wouldn't that be a GREAT job!" he exclaimed. They just don't make 'em like this anymore, and never will again.
IF you are a horror fan you will love it.
If you are a CRITIC buy "Chariot's of Fire".
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Sci-fi Horror film from John Carpenter.
Review: This 1982 Shocker stars Kurt Russell with Wilford Brimley
( Guy from the Oatmeal commercials) and Keith David
( Actor from Gargoyles: The series and Armageddon) who are
in the Artic trapped with a Alien Parasite outside waiting for them to become the Thing. Entertaining and chilling movie with
neat Special Effects, fine acting and Gore-Galore.Other similar movies i would recommend: Evil Dead, Evil Dead II,
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Presents: Pod People, Aliens,
Alien, C.H.U.D., Total Recall, Starship Troopers and Scanners.
Rating: 
Summary: Creepy film
Review: This film is very creepy and there's a suspensful feel throughout the film. Kurt Russell is very good in this one. He delivers a strong performance and is easily believable here. The remainder of the cast is just as strong. I recommend the dvd for the movie and also for the extras included. If you like alien thrillers and gory horror as well then this is your movie. There are plenty of in-your-face gore scenes. The alien concept in this film is very neat because it could look just like the person sitting next to you watching this film. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Fire an Empty Gun
Review: Aspiring film-makers should be required to watch this movie for its lesson in misplaced priorities. The moral is that if you are going to tell a story, there is simply no substitute for a good script. Though blessed with strong material from the original story "Who Goes There", Carpenter's version drowns the human interest of beseiged survivors in a flood of murky happenings to people we hardly get to know. The result is an abortive try at remaking the classic 1951 thriller. Too bad, because aliens remolding themselves in the image of any life form has the potential of a first-rate suspenser, while Carpenter's brilliant opening sequence promises just such a result, making the final contrast that much more unfortunate. It's not the overdone special effects that sabotage the result, even if the impression is of boys let loose in a latex sandbox. Instead, it's the lack of audience identification with the cast that prevents us from caring much about what happens to any of them as they charge up and down well-crafted sets. The apt comparison here is not with the literate 1951 version, but with the cinematically similar 1980 film "Alien". There director Ridley Scott wisely combines atmosphere, action and judicious special effects with moments of quiet exposition that create individual characters with whom the audience has a chance to bond. It's this latter that Carpenter sorely overlooks. There is also a lesson here about nepotism in Hollywood. If you hire a celebrity's son (Burt Lancaster's) as script writer, make sure he at least has an idea of how the film should end.
Rating: 
Summary: Four words: Read the original story
Review: John W. Campbell's "Who Goes There" stands as a true classic in the horrific sci-fi genre. It is a subtle tale of paranoia and isolation which leaves much to the imagination and lets the reader feel for the charatcers' plight. Apparently that wasn't good enough for John Carpenter, so he turned his version of "The Thing" into a loud, messy gore-fest. There is hardly any subtlty in this moviel. To be fair, there was hardly any subtlety in the 80's at all, but it is particularly sad in this movie which could have been a new classic, if just a little restraint had been considered. The Thing's transformations are loud and bloody, evoking not the disturbing air of the original story, but rather disgust. In the original story one could feel that the characters were comerades who slowly and of necessity gave way to paranoia. The characters in this movie yell and swear at each other a lot, but do very little that could be construed as constructive. One gets the impression that if The Thing didn't show up they would have gotten on each others' nerves and killed each other anyway in a few weeks. Some reviewers have tried to comapre it to the 50's version of the story, but that movie is so far removed from the original that there is hardly a point in comparing them. Also, the original was a product of its time (the invader who hides among us was too close to home for many McCarthy-esque fans, and of course the visual effects are far from what we expect today). Carpenter's movie has no such excuse, however, its ruin being attributable solely to the director's excesses.
Rating:
Summary: A Brand New Thing
Review: I first saw this movie at a drive in theatre and own both the vhs and the dvd. While this is called a remake of "The Thing From Another World" it has very little in common with the original. Great music, great FX and good character development make for an intense ride in a cold and lonely place.
Rating:
Summary: The first of the Apocalyspe series from Carpenter.
Review: In the winter of 1982 in Antarctic. Twelve men are living together in a reserach encampment. An creature from Outer Space has been awakening from more than an 10000 years from another reseach encampment. Now the creature is killing one by one... finishing off its inhabitants. Directed by John Carpenter (Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned-Remake) made a strong terrific horror/suspense/thriller. Written by Bill Lancaster (who is Burt Lancaster's father) wrote a standout film, Based on a Short Story by John W. Campbell Jr.-Who Goes There. DVD`s has an strong non-anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an excellent remastered sound on the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The running commentary track by Director:John Carpenter and actor:Kurt Russell (Soldier) is a hoot. Inculding an entertaining documentary based on the film. One of the Film`s High-Light is the Horrific and Excellent Make-Up Effects by Oscar-Winner:Rob Bottin. This DVD also has Deleted Scenes, an Isolated Film Score and More. This is Carpenter Apocalyspe series: The Thing (1982), Prince of Darkness (1987) & In the Mouth of Madness (1995). This is John Capenter`s Masterpiece, he`s best film ever. Panavision. Grade:A.
Rating:
Summary: one hell of a movie dvd
Review: The critics choice as best dvd and worthy too this is john carpenetrs best film along with halloween and asault on presinct 13. the extra bits will keep you going for ages. If i had to give this film a colour, it would be red. Blood Red!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible movie!
Review: This movie is an excellent adaptation of John W. Campbell Jr.'s 1950's classic sci-fi short story "Who Goes There?" The old black and white version is (not to my taste) and deviates from the premise in the short story, but Carpenter's version stays true to the original concept. I have watched this movie over 70 times and every time it is still tense. Its fun trying to figure out who gets taken over first. You can never do it. Every time its like watching it for
the first time. Also, this movie is very gory and serious. Those with weak stomachs should not watch this. I have heard
stories from people I know who have seen it about two seperate
occasions of children vomitting when the guys head comes off. This movie is great because it has all the literary conflicts present. It has man vs. nature. Man vs. beast. And man vs. man. Watch this movie again and again and try to figure out who gets taken over first and second, etc. Its a puzzle that will last a lifetime and keeps this movie fresh every time you watch it.
Rating:
Summary: Paranoia Strikes Deep. Into Your Life It Will Creep!
Review: "The Thing" is a faithful adaptation of the original story "Who Goes There?" rather than being a remake of the seminal film "The Thing From Another World." As such, it works well at creating an atmosphere of bitter cold, extreme isolation and increasing distrust. The bond the Antarctic research team has forged is gradually broken as a form-changing alien enters their camp. It first appears in the form of a huskie, but is later caught in the act of assimilating the other dogs. The special effects depicting this are horrific. An especially effective scene is when Wilford Brimley goes berserk, realizing that the alien is intent on duplicating them and getting back to civilization, eventually infecting the entire earth's population. As the alien begins taking over each one of them, it becomes increasingly difficult to determine who is infected and must be destroyed, and who is still human. By the end of the film only two characters remain; Childs, played by Keith David, and MacReady, played by Kurt Russell. Whether either or both of them are still human is unknown. The story ends with the research camp in ruins and the last two survivors waiting to freeze to death. That the outcome of what happens is never determined only adds to the horror. "The Thing" is one sci-fi/horror movie that has aged very well. The Collector's Edition DVD is fully loaded with running commentaries by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, an 80 minute documentary on the making of the film, outtakes, the theatrical trailer and so on. Watch this movie on a hot summer day and the chills it provides will allow you to give your air conditioner a rest!
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