Rating: 
Summary: CLASSIC HORROR FILM
Review: Just watched this again for the nth time on SCREAM television. I can't comment on this DVD release, as I have not seen it. As for the film itself, it never fails to enthrall. This is absolutely one of the best horror films ever made, and John Carpenter's finest effort. For atmosphere, suspense, acting, grotesque effects, music, this film is tops. For whatever the reason, after this it was abruptly downhill for John Carpenter. His subsquent films range from barely watchable to absolutely, unbarely awful.
HOWEVER, this film is a masterpiece of its type.
One final note: BEWARE a butchered version of this film that was slapped together for television in the early eighties. It features additional footage whilst removing much of the horrific effects and ruined the movie.
Not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: It was the right time.
Review: Maybe someone said so in the DVD's documentary: 1982 was the right time for this movie. Nothing like it would be made today, or even a few years after its release. Even if a thematically similar film were made, it's almost a guarantee that it would use digital effects. This movie boasts the most incredible prosthetic effects ever seen, and I know in my gut that if it were made with computer graphics it wouldn't be nearly as good.Okay, enough about that. I probably don't need to describe the movie itself, at least not from a plot perspective. Let me briefly cover technique: this movie is built for suspense. From the marvelous low-key Ennio Morricone score to the gold-standard cinematography of Dean Cundey, from the scene construction (I love the scene where the dog enters a crew room, and the scene fades out after we see the man's shadow turning - no sting, no shock, just a fade out) to the realistic paranoia and fear building in the eyes of the men. I admit that paranoia movies are a personal favorite genre, but there are very few films that I can say made me sweat from suspense, and this is one of them. One of the film's greatest strengths is the ensemble cast - mostly familiar faces, but not TOO familiar, so you feel a kinship and empathy but you're not saying "oh, that's Richard Masur" the same way you would if it were Bruce Willis, for example. Sure, there's Kurt Russell, but he plays his role so perfectly that he just fits right in with everyone else. Then of course there's the ending, something John Carpenter excels at (the ending of his ESCAPE FROM L.A. made the whole movie for me) especially when in the dystopian mode... so here again we can make up our own stories over "what happened next." The DVD presentation is packed with so many goodies it's hard to know where to start. An excellent documentary, enjoyable commentary, isolated score (selectable during the documentary), even some cut scenes...and so much more. The picture is fantastic, with such wonderful smooth blue hues so prevalent in the movie. For many years laserdisc owners were tantalised by rumours of a special edition with tons of extras, and when we finally got it (on both laserdisc and DVD) we weren't disappointed at all, and it was well worth the years of anticipation. The movie is absolutely not for everyone, as its level of gore is quite high. Many people say they're distracted too much by the gore, but I seem to immerse myself in the film's atmosphere and it's never taken me out of the experience. An engrossing and extremely well-crafted film, and the same goes for this special edition presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific horror
Review: My mind is like one of those wierd little toy cars that, after pushing it forward and letting go, keeps going for an absurdly long time, whirring the whole way. I am also an avid horror fan, so this does not add up well. For example- after watching "The Ring", I stuck my television on the back porch and hid under the covers. My mind just keeps going over and over, bringing up vivid images of frightening things like the girl in the closet. John Carpenter's The Thing was no help to my overactive imagination. After watching it for the fourth time I grew wary of my cat sitting on the rug. It looked at me, and I dashed to the bedroom. And I'm 24.
A remake of the 1950's movie "The Thing From Outer Space", JC's The Thing is set in the Arctic...or the Antarctic. I can't remember. But anyways, the opening shot with the terrifying music (after the somewhat cheesy titles) shows a vast white wasteland, trolley with snow and sky. As it pans across, we see a little black figure- a dog, running for its life. And a helicopter chasing it, with someone hanging out a window with a shotgun, just trying to blast this dog to bits for no apparent reason. JC has dropped us smack into the middle of the action that appears to have nothing to do with anything. After a while, we get to meet the people of the base camp. This is where we realise that this isn't your normal horror movie, with a woman who's better than anyone else or at least plays a proper role. This is what would probably be reality- several men in an arctic station about to be attacked by the Thing.
The Thing arrives as (guess what!) the dog. When I first saw this (replayed in the local cinema) the dog-splitting scene made everyone in the theatre JUMP out of their skins (heh). Everyone knew something was going to happen, but what does happen was totally out of the blue.
I have a feeling that The Thing could have only been made then. Nowadays, it would be smashed into a relatively cute film with a black lesbian woman [sorry, not being racist but the recent movie "Alien Vs. Predator" was simply awful] as the lone survivor [totally changing the point and the fearsome quality of the film itself]. Another thing would be that today they [ie: Hollywood] would force the producer to use computer animation, therefore removing the great transformations and the terrific feel of the movie. The spinning, walking head would be replaced by a rather cheesy pixelly thing that just wouldn't work for the one reason that it would just look too fake.
Overall, John Carpenter's The Thing is a terrific movie that is pure, unadaultered horror movie in its best light.
Rating:
Summary: What the heck is that spider thing in the corner?
Review: One of the most creative and disgusting horror films of our time, John Carpenter's `The Thing' has held its own ground through more than two decades, still producing the loud cry of "Euewwwwwwww" from both new viewers and old. Never has there been a slimier, stealthier, more appalling evil that what comes out of the snow in this spectacular film.
The film opens at an American camp in Antarctica, when the men's routine day is interrupted by a crazy Norwegian flying into their camp by helicopter and shooting at a Husky. "Why is he shooting at that sweet doggie?"
After taking out the insane Norwegian, doggie is put in with the other dogs at the American camp. But is doggie really a doggie? The Americans fly over to the Norwegian camp to attempt to discover what happened to the insane man. They find a camp filled with dead men, a burned pile of fleshy debris, and a huge spaceship in the ice. Naturally, they take the fleshy thing back to study it, and find that it is a mixture of unformed species, including human.
In the meantime, doggie is ready to take over more than just a Husky body. Doggie is a `Thing', an organism whose every cell is alive and coded for survival. Only one cell from this organism can invade and take over a host, mimicking its looks, thoughts, patterns, everything. But above all else, it must survive; it must defend itself.
What follows is a full-blown terror fest of horrendously tense proportions. Stuck in a camp on the ice, with The Thing in their midst, the men no longer know who they can trust, and who is still human.
I remember seeing this film in the theater, on the big screen, in 1982 when it was first released. This was the only movie I ever saw that I found myself unable to finish my popcorn while watching it. The special effects, even in today's standards, are breathtakingly grotesque and morbidly twisted. The fear and foreboding in the atmosphere of the movie is palpable, and the scream bubbling up in your throat is very real indeed.
Excellent performances by Kurt Russell (MacReady), Wilford Brimley (Dr. Blair), Keith David (Childs), David Clennon (Palmer), Charles Hallahan (Norris), T.K. Carter (Nauls), Richard A. Dysart (Cooper), Peter Maloney (Bennings), Richard Masur (Clark), Joel Polis (Fuchs), Donald Moffat (Garry) and Thomas g. Waites (Windows). Special note, the computer voice in `The Thing' was done by Adrienne Barbeau, queen of the B terror flicks. Each and every one of these actors did a superb job in the film.
This is a movie you simply have to watch for the grossness and the impending doom, which will deliver a question at the end that will leave you awake far into the night, pondering as you gaze over at your snoring mate. Truly, one of my absolute favorites, and one of the best horror movies of all time. A ten star film! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Not Anything New
Review: Same DVD As The Last One. Only A New "Welcomed" Transfer. So Hopefully It'll Look Nice And Crisp. But Still A Great Movie. Number One On My List Of Horror Movies.
Rating:
Summary: Classic horror from John Carpenter
Review: The Thing is one of the great horror movies of the 1980's. Set in Antarctica in 1982, it circles around a group of researchers who uncover an alien buried under the ice that then proceeds to wreak havoc on the crew. Awsome effects by Rob Bottin (The Howling) and a terrific story make "The Thing" a rare horror treat. If you are still interested in learning more about it, read the book "Who Goes There?", which is the novella which they based the movie. THE THING
Rated R: Strong violence and gore, and brief language.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Gross and Little Left to the Imagination
Review: True, this remake of the 1950s classic is closer to the orginal story line (from a short story of the legendary sci-fi editor and innovator John Campbel. True, there are exceptional special effects. True, I enjoyed watching it 2-3 times. True, the monster in the original is pretty pathetic. But, the graphic portrayal of the monster and its ridiculous permutations of horribly realistic grossness really destroys the movie for me. Obviously, I'm not a slasher fan, nor do I enjoy too much graphic blood and guts. I much prefer many of the older classics, especially black and white films, that build the suspense and allow your imagination to imagine things much worse, and more interesting, than what modern special effects can put on the screen.
Rating:
Summary: A great gore classic
Review: what more can I say, it took a lot of special effects and makeup to make this one...truly the stuff nightmares are made of. Great oldie but goodie
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