Rating: 
Summary: A gory and violent exhibit
Review: Scientists at an arctic research station encounter a horrifying ordeal: a deadly alien that can assume the likeness of its victims. Thus, paranoia strikes as the people don't know who is the Thing and who isn't.
Despite some terrifying sequences, The Thing is nothing but a relentless ride of gore and graphic alien violence. It falls short of being good because the characters are poorly developed. The fact that we gain no insight in their roles makes the movie less interesting. Most of the characters are not convincing because of their unnatural behavior. They should've been more creative dealing with such extraordinary horror instead of acting like a bunch of losers waiting to be killed.
The director's decision to keep the special effects a top priority eventually leads to the movie's breakdown --the ending is really stupid.
One final point: some people claim this movie did poorly at the box office because of competition from E.T. Please keep in mind these movies attract two different kinds of audiences: family versus male, science fiction horror fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Sci-Fi Horror and Style
Review: I was about 9 years old when I first saw this in theaters and now i'm. Its the only movie I can remember seeing when I was that young. I remember thinking that was the absolute scariest coolest thing I have ever seen. It was just so real and believable. It was almost like you were watching footage of something that really happened.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie Of All Time.
Review: Everything about "The Thing" makes it the best Sci-Fi/horror film ever.
The film is so complex, yet so simply defined. The story is so real somehow. The acting is a perfect example of why. Entirely Flawless! Such meticulously well managed will of emotions is a complement to the entire experience. Kurt Russel's performance is outstanding. This film was a giant leap for Sci Fi and Horror movie making.
The visuals are stunning. Now, this is before they were using computers.....and this is by far has the most spectacular effects according to pre-computer animation standards. All done using animatronics (The technology employing electronics to animate motorized puppets). And amazingly, though the movie was made in the 80's it still holds up to visual standards even today. Plus it's just so fun and interesting to look at.
The film focuses around an arctic station manned by a twelve-man research team. They unwittingly uncover an alien who'd crashed millenniums ago. Soon the shapeshifting alien awakes and bends it's massive will to it's only chance of servival....eliminate the competition.
The story is very well layed out. The style is almost sureal, which I believe accounts for the spectacular difference between it and all the movies over which it holds a constant dominion.
In many ways this film defeats the careless stupidity classic to horror films. The cast learn from their mistakes, and needless death is minimal. The Thing also marks the end of a monster in a rubber suit.
I was somehow intriqued by the choice of music. Symphonic by nature, and adds the extra element that completely immerses you into the experience. The music strengthens it's already surprisingly solid counter components, and serves as a sort of substrata.
The Thing is capable of not losing it's value and edge, however many times you watch it. This is an incredible attribute. The replay value is limitless.
All of these elements add up to what is THE Sci-Fi/Horror classic. Number one without a doubt. One of the most well made movies ever, with a great premise, fresh style, flawless acting, incredible visuals and all the extras that a film must have to surpass any competition. Five stars simply aren't enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Effects Better Than the Aurora Borealis
Review: John Carpenter's remake of the original 1951 classic is truer to its source material, John W. Campbell, Jr.'s pulp sci-fi story, "Who Goes There?" The film's chief selling point is some of the most eye-popping - and stomach-churning - special effects imaginable.Kurt Russell heads up a scientific team at the North Pole, which rescues a dog from a team of mad Norwegians trying to kill it. The Norwegians end up killing themselves, and Russell and Company want to know why. They fly to the Norwegians' base camp, and where they discover an apocalyptic charnel house, with one corpse in particular beyond any sane description. Going over the Norwegians' tapes, and performing an autopsy on the peculiar remains at their camp, Russell's team soon discover that the Norwegians unearthed a flying saucer - with an occupant whose cellular structure enables it to perfectly consume and imitate any life form. The dog they rescued wasn't a dog, at all. And now, many of the people at the Arctic base may not be people, either... Carpenter makes this movie work more by the technique that made the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers succeed, than by The Thing's original 1951 methods. His characters are very up-to-date and believable, their dialogue hip but (generally) still mature. Paranoia is more the focus, as opposed to the earlier film's survival story. The script is taut, the suspense nail-biting. Its only flaw is a slight excess of juvenilization thrown into the dialogue, occasionally (but not often) going beyond what adults would really use in their speech. Special effects and use of color and music are excellent. The highly effective, eerie score was composed by Ennio Morricone.
Rating:
Summary: The horror, the horror
Review: A FANTASTIC story of an isolated group, who find themselves terrorized by...their own paranoia. Yes there is a killer, but the real tension comes from an everyman for themselves attitude. Sure this is a A-class "unseen killer film", but the problem is we never can be sure who the killer, until its too late.
Kurt Russell is superb, as the hero.
Great direction from master John Carpenter.
And a classic line said by David Clennon, hell see it just hear this line. You'll know it when you hear it.
Great creature effects
If you love dogs, sit this one out.
If you are a fan of the original, you'll like this one too.
For a better viewing: Late at night, no lights, alone, and in the winter, preferably snowy, and in stereo.
It isn't just a Modern Classic horror/suspense, it also subtley speaks about paranoia and trust. It seems like a whole different world but its much like our society. SEE IT SEE IT SEE IT.
Rating: 
Summary: The thing: 80's remake of the 50's original
Review: WHOA! That's the first thing i said after seeing this film. a story involving a crashed alien spacecraft, a shape-shifting alien, and a plot to take over humanity abound in this some times over the top movie. The movie has plenty of thrills and spills(mostly of blood and guts) to keep even an impatient viewer hooked. I have this film on video and it is perfect to watch with your mates (better not be sensitive though!). Very memorable and certainly packs a punch, one of the better horror/sci-fi films of the 80's, and there were lots of those. characteristion is fairly good, about 60%, and the special effects were nothing short of groundbreaking in those days. About 85%. Action and suspense are important in this film.
My main criticism of this film is that the constant slew of violence eventually grows wearisome even to the most hardened viewer. Be warned.
Rating:
Summary: The Thing: A Cult Classic of a Sci Fi Classic.
Review: THE THING is a remake of the classic sci fi movie from the 1950's. The films are similar in that an alien crash lands in the antarctic region of earth, frozen for centuries, and is unwittingly revived by hapless scientists and goes on a killing spree at a remote antarctic camp post. The two major differences of the two films is that in the newer version, the alien is a shape shifting entity that takes on the form of the person or animal it absorbs or devours, and the fact that the new version is a lot more gory and bloodier. The movie has achieved cult classic status from probably teen and young adult males who ate this movie up and some went on to become movie special effects wizards twenty years later because of this film. John Carpenter, Kurt Russell and co. have made a film that has a lot of pulse pounding moments, suspense, paranoia, and gore galore. One of the most intense scenes in the movie is when the alien has taken on one of its hosts frailties and has a heart attack. When the site doctor (Richard Dysart) tries to revive the man (no one knows its the alien at this point) with a defibrillator device, his arms breaks through the man's chest, which now has jagged hard edges, closes up, and chops off the doctor's arms all the way up to his elbows. The doctor then falls dying and screamming to the floor. There are other scenes like this with screaming, lots of gore, blood splattering etc. With all the CGI these days, nothing can duplicate some of the scenes in this movie meaning all the elements of special effects, direction,setting, and acting were in sync to create the right atmosphere of horror for this film. The cast with Kurt Russell is top notch including Wilford Brimley, Richard Masur, Keith David, TK Carter and Donald Moffat. An entertaining film for those who want to be scared or grossed out and an ending that has kept viewers guessing for twenty years. One underlining theme in this movie is that at the time of it's release, the world was at the height of the AIDS scare. There are some key scenes that, intentional or not, mirrored the health scare of its time. People who'll watch this movie will find those scenes easily.
Rating:
Summary: i'm no imitation...or am I?
Review: John Carpenter did a good job with this graphic remake of the classic 50's flick. Filmed in British Columbia, the backdrop is sufficient for the eerie and creepy mood that unveils thru-out the film. Starting off with a bang..more a less these guys in a helicopter(norwegian survivors) are shooting at a dog who enters the
American camp...soon after IT happens.
That night the *dog* shows it's true form of being this hideously slimy alien that begins shooting out gobs of saliva and tentacles at the dogs in the pen that it's sharing with them. (was that a stunt fence? or was that dog really biting thru a *real* fence to get out)
Well you can figure out for yourselves what happens next because I won't spoil it for you, but the horrific transformations that happens to the team members is really a great piece of SFX.
Another fine job by SFX man Rob Bottin
I give THE THING a thumbs up, must see spookster of a movie
Rating:
Summary: SOMEBODY SHOW THIS TO THE STUDIOS!
Review: this is simply the best DVD transfer i have seen to date.The picture and sound are so much better than the VHS copy i have, its unbelievable. There are so many extras, i cant count them all. This is what the DVD medium was meant for. If only more studios could put together a package like this. Im sure everyone knows the plot by now. For those who don't, an alien vessel crashes in antarctica. Fast forward about 100,000 years or so. The unholy monster is uncovered from its icy grave and returns to life taking the form of those people it invades. Soon, knowone knows whos human and whos a "thing". Great locations, awsome acting, amazing special effects. Horror movies do not get better than this.
Rating:
Summary: Every bit as chilling and frightening as you've heard.
Review: A group stationed on the Antarctic discovers an alien frozen in the ice with the ability to shapeshift whatever it absorbs. Excellent paranoid thriller is superbly directed by John Carpenter, who captures the tension with pitch-perfect tightness. Very good acting all-around (Kurt Russell's great), and Rob Bottin's gore effects are appropriately shocking. Suspenseful to the max, with only a few logic lapses to slightly mar an otherwise brilliant effort. Sorry, slasher fans, but The Thing, not Halloween, displays Carpenter's abilities in full glory. Tied with In the Mouth of Madness as Carpenter's greatest work to date.
**** 1/2 out of *****
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