Rating: 
Summary: One of the Creepiest Movies I've ever seen!
Review: The first time I saw this movie was on the Sci-Fi channel, and I knew I had to have it. I went out to Wal Mart and bought it(no offense to amazon).It scars the mind with it's plot: the ultimate form of paranoia. Even for the early 1980's, the special effects gave it a convincing look. Entertainment Weekly published an issue which gave the top 25 scariest movies ever made, and this ranked number twelve.It scared me so much, that I waited a few weeks after buying it before watcing it again. There was one thing I hated, the end.
Rating: 
Summary: good god this movie is amazing
Review: i first saw this movie on the sci-fi channel, while extremely edited, it introduced me to The Thing, so i cant complain, i immediatley went out and bought the movie and the action figures (if u dont own the figures, go out and buy them, simply AMAZING craftsmenship) definately carpenter's best, and my favorite kurt russel movie, BUY IT NOW
Rating:
Summary: Forget Alien(s), Halloween, The Abyss, THIS is spectacular!
Review: ..this HAS to be Carpenter's finest film. Fans of Sci-Fi, horror or simply, intelligent films with believable characters devoid of today's obligatory heroic antics should love this picture. Unlike the original 1951 version this film stays very close to the book 'Who Goes There' and brings the alien with its terrifying ability to reinvent itself to the screen.Shamefully shunned by the critics in general on its 1982 release, the film has languished in dusty vaults for years, largely forgotten by the studio. Until now. Dusted down and remastered it has never looked or sounded better. It is quite simply one of the best studies of xenophobia and paranoia I've seen on the big screen. Made a few years before the identification of AIDS the film now can be viewed in a different light and its importance realised. Made today it would be all CGI and less believable ... The film's perspective shifts gradually from the men seen united in battle against a defined enemy to one of extreme fear as they one by one begin to suspect each other of being the enemy. It is an allegorical tale much misunderstood by critics ready to dismiss it as another Alien spin-off. They could not be further wrong. This film is streets ahead of any of the so-called Alien legacy movies whilst it is also more terrifying that 100 Halloweens put together. After all, a madman with a knife should be able to be put down with a gun shot to the leg, but this THING? The film builds tension with incredible music (courtesy of Carpenter himself and Ennio Morriconi), atmospheric lighting and camerawork. Slowly we begin to realise how little man knows or understands about the universe, his fellow man, or himself. All this without the preachy undertones of so many other movies. The cast including Kurt Russell are all utterly superb and bring their characters to life. The problem for some viewers (and presumably dismissive critics) is the lack of identification with any one particular character. We the audience are in as much doubt about them as the characters are of each other. There is also (unusually for a studio picture) a complete lack of female protagonists or silly divergent romantic sub-plots. This only adds to the feeling of isolation and doom. Criticism of the ambiguous ending has also been prevailent. However, as Kurt Russell explains in the commentary track there was no other way to end the picture to preserve its overall integrity. Altogether then, a picture which probably couldn't be made again today. Certainly, Carpenter has not been able to match it since. If you've never seen the film before, do yourself a favour and buy this DVD. If you're a fan already, buy the DVD, the extras are top-drawer quality.
Rating:
Summary: CLASSIC H O R R O R!
Review: For the 1980s such movie was unique and very much thrilling even if it was a remake of the 1951 movie! Enough said about the plot of the movie, so I'm going to discuss the amazing side of the movie: 1. The suspense was extremely high, due to to the fact of being isolated in a camp in the middle of a deserted cold snowy area and facing an unknown enemy. 2. Both Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley were very convincing in their roles first by trying to understand what's happening and then trying to Survive. 3. John Carpenter drove the thrill up successfully with the settings, effects and creepy background music. 4. The ending of the movie is remarkably scary and keeps you feeling for what has happened.
Rating:
Summary: Better than they say it is
Review: Professional critics have never given this film its proper respect. Much is made about the gorefest special effects and their alleged domination of other film elements.But this movie has a lot more going for it. Begining with the opening scene, confusion decends on the ill-fated outpost. Mistrust degenerates into paranoia as the trapped explorers realize they are unable to tell who among them remains and who has been replaced. Nothing is as it seems. Slowly characters and audience alike realize there is no way out. To his credit, Carpenter doesn't invent one. Yes, the effects can be rough, especially on the young viewer (remember the R rating). But this film is more than just an excuse for movie slime. It's a study in claustrophobia and worth the view. Moreover, the DVD format nicely fits the bill as previous VHS versions were disappointing. There are too many dark shots for video tape. The current release benefits greatly from the superior detail offered by DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Underrated Horror Classic
Review: There is not much to say that others have not already said about The Thing. It is a superior Carpenter film in every way, and i don't think he has ever done one nearly as good (i like this better than Halloween) The special effects are AMAZING, even though they were made in 1982, with no hokey CGI. Everything was done with animatronics and such, and personally i like the result much better. Kurt Russel gives a great performance, as does all the cast. The action is good, the suspense great, and even though sequels are often a let down, this is one i had always wanted to see the story continue. After all, if the Thing escapes from its icy prison, all the world will soon succumb...
Rating:
Summary: Best of Both Worlds
Review: The problem with most modern horror movies is their dependence upon the audience reacting with shock to brief gory scenes. I do enjoy the occassional gore movie when it is well done, but I prefer to remain mentally involved in between the scenes of people being killed and feel the same ongoing tension as the characters. To my delight, John Carpenter's version of the Thing delivers on both gory special effects and psychological horror, mainly by creating an atmosphere of total paranoia and uncertainty that exists around a creature who can take any form including that of a trusted coworker. You become involved with the characters' attempts to overcome such necessary paranoia and reach a solution to their problem despite the fact that they can't trust each other. In fact, this movie is a closer adaptation of the original John W. Campbell short story "Who Goes There?" than the original movie (although that movie is also highly recommended) and therefore focuses upon how people would actually react in such a situation. And, like in old movies where you only get to see the monster at the end, not only do you get to see the monster many times, but your imagination will always runs wild because you never know what the monster will look like the next time. The characters are intelligent and either act rationally or succumb to insanity instead of acting stupidly like, oh, I feel like taking a shower by myself in this old house where my friend just got killed 5 minutes ago. And the special effects of the creature transforming into weirder forms than even a Cronenberg could ever imagine are spectacular and more frightening than the usual horror scenes of victims being evicerated in other movies. I won't go into more detail on the plot which is well handled in the other reviews, but it has a great script, great acting, and great charaters. This movie is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Very cool,
Review: This was an interesting movie. It takes ALOT to scare me when I watch Horrors, this one was so plot thickened that it ALMOST scared me. It kind of reminded me of the Abyss, which is't scary and really had nothing to do with this. But none the less, It is a Carpenter movie, and it is a MUST see!
Rating:
Summary: One of us,is The Thing.
Review: Possibly Director John Carpenter's best work to date(along with "The Fog",and "Assualt on Precinct 13").Spot-on performance via Kurt Russell,as the leader of a 12 man research team,that will be reduced in number,significantly,by a alien life-force discovered after thousands of years,buried deep within a glacier.Good overall performances,script,and special effects,make for some thrilling scenes,and a great,inevitable and awesome climax. Picture quality:Although this Disc is not enhanced for 16x9 T.V's,the transfer is very good.I noticed no grain,or compression,artifact related problems at all.Because "The Thing" is now presented in it's correct ratio,fine details can be seen clearly at last,the mutations of the alien,explosions and fleshtones are near-perfect.5/5. Sound quality:No problems,impossible to fault.The Haunting score is reproduced crystal clear,5/5.Overall,in my opinion,the best edition of "The Thing" to date,only a 16x9 version for those with such T.V's,would have made this complete.5/5.
Rating:
Summary: Fully Loaded DVD
Review: Edition: Collector's Edition Audio: Excellent, Dolby 5.1 Video: Excellent, clear and crisp Extras: Commentary, Making of..., Scene Index (not full motion), Multimedia Essays, Script Excerpts, Gallery, Languages, Subtitles, Widescreen, Storyboards, Extra Scenes, Bios, etc., Trailers, Isolated Score/Alternate Score, Web The soundtrack is great, and sound, although I've only heard it in regular surround. Not much surround stuff, but the stereo is very good. The commentary gives a lot of film making stuff, funny anecdotes, comments about how the audience reacted to stuff. One of the more interesting commentaries on DVD. The Making of featurette has it's own scene index which is pretty cool. Like the commentary, this is one of the better making of specials I've seen. They show you how they make the title sequence and special effects, what it was like to work on such a difficult location. Really good. Also, you can choose to just listen to the score while the featurette plays. The only language included is French, but can be subtitled in Spanish. The extras seem never ending, including a full description of the matte work of the saucer as well as full motion shots of how the effects were accomplished, the same treatment for the final form of the monster, and a couple of outakes done up the same way. By the way, when you read reviews that say this film is gory, they aren't kidding. It's great, but weak stomachs might have some trouble with it. I'll quote one the other reviewers here: "The Thing: Collector's Edition is a very very safe and worthwhile recommend."
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