The Thing (1982)

 

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen: one (if not thé) of the best remakes ever. And I'm not usually that fond of such overused hyperbole, but in this case, I'm willing to make an exception. This one is that damn good. 

The fact that it might also be my personal favourite horrorfilm has nothing to do with it. Well, maybe not that much as one would surmise. 

John Carpenter has always been known to be a fan of the Howard Hawks' production. Just have a look at 'Halloween' and observe which film is playing on the television in the living rooms there. So Carpenter was always waiting for a chance to have his own take on the story and boy, did he do it justice. 

The locale is changed from the North Pole to Antarctica. A Norwegian helicopter is chasing a sled dog, that ends up in the American base there. For some reason, the Norwegians want to shoot the dog, but the gunman is shot by one of the Americans. They have no idea why they wanted the dog dead, because of course no one there speaks Norwegian. (sidenote: most Norwegians do speak English rather fluently, but if that were the case, this would have been the shortest film ever)

Several of the American team decide to have a look at the Norwegians' base to find out what happened. They find burnt out ruins and horrendously burnt bodies. It turns out the Norwegians found something in the ice. 

Meanwhile on the US base, the sled dog is discovered to be a gruesome creature as it tries to devour or assimilate the other dogs. They burn it and head back to the Norwegian camp to find the remains of a flying saucer. The science officer now knows that this creature can perfectly mimic other life forms and now it is unclear who is still human and who is something else entirely, as paranoia and fear take hold with no hope for rescue. 

The story this time around sticks a lot closer to the original story by Joseph W Campbell Jr. So instead of a clearly alien plant-human hybrid, you know get more of a whodunit, or should I say: who-is-it? Even the assimilated people don't realize they have been taken over until it's too late. It is this that builds the tension to the Nth degree. Especially the scene where MacReady (Kurt Russell) is trying to find out who's human by checking blood samples with a glowing hot piece of copper wire, is tense. 

What also sets this one apart, is the great effects work by Rob Bottin. The creatures all look like a mishmash of lifeforms, which makes sense, as no one knows how many lifeforms this thing has already taken over. It's also gory as all hell. The scene where the creature first reveals itself in the dog pen is truly disturbing and it just gets more insane from then on. But it must also be noted that the gore does not detract from the story and how well the characters play off each other. Who knew you could have effects that drive the story instead of just being there? (yes, that was a little sarcasm. Indulge me.)

This is an ensemble piece, but Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley and Keith David do stick out as being the most memorable. They also get the most screentime, so that makes sense. The finale is particularly bleak, but in all fairness: it's tough to find any uplifting way for this story to end. It just wouldn't fit. 

I could go on about the excellent cinematography (Dean Cundey at his best), the excellent editing, the gorgeous sound design and fittingly minimal soundtrack by Ennio Morricone and whatnot, but suffice to say that this one is truly one of science fiction/horror's greats. It most definitely is a must watch, but if you are a little squeamish: beware!