I wanted to write about this film right from the moment I heard that a ‘prequel’ (I need confirmation if it is actually directly attached to this film or simply an adaptation) was being produced and if I'm honest I was a little horrified. If it is released in this country I shall certainly be watching it, although I hope to be as non-biased as possible. Well, I’ll try not to slate it too much.
Anyhoo, these are the basic details that you need to know if you have not seen ‘The Thing’. John Carpenter thought it would be better to re-adapt the 1951 movie ‘The Thing from Another World’ and I, for one, am very glad he did. I admit that I watched the 1951 movie long after Carpenter’s work, but it is nowhere near as chilling. The monster is for lack of a better description, an alien of Frankenstein’s creature that is twice as slow and has a knack for catching fire easily. With it being made in the 50s as well, you will no doubt be aware of the limited costume designs that were around too. However, there is a similar plot. The film is set in 1982 at a remote Antarctic research station and features a team of 12 researchers. What they’re actually researching I have no idea...ice? The team are visited by what appears to be a crazed couple of Norwegians who are chasing a Siberian Husky over the mountains in their helicopter and rifle. I could talk about how unbelievably crap they are with their rifle, but I’m not going to. If they’d have shot the dog we’d have a very short film and a complaint from PETA or some other animal cruelty organisation. Tragically however, the Norweigan’s meet their maker early, as a dropped hand grenade destroys the helicopter and the pilot. And the gunman? He is shot, by one of the Americans (friendly fire?) as he attempts to casually strolls over to the shoot the dog. The Americans take it upon themselves to look after the dog, and go and visit the Norwegian base, placed several miles away. They find the base, where the remaining Norwegians have committed suicide. I would like to add here, that the 80s were a prime time to design a horrific, frozen corpse. It looks just more convincing than today, where it’s easier to use a Windows package to do the job.
The crew find something else, they find a large hole in the ground near by and also find and empty ice shell in the base. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out whats happened there – and so we’ll move on. Back at the base, the dog is a little restless and so is put into the kennels with the rest of the Huskies. Bad idea. The dog then changes into a bizarre creature with some canine features, but also some...king crab like legs and tentacles that make me itch each time I picture them. This creature then begins to attack the rest of the dogs, where the gang are alerted of the horror. I’ll put a little space here to give yourself a chance to prepare yourself for the picture, it’s pretty gruesome in a 80s way, so if you don't want to look...then don't.
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I love these types of special effects. They have had alot more time and effort put into them, some may think that they look tacky or you can tell that its fake, but to me it just says alot more. There’s something there! There’s no blue screen and the crew aren’t gasping at nothing. They need to bring it back, really they do. After the crew dispose of the beast, they begin to find the real terror. They learn that the alien can imitate anything that it comes into contact with, and that essentially the creature can take over the entire crew within a matter of hours. For me, this is the true horror of the film. Although I love the special effects, I really do think that the best kind of horror you can get is from the horrors that we cope with in our everyday lives; things that we all experience. It’s easy to say that we are positive thinking and optimistic about life, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty – our paranoia often gets the better of us. This film is steeped in paranoia! From the moment they realise that it could be anyone, the crew and anyone watching the film immediately doubt everything that they have learnt and the true instinct of humanity takes place. Survival of the fittest with only the one thing that they think they can trust – themselves.
This affects everyone concerned with the film – more importantly those who watch it. We immediately start to question everyone. Is it the star of the film? Is it the silent fella who no one has really heard or seen do anything yet? Is it the angry, possibly sexually frustrated one? Is it the cool hip one? We don't truly know. Even when tests have been negative and we assume that we know who is human and who isn’t, we still have that thought in our head. Without spoiling too much, you never stop questioning if the Thing has really been destroyed or if it has won.
John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ is a wonderful horror film. It builds suspense, there is a slight bit of humour within it, with plenty of original twists. The best part about this, as well as the creepy and pure Carpenter-esquecgi and a soundtrack which over embellishes the point that this film is suppose to be scary. The Prequel has got a lot to live up to. That’s all I have to say.
If you haven’t seen it before, please go out and rent/buy it. If you have seen it and agree/disagree then don't be shy and say something.
Thanks
GPK
