Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter

An American scientific expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. The helicopter pursuing the dog crashes leavi...( read more  read more... )ng no explanation for the chase. During the night, the dog mutates and attacks other dogs in the cage and members of the team that investigate. The team soon realises that an alien life-form with the ability to take over other bodies is on the loose and they don't know who may already have been taken over.

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87% liked it

44,856 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

40 critics

R, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: John Carpenter

Release Date: July 1, 1982

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DVD Release Date: August 28, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (7,803)


  • September 8, 2009
    One of the best horror films ever made, tons better than the original! Full of unlikely characters and old school special effects that have yet to be bettered. The head/spider scene and the tied to a bench scene are two of the best in the genres. 'You gotta be fucking kidding' - ...( read more)Love it!
  • July 29, 2009
    "Man is The Warmest Place to Hide."

    Scientists in the Antarctic are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills.

    REVIEW

    This isn't a slavis...( read more)h remake of the black and white original or an anal adaptation of Campbell's "Who Goes There?" short story. It's John Carpenter stamping his own brand of balls-to-the-wall film-making on a fascinating premise and it works beautifully. Carpenter doesn't compromise the material by sticking a love story in there and he doesn't sanitize the shock scenes. Ably assisted by the brilliant master of special make-up Rob Bottin, he creates one of the very best Hollywood-financed sci-fi movies ever. Ennio Morricone's brooding, minimalist score keeps the tension pumped and the all-male cast keeps the expected thespian histrionics under control.

    This is not a pacey film. Carpenter allows it to seep into our psyches and fill us with dread before he pulls some jaw-dropping rabbits from his hat. The film flopped upon its theatrical release while the friendly alien, ET: The Extra Terrestrial in the theatre next door took box office line honors. Both films have stood the test of time for their own reasons. Lensing by Dean Cundey is stand-out and lead Kurt Russell carries the film well.
  • June 17, 2009
    Obviously from Carpenter's golden era, this is probably the best of his big production movies and certainly one of the most thrilling. The plot is chock full of tense thrills and the grotesque horror is first rate.

    Carpenter teams up with his leading man Kurt Russell, who lea...( read more)ds a group of American scientists in the Antarctic when their camp find themselves in an unearthly predicament... an alien chameleon which imitates organic lifeforms has infiltrated their camp, they are hundreds of miles from the nearest base and bad weather has cut all communications. with each of them being infected and killed one by one, its a mystery and race against time to stop the creature before it can escape.

    An original thriller horror, it doesn't pull any punches and the effects are still disgusting and effective today. You will be wondering who is infected and who's not, as the team turn on one another, while Russell tries to figure out who is the alien in disguise.

    Backed by Carpenter's trademark simplistic, yet effective score, the whole movie is simply made but has a profound effect, which in my books makes it a never-ending classic.


    ENJOY!
  • January 30, 2009
    Wow, this movie is really something special. Who knew that Ant/Arctic Horror could be such a fruitful genre? If I had seen it when I was younger, it would have given me nightmares for weeks. Even now, after all the horror films I've seen, this one gave me genuine chills. The scen...( read more)e that came to mind was the one where the infected dog was put into the kennel with the healthy dogs. It never completely lies down and that ready-to-spring pose really put me on edge. I also think that the characters in this film are really well-drawn and believable, which makes it quite harrowing when they start dying. One of the scariest things about this movie is the way the isolated bunch of people, unsure who is a "thing" and who isn't, start turning on each other. Scarier still is the conclusion they draw when they realize the magnitude of the situation the Thing could become. My only criticism would be that the effects probably didn't need to be as slimy, gory or elaborate as they were, since the premise itself is plenty frightening enough. I even liked the ending. This movie deserves its place in the classic cannon of horror films, as well as its ranking as one of the scariest films ever made.
  • January 27, 2009
    zowie!
    classic. that means it's all good, everything, everybody, even the friggen location.
    even the alien.
    and i saw it right here on flixster!
  • November 8, 2009
    A brilliant, scary mash up movie of sci-fi and horror that, in my opinion, has yet to be topped.
  • November 7, 2009
    The build-up and suspense surrounding the paranioa is the best part about The Thing, with the all male cast really setting in the tone for the suspicions and uncertainty that the viewer must also share.

    Another great aspect is the special effects, which still hold up unlike some...( read more) other 80's films, and the horror is not overly gory or in your face just for the sake of it.

    The ambigious hanger ending may annoy some, but again I liked it just purely for the paranoid feeling that you clearly get throughout the movie. Its about the human reaction to this alien, not the alien itself - which is what makes The Thing a winner.
  • November 3, 2009
    Si alguien la tiene ke mela preste para copearla porfis.
    Muy terrorifica,
  • November 2, 2009
    I'm at that stage in my movie watching days where horror films have no affect on me anymore. I've seen them all: Halloween(1978), Rob Zombie's Halloween, Friday the 13th(1980), Friday the 13th(2009). It just seems that horror doesn't scare me any more like it use to, at least ...( read more)that's what I thought until I saw John Carpenter's "The Thing".




    The Thing is not like most Sci-Fi horror, most Sc-Fi horror films use eerie space ships and extreme violence to tell the story. Seeing as most directors think that that is exactly what film goers want. Well I'm here to tell you that isn't the case, John Carpenter doesn't use over abundance of CGI and gore to tell his story no, Carpenter use the basic necessitates to tell his story of horror. And with this he creates the building block for all Science Fiction horror that has followed. The Thing is s something of immense and unparalleled horror the likes you've never seen before. Kurt Russell(Who did great here.) Is awesome as the anti- hero he put's a great spin on the style of the story and brings some real true scenes of do or die. But all in all the cast does great in this bone chilling and paranoiac Sci-Fi horror film.




    The Thing is a true masterpiece in the genre of horror It's a film that really stands out as one of the best and darkest of the bunch. John Carpenter has crafted a masterstroke and literally almost invented Sci-Fi horror and thanks to him we have one of the first ever truly shocking entries. The Thing is a brilliance, dark, horrific, grotesque and paranoiac horror film like no other. All in all it delivers.
  • October 28, 2009
    One of the most grewsome and horrific movies of ALL time a cult classic and a must own. i'm surpised they havent made a remake to this movie yet. I guess you cant redo perfection. It a keeper Standing O.

Critic Reviews


October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Because this material has been done before, and better, especially in the original The Thing and Alien, there's no need to see this version. full review

View more The Thing reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • MorpheusOne
    November 12, 2008
    AN AWESOME horror movie!! One of the best ever made in my opinion. The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars is bc what is pretty much the 2nd to the last scene, right near/at the end of the movie the character Nauls just disappears!

    You don't see him die, you don't see him get buried in anything; ...tho this does heavily imply that his character does die at the end, ... he just disappears! He could have gotten away, but bc they didn't show that we assume that he died.
  • madcat612
    July 25, 2008
    Wilford Brimley goes ape schitt!
  • QueenCityFilms
    March 27, 2008
    Wes Craven is John Carpenter's bitch.

  • Aritosgold
    November 7, 2007
    ----LOVE--IT;;
  • tene79
    July 21, 2007
    Love this film. Used to scare me to death when I was younger but as I've grown up I started to apreciate the psychological element. Still think those effects (especially the arm munching stomach and dogs scene) are great and puts some of our more recent CGI monsters in the shade.
  • supermariofj
    July 13, 2007
    I'm just curious, wouldn't the blood from Palmer's Petri dish have splashed onto McReady's arm or face since it splattered everywhere?
  • supermariofj
    July 13, 2007
    Fo SHO! It was an awesome movie, especially for it's time.
  • thedlb
    July 9, 2007
    This is a masterpiece that will remain my favourite movie of all time.

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