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    The Thing

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    I love home video and revival theatres because they give movies a second chance. A film that’s embraced by critics and audiences upon its first release like say “Star Wars” has got it made, but what about a movie that’s ahead of its time, or released on an unfortunate date or just doesn’t get to reach the audience that would come to appreciate it? “The Thing” is a great horror film and when it was first released, it didn’t get the recognition it deserved. Don’t make the same mistake as the people of 1982 and see this John Carpenter picture. It’s frightening, features fantastic special effects and sucks you into its atmosphere. It sticks with you.

    In a U. S. Antarctic research facility, the men of the station (led by Kurt Russell as MacReady) have unknowingly brought a great danger into their midst. Trapped in layers of ice for hundreds of thousands of years, the “Thing” is a parasitic alien that absorbs other life forms and then imitates them perfectly. As the days follow and no one can be sure whom or where the Thing is, the paranoia among the men increases.

    I’d seen this film years ago and I had forgotten how grisly and unsettling it is. When you hear the words “parasitic extraterrestrial life form”, your skin starts to crawl. Parasites are gross and the thought of something organic changing its shape to mimic a human being sounds disgusting. You don’t know the half of it. This thing is a nightmare of flesh, tentacles, spider legs, teeth, grotesque faces, elongated necks, and grossly proportioned limbs… until it gets you. When it eats you up, you’re gone but the Thing, it looks, talks and behaves just like you do, it’s indistinguishable. Your friend could be an alien in disguise and at any moment, it could come after you. “The Thing” is a movie that puts you right in the middle of the action. Like the characters in the film, you hardly ever know who is real and who is an alien. Any time two people are alone, you wonder to yourself if one is suddenly going to attack the other. Even if they do attack each other though, that’s not enough. Everyone is being driven mad by the idea that anyone could be this alien. The only way you can know for sure that someone is innocent… is if they get attacked by the Thing. But you don’t want them to be attacked because this creature is a true monster. It’s so horrible that you want to look away whenever it manifests itself but at the same time you can’t help but stare.

    This film is masterful when it comes to the creation of tension and suspense. It also features some of the best practical effects you will ever see. They’re so good that for me, it’s become the benchmark. “Jurassic Park” is what I compare CGI movies to. If you can’t match a film that was made in 1993, you’re doing something wrong. Similarly, if your movie is using puppets, costumes and makeup and it’s not as good as what we have here in 1982, somebody screwed up big time. I could try and describe to you what sights awaits within the 109 minute running time, but there’s no way I could do it justice. What I would rather do is tell you how this movie scares you.

    “The Thing” is a thriller. It generates tension and paranoia throughout. You’re always trying to pin whose motivations are what and attempting to decipher the clues the film gives to the audience. It’s also a horror movie. The way it generates scares is very unusual though. When you think of a cheap horror movie, you think of jump scares. Loud noises accompanied by somebody sneaking up on our protagonist and putting their hand on their shoulder. In a way, that’s kind of what “The Thing” does, but wait before you pass. When attacks or deaths come in this picture, they’re sudden. Someone will have their back turned to the thing and then BAM! It’ll grab them. Taken on their own, these feel like jump scares. Moments of silence or peace followed by sudden and immediate terror that often quickly subsides. The reason why it works here is because there’s this spy film-like atmosphere. You’re so knotted up because you want to know who the Thing is that you almost forget that this is a horror movie. Then it shocks you with big special effects as the creature emerges. I’m a big chicken in the theatre (Which is partially why I like seeing horror films there so much, it’s a rush) “The Thing” must have made me jump at least a dozen times, none of which I felt were undeserved or “cheap”. It’s as if this film “invented” the jump scare and did it right and everyone else just copied it without understanding why it worked so well in this movie. I know that’s not the case, but it’s so well done that’s what it feels like. I know I screamed out loud at least once. I know it makes me look like a coward but I’m trying to sell on this movie so I don’t mind.

    Unlike many of John Carpenter’s other films, which I feel have a weird aura around them that you need to see a second time to be able to wrap your mind around, “The Thing” demands to be seen again for completely different reasons. With the way the film ends and where some of the characters wind up ultimately, there’s tremendous re-watch value here. It’s a horror film and a detective film. You want to scrutinize the clues throughout. Knowing who turns out to be the Thing and who doesn’t, your consciousness demands that you figure out exactly at what time in the plot the victims were absorbed or why this character did this. Where they trying to help, or was it the Thing pretending to be them and actually sabotaging the entire operation? You have to know!

    “The Thing” is tense and terrifying. It’s a visual feast for the eyes… even if you will need a strong stomach to be able to handle the gore and alien sequences (that’s ok. I’m sure we’re really gross to other aliens too so best not to judge) I can’t wait to see this one again. I’ve got some theories and I want to see if I can prove them. (Theatrical version on the big screen, February 6, 2016)

    10
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    adamwatchesmovies@  8.2.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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