A scientific expedition in the Antarctic faces a very strange interruption when a team of Norwegians turn out in a helicopter firing wildly at a fleeing dog. One of the members of the expedition is wounded before its leader, Palmer, shoots and kills the attacked. The helicopter crashes leaving no way to determine what spurred the Norwegians to such erratic and dangerous behaviour.
R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) leads a team to investigate the Norwegians camp. They find disturbing remains which, along with strange events at their own camp, lead them to believe that the Norwegians has uncovered an alien life form which can change shape and is now amongst them.
Any member of the team could be the thing, and nobody is safe. Meanwhile, the expeditions helicopter is sabotaged, leaving the men stranded on the frozen tundra with no means to escape or to communicate with the outside world and hunted by an unknown being that could be indecipherable from any one of them.
John Carpenter's The Thing is in fact a remake of the 1952 science fiction film The Things from Another World, which follows a very similar plot line. What Carpenter was able to do, however, is to build on the suspense and the sense of claustrophobia that naturally comes with this story about stranded men in a confined space hunted by a hidden enemy. The film can feel a bit slow at times but this is generally just part of Carpenters long process of building up suspense for the next alien attack.
The Thing itself has no specific form of its own, instead it takes on the form of its victims and often ends up in some hideous half-formed version of them. Among its delightful formations are partially formed humans and dogs as well as a severed head which grows spider legs and crawls away. Lots of tension, suspense, creepy scenes, and grisly monsters make The Thing an effective sci-fi/horror film, it all leads to a sense of doom and hopelessness which builds up to a very fitting, if somewhat abrupt conclusion.
No sequels, but the door was left open. In the meantime, a re-make is scheduled for later this year.
4 spider heads out of 5
Rated-R for strong bloody violence, grisly and disturbing images, language and some drug use.
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