Review of 1982 John Carpenter Cult Horror, The Thing

Aliens Aren't Always Friendly like E.T

An American scientific expedition to frozen Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. The helicopter pursuing the dog crashes leaving 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 realizes 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.

Not many sci-fi/horror films match up to classics such as this. Based on the classic short story "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell, it is also a "remake" of "The Thing from Another World" (1951) with several changes, mostly for the better.

This is the first film Of John Carpenter Apocalypse Trilogy, followed by "Prince of Darkness" (1987) and "In the Mouth of Madness" (1994).

The acting and tension between characters is what separates this movie from other movies of this genre. One unique thing about this movie is an all male cast of characters. In my opinion, this is refreshing because we aren't distracted by women and relationships with male characters or other women and no skin to stare at. So we can focus on the important factors - the story, the alien and the suspicions between the characters.

Set in the South Pole under arctic conditions, it's perfectly set up for an isolation of a small group of people. The isolation and pressures built from being separated from the majority of society (like The Shining) is very great to start with. Now add in an alien creature that can imitate people and the tension breaks down almost all levels of trust between characters. If you like the tension of "Cube", then this much earlier predecessor is right up your alley.