In terms of writing, narrative, special effects, characters, etc., what are your thoughts and feelings towards John Carpenter’s the Thing, if any? What are some aspects of the show you enjoy, and what are some you dislike? Would you recommend the film to anyone?
I've always admired the film- the atmosphere, the effects, the soundtrack. The special kind of insidious dread of the monster. A few years ago I read the novella that inspired it (Who Goes There?) and I felt Carpenter had really grasped the essence of it.
For me, it was rather the opposite. Who Goes There - for me - lacked that sense of limbic horror. For some reason, the scene where they conduct the experiment on the cow's milk (in the novella) and one of the scientists merely observes that the cows could just be copies of such fidelity that they give perfectly good milk, thus the experiment proves nothing, that scene always comes to mind. All I could think during that scene was "YOU TOUCHED THE COWS WITH YOUR HANDS??????" The novella felt rather blasé about the whole situation, especially compare to the film where Carpenter leans hard into the horror of having one's body compromised and violated. That's a powerful motor for fear.
I've always enjoyed the flick. Stan Winston & Crew did the special effects which still looked good for the most part since they are practical, and not CGI (which is everything pretty much now-a-days. ) When you break down things in the story it gives it a whole new dimension, or you can just sit back and take the ride. So, yeah I'd recommend it, based on the premise, storyline, and effects work. Also in the scene where the doc loses his hands in the belly mouth, the actor actually didn't have hands, so they really good have them 'bitten' off in that scene.
"The Thing" is one of my favourite movies ever. I especially like the opening (the dog) and the ending. I like how you can't trust anyone. Probably not the answer you were expecting but that's what I take from the movie and why it has made such an impact on me.
The original movie version (The Thing From Another World) was standard 50's bug-eyed-monster fare . The Carpenter remake with Kurt Russell is one of my favorites (though originally I was too grossed out by it). The sequel is an abomination that should be torched into oblivion. Well, it has its moments, but it's weak sauce compared to the real thing.
