Review: The Thing (1982)

John Carpenter's The Thing is a great science-fiction horror movie!  The isolated snowy Antarctic setting, the rationing of information, and the tense score by Ennio Morricone (not Carpenter) maximize the claustrophobic atmosphere and feelings of dread and paranoia.  The film is generally more chilling than scary, but the oozing, tactile transformations of the Thing are so hideous they are frightening.  While the creature doesn’t make sense on a scientific level, therein lies the source of much its terror, for the incomprehensible aspect adds a nightmarish dimension to the Thing.  An expressionistic monster with distorted faces and mangled limbs (brilliantly realized by the special effects artists), the Thing represents our suspicious fear of evil and wrongdoing in those around us.

9 out of 10

The Thing (1982)

Directed by John Carpenter; written by Bill Lancaster; starring Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, and Keith David.