The past couple of months have marked a few anniversaries of some of cinema's favorite alien characters. Not that long ago, the troubled third sequel to Ridley Scott's original Alien had reached thirty years. Meanwhile, June finds film fans celebrating two alien flick's 40-year anniversaries, one being Steven Spielberg's massive success with everyone's favorite friendly Extra-Terrestrial in E.T., and another alien that was released alongside E.T.: the ultimate in alien terror with John Carpenter's cult classic, The Thing.
Although The Thing was released extremely close to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the former has created its own cinematic alien legacy and was an absolute powerhouse in practical effects. It set the bar so high in this regard that few other films have been able to clear it, especially in the horror genre. Although The Thing was initially met with icy reviews, it is now a cinema icon and a look at what the magic of filmmaking can really be.
Those who aren't familiar with the horror classic should go see it now. Not only are there some spoilers are ahead, but it is also an essential viewing for horror fans. The film takes place in the most isolated of all isolated cinematic settings: the chilling loneliness of Antarctica. Kurt Russell stars as what may be one of his greatest performances of all time as MacReady, a helicopter pilot stationed at a research facility U.S. Outpost 31, alongside a number of other men. After a couple of men are shown shooting at a dog in the first minutes of the film, their investigation into the incident leads them to discover that the dog is actual someThing else entirely. In fact, this being can assume the shape of every man it has killed at research Outpost 31. Tension, paranoia, horror, and some of the goriest scenes in cinema history soon follow.
For many fans, The Thing is the quintessential John Carpenter movie-going experience. It will make viewers tense up from all the paranoia bouncing from character to character as they attempt to identify who is the Thing and who is human, and its awe-inspiring practical horror gore can be gag-inducing. In hindsight, it seems as if it was an inevitability that Carpenter would make The Thing. His love for Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks' The Thing From Another World had made its way on-screen only four years earlier in Carpenter's breakout film Halloween, as the kids watched it on television while Michael Myers was out giving his own take on celebrating Halloween.
Although Carpenter's love of The Thing From Another World was well known, John Carpenter sought to make an adaptation that sticks a little closer to the influence for both films, John Campbell's story Who Goes There? Carpenter wanted to stay true to the alien's ability to shape-shift and imitate any living being it encounters, eventually creating some of the most horrific and iconic horror moments to touch the silver screen. But it wouldn't be what it is without the right minds to bring the alien to life.
The film's prosthetic makeup artist, Rob Bottin, was only in his early twenties at the time, but played a huge role in making the film the icon it is. Carpenter wanted to make a monster that didn't look like just a man in a suit (which, at this time, many horror monsters did). Everything seen on screen was made by Bottin and his team of thirty-five artists, who tried never to show the same thing more than once. That created a blank canvas for Bottin and the team to go wild. They used items like mayo, creamed corn, eggs, more to make the disgustingly beautiful creation. It is something that isn't seen very much anymore, especially with many films now using CGI. It is an experience very few movies can give an audience, making The Thing a one-of-a-kind movie experience that all film fans should see, the squeamish and all.
In celebration of The Thing's 40th anniversary, Fathom Events has put The Thing back into theaters. Something that now seems like a given, knowing The Thing's legacy. But back when the film was originally released, many people didn't imagine this would be the case. The film would be taken out of theaters because of the poor critical response, along with the poor performance at the box office.
But much like many other cult classic films, the home video release created a new life for The Thing, bringing a group of fans that saw the effort and care that Carpenter had put into his biggest film yet. It even caused a critical reevaluation, with some going back on their word and new critics praising the film as an all-time horror classic. Unfortunately, the damage had been done by that point. Carpenter had lost his multi-picture deal with the studio and his career went in a direction opposed to major studio films. But in the end, The Thing has finally found the love that it deserved in the first place. Although it has shown up late, it is better late than never.