The Thing (1982)

John Carpenter is considered by many the master of horror movies so, although I was not a fan of Christine, his adaptation of Stephen King's novel, I decided to check out The Thing, one of the most popular horror movies out there. 

The film follows a group of scientists and workers of a small research American base in Antarctica. After a group of seemingly mad Norwegians dies in the process of chasing and shooting a dog from a helicopter, the American team finds the Norwegian base only to discover that everyone is dead or missing. They also find the remains of a burned creature and decide to take it to their base and, too late, they realise the Thing is alive and dangerous as it can take over and assimilate into other life forms, including humans.

This story which is based on a 1938 science fiction novella by John W. Campbell Jr. isn't anything out of the ordinary and as such, it takes a predictable path as it essentially focuses on paranoia, which is beautifully constructed by the way, but it's not enough to fix the thin plotting and the slow pacing and because of those, it never really engaged me. At least, there isn't any pointless romantic subplot. 

The characters also are pretty bland, dull and uninteresting as they lack depth, emotions and development and therefore it's really hard to see them as human beings. They are not particularly likeable or believable, nor even Kurt Russell's, so you will never care for any of them, nor have a favourite, the one you hope will make it out alive. Also, there isn't much of a sense of tension between them and that's a bummer considering the story is supposed to rely on it to be effective. The performances, however, aren't as terrible as they usually are in these movies; actually, the actors do a pretty good job and make the characters feel a little bit more human. 

Universal Pictures

Visually though, it's a whole different story. The special effects are absolutely amazing --the gore looks incredibly real and it does not feel like watching a movie from the 1980s-- and they contribute to make the film scary. It's not the effects alone that get the job done. The haunting, at times unbearable atmosphere, the tension and suspense Carpenter delivers pretty evenly throughout the film, and the score by Ennio Morricone, they all play a huge role in scaring the audience. 

Nevertheless, The Thing is a pretty boring movie and Ridley Scott's Alien is much better.