The Thing
Dir: John Carpenter
Star: Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley, Richard Dysart
Back in the early 80's, Carpenter could do no wrong, with every new film seemingly a genre classic. Then, of course, came the fall from grace, which I'd personally date from after They Live. But even if he never makes another movie, his place in the pantheon of greats is assured; some would claim for Halloween, but I much prefer this 50's B-movie remake. The original was a good idea, let down by the effects of its time - the
monster, when finally seen, barely reaches "pathetic and laughable". There are absolutely no such complaints in Carpenter's version; even given all the advances in the field over the past fifteen and more years, Rob Bottin's creations still look incredibly good.
This alone would make it worthy of note, but Carpenter's direction is masterly, screwing the tension tighter at every opportunity. Nowhere is this more apparent than during the blood-test sequence, which is a perfect example of the film-maker's craft, and deserves to be ranked up there with the shower scene in Psycho - or even beyond, since the payoff in The Thing is well worth the build-up. Carpenter even avoids a happy, Hollywood ending, in favour of an ambiguous fade-out, which leaves things nicely open for a sequel. It's one of those rare cases where I would actually welcome such a prospect.
A+
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