The Thing

I have never seen this, but lots of friends love it (Dunstan, Darrel, Ali). I finally got to watch it and it is an awesome film. There is quite a lot of gore for the horror aspect of the film and there is the sci-fi portion with the alien. But, what I found most interesting about the movie was the look at paranoia and how it affected all the characters in the film.

There’s much to like about the film. The opening with the cold open (yes, pun intended) was brilliant because it opens with a beautiful vista, then adds the helicopter, then adds a dog which we as the audience have no idea about. It almost seemed like something out of a nature documentary.

There were some scenes in the film that are ultra graphic, but makes the shock and horror factor shoot through the roof. The first encounter the audience has with The Thing was quite shocking (dogs). The defibrillation scene with the doctor and his hands, that scared me out of my seat. And the infamous couch scene is something I will never forget.

The paranoia that is entwined throughout the film is palatable and it is this that makes me like this film so much. The script is smartly written and Carpenter’s direction is lean and efficient. Whenever there was a reveal, I never thought, “bullshit”. The movie just works and it works well.

The score by Ennio Morricone is haunting and memorable.

Who was infected at the end of the film?