The Thing

We watched The Thing the other night and I was amazed how well this film stands the test of time. The clock starts ticking as soon as any effects-heavy production hits the screen; like a new car, once it's off the lot value immediately begins to depreciate. It can be quite painful to revisit horror/science-fiction films of the past precisely for this reason. Not so with The Thing! The creature effects are so effective that even to this day they cause viewers to cringe and squeal -as witnessed at the recent viewing. To me, that's the sign of a good film.

Ostensibly a remake of The Thing From Another World (1954), this film takes the premise of the original and updates and expands on it. The Antarctic setting isolates a group of researchers in an icy tundra, where they find themselves at the mercy of an alien shapeshifter. As one character describes the alien, "It's wierd and pissed off, whatever it is." Add a furious winter storm and you have a recipe for one of the greatest horror films ever made.

Favorite quote, during an exchange between Macready (Kurt Russell) and Blair (Wilford Brimley):

Macready: How you doing, old boy?

Blair: I don't know who to trust.

Macready: I know what you mean, Blair. Trust's a hard thing to come by these days. Tell you what, why don't you just trust in the Lord?