The Thing

Carpenter's The Thing is, without question, the scariest sci-fi horror film of all time. An orgiastic atmospheric experience that cuts deep into your nervous system from the very opening moments, in an oppressive and bleak setting, with a cold and unbearably depressing directorial rhythm and accompanied by a chilling soundtrack or physically disgusting (or cinematically beautiful) gore effects, only to place a devastating charge at the end and scatter even the last vestige of hope and light. A brilliant, incredibly compact film that never wavers, even with a single shot or spoken line, from its predetermined, most beautiful and purest imaginable genre path... One of those very few films I really never get tired of. 100% (04/30/2011)

This is my idea of a quality horror film. Carpenter created an extremely intense atmosphere. The script works like Swiss clockwork from the first moment until the end credits. I first saw The Thing as a school kid on a second-hand VHS tape. The quality of the sound and image corresponded to a copy of an eleventh copy of the tape, but it lost none of its power. I have seen it many times since, and it’s a powerful experience for me every single time. One of my favorite scenes is definitely the testing of blood with a hot wire. My review in three words: cult, classic, awesome. (07/16/2016)

I don't like horror as a genre, but survival horrors are an honorable exception. And The Thing is almost a perfect representative, apart from the repulsive "gore" scenes, it contains something much more effective – a game with the psychology of the viewer. The principle of placing a group of characters in an isolated place (in this case, the white plains of Antarctica), making it impossible to escape (in this case, a massive storm) and exposing them to an enemy that can hide inside any of them is proven, but nowhere does it work as perfectly as in The Thing. The minimalist screenplay draws attention to the raw atmosphere, the replicas of the characters are more so purposeful, everything important can be seen and, above all, FELT. Something almost physically palpable comes out of The Thing - fear is not felt by artificial props, but by real experience. When the Thing appears, there is almost relief... Real fear is ignorance, insecurity. In short, this is how I imagine the perfect horror about surviving in extreme conditions. And the atmosphere of the polar base is so unique that The Thing probably won't be improved upon any time soon. (01/27/2004)

A horrifying parade of disgusting special effects with bodies disintegrating and mutating into hideous slimy creatures, the human head with spider legs is very cool. The chilling atmosphere of hopelessness and isolation perfectly underscores everything. We can only thank Carpenter for his bold directorial concept and the distribution company for having the courage to put this into wide distribution in its time. (07/07/2002)

They’re not who they are... Thanks to the tense atmosphere and awesome psychological aspect, this is on its way to being perfect. But unfortunately Carpenter pulls the “monsters" out of his sleeve too early. I would have preferred just a sense of unseen evil, especially when the monsters turn out to be unfrightening stuffed toys. The scenes that get by without them and rely purely on atmosphere and actors (or dogs) get full marks. If it had lasted out longer without those DNA blood clots, then... But enough ifs (but if somebody were interested how awesome it could have been, take a look at an episode from season one of The X-Files titled Ice which pays tribute to The Thing). But I still, I’d really like to see a prequel of this, showing the events at the Norwegian base. So, just watch this movie, it’s the right Thing to do… (04/09/2005)