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The Thing: The Only Time You’re Rooting Against the Dog

 

 

 

~ The Thing is a suspenseful, gory remake of The Thing from Another World (1951). Set in the desolate isolation of Antarctica, a research team uncovers a deadly ancient alien that can mimic any life form causing paranoia as the crew struggles to distinguish friend from foe. With trust eroding and the creature picking them off one by one, the tensions mount and quickly the 12 man crew dwindles.

 

 

 

 

 

~ The Thing opens in Antarctica, where a helicopter, with a gunman leaning out of the side, chases a dog across the snow, attempting to shoot it. The dog escapes to an American research camp, and in a series of missteps, the gunman accidentally blows up his own helicopter and is killed by the Americans after shooting one of them in the leg. Confused, the American researchers attempt to contact the Norwegian base but are unable to reach anyone. Pilot R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) and others investigate, discovering the base in ruins, with all its occupants violently murdered. Reviewing tapes from the Norwegian base, the researchers uncover footage leading them to an alien ship buried beneath the ice.

 

Back at the American camp, the dog is placed in a kennel, only to transform into a monstrous alien creature that devours the other dogs. After killing it with a flamethrower and performing an autopsy, the team realizes the creature can perfectly mimic any life form. A computer simulation reveals that if the alien escapes, it could consume all life on Earth within three years. Driven mad by this discovery, Blair (played by Wilford Brimley), the camp’s doctor, destroys their communication equipment and helicopter in a fit of paranoia, believing they must remain isolated. The crew subdues him and locks him in a shed.

 

As the crew realizes the alien could be any one of them, paranoia sets in. They devise a plan to test stored blood against uncontaminated blood to detect the infection, but when they discover the blood has been sabotaged, tensions rise. After finding a torn jacket belonging to MacReady, some crew members begin to suspect he’s infected. When MacReady forces his way back into the camp, threatening the others with dynamite, one crew member, Norris, collapses from an apparent heart attack. During an attempt to revive him, Norris’s chest opens up and bites off the arms of the crew member using the defibrillator, revealing he’s been assimilated by the creature. MacReady quickly torches the creature with a flamethrower, but Norris’s severed head attempts to crawl away, underscoring the creature’s ability to survive in parts.

 

 

 

 

Realizing the alien’s body parts function independently, MacReady devises a new test: he heats the crew’s blood with a hot wire, believing the alien's blood will react defensively. One crew member, Palmer, is exposed as the creature, violently transforming and killing another crew member, Windows, before being incinerated. With this revelation, the remaining crew gains some trust, but the paranoia persists. They soon discover that Blair, who has been isolated in the shed, has been infected and has been secretly building a small spaceship underground, intending to escape.

 

Determined to stop the creature from reaching civilization, MacReady and the remaining crew rig the site to explode. The alien kills most of the crew in its final form, but MacReady manages to detonate the explosives, seemingly destroying the creature once and for all.

 

In the aftermath, MacReady sits by the fire when Childs (played by Keith David), another crew member, approaches. Both men are exhausted, and neither can be sure if the other is still human. With no options left and their fate uncertain, they share a drink in silence as the fire dies out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ The Thing is a sci-fi thriller/horror classic with some of the most gruesome and memorable effects I’ve ever seen. The oozing, grotesque creature that spawns from people's bodies is masterfully done and genuinely terrifying. One of my favorite scenes is when Norris’s chest caves in and devours the arms of the person trying to revive him. The shock of it was completely unexpected and perfectly showed the creature’s horrifying capabilities. Another standout moment is when Palmer slowly transforms after his blood test reveals he’s infected. The tension builds as you’re practically yelling at MacReady to make the flamethrower work. Both scenes are brilliantly executed and impossible to look away from.

 

I also have to mention the infected dog—the way it was trained to seem so menacing was incredible. It's rare to see a dog in a movie feel this threatening, and the trainer and director did an excellent job bringing that menace to the screen.. Overall, The Thing is a must-watch for any sci-fi or horror fan. It’s a tense, well-crafted film with unforgettable moments.