John Carpenter's magnum opus and one of the best horror films of the 80s and my personal favorite horror film of all-time. Character, story, pacing, scares, and especially the environment this film takes place in all make for something you could only end out of the 80s horror scene. Fucking love this film.
Not only is the movie itself a masterpiece I also absolutely love the poster. There are so many horror posters that are burned into my brain from way back as a kid walking through Blockbuster and The Thing is one of the best.
The one with the guy with rays shooting out of his head? I love it, apparently Carpenter hated it. The old VHS I saw as a kid had a still of the Norris-thing….which didn’t look great as a film cover.
Holly: “Gonna watch your favorite horror movie. You wanna come?” “Cody”: “Yeah, Halloween, I’ll be down there in a minute.” Arnold: “You’re husband is dead, Mrs. Leach.”
I saw ET and The Thing literally back to back. They are both classics for different reasons. The Thing was absolutely riveting. I was on the edge of my seat the entire movie. I had the rare privilege of seeing this movie in the dark on a large screen, with incredible sound. A masterpiece.
So many great scenes and this has to be the second greatest Carpenter horror movie. It's claustrophobic, creepy, causes paranoia, is scary and just overall underrated. Oh, and the Thing comic reveals who's really the creature.
Everyone knows what I'll say. Halloween. A small budget movie turned classic about a killer stalking a babysitter on Halloween night. But The Thing is vastly underrated
This isn't one of my personal favorites, but I cannot deny this is a perfect film. The effects, the tension, the setting, it's a masterpiece within the horror genre.
The backstory to this amazing film is shocking, it bombed in the box office back in it's day and now it's hailed as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, certainly in my top 5 of all time, John Carpenter will forever be the king of horror!
The scream from the Dennings-Thing when found out just before being torched is the most terrifying one I've ever heard (the one Cody uses here for his intro). Not only it sounds 100% inhuman, it sounds literally out of this world, like straight out of Hell...
Incredibly scary and creepy, such a chilling moment. The sound of millions lifeforms assimilated and consumed through the universe, and Bennings is in there, somewhere...
@@sheldonadams8343 with Halloween, maybe it's a nostalgia thing? I get that because my top two horror movies of all time are from 1985, Re-Animator and Day of the Dead.
@@Max_Sinister_26 Those are good film! Don't get me wrong, I love Halloween alot. My 2nd favorite slasher film and 2nd favorite slasher icon. The movie is really good. But The Thing is on a whole new level. It's way ahead of its time.
The more times I watch this one, I question new things and see more details. That is one aspect that keeps me coming back, it is so well done and thought provoking. A true gem!!
One thing you don't mention but really adds an even more 'likable' dimension that is regularly overlooked, is the humor. It's got some really funny lines. All coming from character and dialogue. They're not constant but are subtle and natural adding warmth to a cold situation, as well as audience connection with the characters. Also, the sound effects are incredible. The mix of silence and otherworldy and every day gave an intensity, like the sound of the flame and the scraping sound as the wire hits the blood in the test scene. Up there with one of the best sound effects soundtracks in horror.
This movie and Blade Runner came out around the same weekend. I can tell you that I’m gonna be ready to rewatch this movie more times before I watch that movie anytime soon.
For being intimidated by this movie review you hit it out of the park as one of your best. From cultural significance, to initial reception, theories of the ending, Rob Bottin and the effects to the themes of paranoia and distrust, not to mention a great opening! Great work!
I'll be honest on my most recent watching, the only thing that kinda sticked out that bothered me was the final confrontation with The Thing when there showing off the incredible effects, but instead of like attacking or launch a blade tentacle it just kinda stands there waiting to be blown up. Still one of my favorites of all time
It killed Garry and Nauls, and they were supposed to show Nauls horrific assimilation. Plus the final Blair-Thing was supposed to launch the dog to chase MacReady. But unfortunately due to budget and time they had to scrap those moments. I think that dog chase was filmed, using stop-motion, but JC wasn't thrilled about how it turned out.
This film is absolutely one of my all time favorites. In my top 3 for sure. Awesome video Cody. Fun fact: the shadow or the first person assimilated is none other than dick warlock, micheal Myers himself from Halloween 81. Always loved that. Just reinforces that John wanted ambiguity there. Your not suppose to know who it was. That's why he used a crew member. Even though people still say it's definitely Norris who's first assimilated. You don't know that, and that's the point. This film is a masterclass in suspense and tension building. Along with the excellent practical effects. But the ambiguity of who is the Alien plays that up. That's why this film works so well.
The really interesting thing about Carpenter is how he can have so many different tones from film to film. Some are dark and serious like The Thing and Halloween, then others are a bit silly and fun, but still amazing like Big Trouble in Little China and They Live. But whatever tone he chooses, he keeps it consistent throughout the film.
This is my favorite horror movie of all time as well. I watch this one at-least twice a year and it never gets old, it actually gets better every time.
Bottin is Ray Harryhausen level with his practical effects. Bottin worked on "The Thing" seven days a week (including late nights) for a year and five weeks straight, producing every creature effect.
That shirt is so dope and I’m so happy you finally reviewed this movie. It’s my favorite horror movie as well and always look forward to your reviews! Great video, brotha!
Roger Ebert actually apologized & put out a second review of The Thing I believe sometime in the 2000s No movie has aged better than The Thing A timeless masterpiece indeed 😊
One thing people never talk about is the very high and masterful contrast between the slow scenes and the chaos when the thing is on screen, every time the thing shows up shit hits the fan, it's the apocalypse in a room and coming from a very slow, quiet, tense scene. That's what made those jump scares so effective, and ofc the fact that they weren't just hallow jump scares.
Another amazing review! I still hold the awesome memory of when I was a kid in the early 2000’s and my mom and sisters were out shopping and my dad getting excited and telling me I have to watch “the thing” with him and he got the VHS out lol. It completely blew my mind and changed the way I view horror movies. I always thought that the look on Kurt Russell’s face at the end when Childs drank from the bottle and he had that little smirk told him that Child’s was the thing.
Growing up this was a favorite of mine and that fact remains to this day. A timeless classic for the genre. This movie alone made me seek out every Carpenter film I could find. Even some of his lesser films such as ghosts of Mars is enjoyable to me. All hail the master John Carpenter!!!!
I am SO sorry for being late for this, but i am incredibly glad that you did this review! I've been watching your videos for like five years now, so I was just counting the days until you reached this.
This movie is a masterpiece. In my top 10 movies of all time. It's insane that this movie was hated by critics when it came out, this movie and Blade Runner which both came out in 1982. They were both heavily misunderstood by critics. They both have stood the test of time and have aged like wine. The thing is a very smart movie that is never predictable and it's beautifully shot by Dean Cundey.
I absolutely love JC's The Thing, & I also absolutely love the 2011 (almost secret, which is so cool!) prequel. If you look at the behind the scenes of The Thing (2011), there's an interesting story about how they wanted to stay true to the original by using practical effects. But at the last minute, the studio made them abandon all the hard practical work they'd filmed only to replace it with CGI. And even though they had to switch to CG, I STILL think they killed it. To me, even the digital effects they used in the film look great. And I also feel the story & acting are also excellent. I suppose I must be one of the few people out there who love both films, but I really do love how the narrative of the prequel flows into the story of the original, answering questions I really wanted to know as a fan of the 1982 original. So yeah, both the 1982 & 2011 The Thing films are right at the top of the list of my favorite horror films of all time. Which I feel says a lot, because I consider myself a lifelong fan of horror movies first my 42 years on Earth so far.
I just watched this movie in preparation for this review (I haven't seen it in probably 5 or 6 years) and everything you said is absolutely spot on. It has lost none of its potency or brilliance in the 40 years since it was released. Quite simply one of the greatest horror movies ever made. A flawless masterpiece.
This is my most favorite horror movie of all time. The top on all my lists. Great tension, practical effects, etc. I'm so glad to watch you do a review on it.
Never get tired to see a review of The Thing since seriously the movie deserves the recognition that need it back then. I remember watching this on cable like in the early 2000 and i was like why i haven't seen this!? This movie made a huge impact that 2 of my fav cartoons did an homage to The Thing and that's Gravity Falls with the episode *Into The Bunker* i highly recommend it and TMNT 2012 just watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles against an alien that takes the form of anyone was just creepy and they also add a nice reference to Halloween 3. Overall The Thing is a movie that a fan of horror need to watch and also inspire future FX artist on how to work with practical effects that easily surpasses CGI
John Carpenter's The Thing is my favorite horror movie of all time and my favorite movie of all time. And every time it snows, I listen to the soundtrack during my commute. Great review, Mister Leach. Thank you.
I think that this movie’s brilliance is a testament to how I view movie critics… if they could classify this masterpiece as “bad”, I have no faith in anything they say. I say this because if you dissect this film: the themes, the tension, the acting, the action, the PRACTICAL EFFECTS, that cliffhanger ending! Beautiful work Mr Carpenter 🙌🏽❤️
A perfect horror movie. Isolation, paranoid, then the actual looks thr thing turns into is terrifying. Great acting, some of the if not the best practical effects in any movie a beautifully haunting soundtrack makes this an all time great and to me by far John Carpenter's best movie.
Watched this for the first time at 23 a couple months ago and I do regret not seeing it sooner it's so amazing luckily I didn't have it spoiled for me I only saw the dog scene when I studied it in media class.
Carpenter did a great job sticking to the basic story in the John W. Campbell Jr's book 'Who Goes There?' That's one of the things I like best about this film...he doesn't insult his audience by turning it into a run-of-mill monster movie.
When I first watched The Thing for the first time this Halloween, I didn't think it was all that great. I thought the characters were pretty bad, and that the film lacked replay value. But even though it's Christmas time, your review has made me want to watch this movie again.
Still have all my old LaserDiscs including The Thing, I love those colorful Universal letterboxed LD covers. Back then Universal and Warner were the best in picture quality, in my opinion. I also remember long before that, renting it on VHS (pan&scan) thinking it was the best movie ever.
I have such fond memories for this movie, my dad showed me The Thing when I was pretty young (probably 11?) and I was blowing away by all the practical effects. I’m also a HUGE Kurt Russell and Keith David fan so it was awesome seeing them play such great characters. I’m 23 now and managed to see the movie on the big screen for the 40th anniversary. Still holds up amazing today and my dad and I still watch it together every year
One of my favorite horror movies. As much as the prequel is really subpar, I have taken to watching it before I watch John Carpenter's The Thing, because I enjoy seeing all the little things that taken place in the prequel that you see in JC's movie.
I saw this incredible movie about 2 dozen times during the summer of 82, mostly at drive ins. I was only 16. The only other movie that comes close is Scarface at a dozen times in 84 at a second run theater. One of my buddies had seen The Thing on opening night and he told us all about it. He insisted on taking all of us the next night and we watched it twice that night then 2 dozen more times over the summer. Craziest, funnest, loudest crowds I've ever seen at the movies still to this day.
Oh yes finally this film is just a timeless classic masterpiece of a film 👌adore this film really great video you done it justice cody john carpenter would be proud ❤
My local movie theater plays this every Halloween. That's how I spent my Halloween this year. The thing is one of my all time favorite horror movies. Top three at least.
I feel like if Childs is the Thing at the end it would have the knowledge that gasoline is not drinkable for humans and would spit it out to play along. Not sure how much information the Thing gains through assimilation but it at least learns a hell of enough to mimic whatever it assimilates
One thing that was always genius about this movie is the ending. I haven’t watched the full review yet, so I’m sure you talked about it Cody, but the ending where you don’t really know if one of them is the thing, they’re both the thing, or they’re both human is hands down one of the best endings ever. Also my only negative with this movie is why don’t they ask each other questions only the real them would know?
Because that wouldn't work: the imitations have the same memories as the originals. If you watch the scenes where a imitation is interacting with the others before the imitation is revealed as a ting, they act perfectly in character: the imitation know who is supposed to be imitating, the voice, the quirks, the personality, the memories, all the package.
@@juanausensi499that’s not true because in the prequel that’s how she figures out Joel edgerton is the thing at the end because he can’t remember how to drive and don’t remember the ear ring
As of now the movies that were number 1 on Cody’s 31on31 videos that had been given single reviews by him are: Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors, Child’s Play 2, Die Hard, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Incepetion, The Shining, and Terminator 2 Judgement Day.
Everything listed in this review was spot on and Cody, if you're reading this, I agree with everything you said 💯%!!! This is easily one of my favorite reviews on your channel. We will always be grateful for what John Carpenter delivered and you and I will not be the first or last to point out that "John Carpenter's The Thing" is a timeless masterpiece which makes it all the more special.
Thanks very much for making this Review. I am great John Carpenter fan, as far as I am concerned the Thing Rock's from the acting to the special Effects and the Acting. And one hell of a movie thanks so much John carpenter.
Well, I've just watched The Thing with little to no previous knowledge about it. The only things I knew was that the story takes place in Antartic, there will be a monster/alien throughout the movie and I had a vague memory of that scene in which that character's belly opens up and rips the other character's arms (although I didn't remember that scene until I saw it). So I was basicly watching the movie blinded with spoilers and expectations of what to expect. That being said, this is a movie that could easily be one of my all time favorites, if not my actually favorite, if I had watched it sooner in my life, like childhood or teenage period and, most importantly, if I hadn't read the book that gave birth to the premise of this movie: And Then There Were None by the Queen of the Crime, Agatha Christie. I'm shocked that I haven't seen any mention to And Then There Were None here on the video and the comment section as it is the novel that basicly created the whole concept of a group of people trapped in a isolated location with a murder among then. And this, when well-executed, is an awsome premise for a thriller book, film. That's the reason And Then There Were None is my favorite book of all time, and I think for the same reasons as why The Things is Cody's favorite horror movie. With that in mind, I wouldn't rate The Thing 5 stars. Not when I've read material more effective in some aspects. First of all, I disagree with Cody regarding how well-stablished the characters are. I found it kinda diffucult to memorize who is who in this 10+ group of people. Some of them I couldn't remember the name, the apparence, duty in the Antartic base... and that's kinda sucks, specially when the Thing allways ended up being one of this characters. I mean, Palmer, Norris, Nauls... they didn't stand up enough for me to distinct them from the others, specially when everybody is wearing heavy clothes that covers most of their body. Another negative for me is how we never have explanations on how and when the Thing possesses one member of the crew. One happens to be the Thing in disguise with no explanation on how and when and this is one of the most important elements in whoddunit, not just the mystery but the explanations on how things happened. If we look at And Then There Where None, we have none of these problems; all characters are well-defined and memorable, everything happens for a reason with explanation for it at the end and we still have all the elements of paranoia, mystery whoddunit story. That being said, I did enjoyed The Thing. The premise, as I said is very interesting, the pratical effects are dope, the tension, suspense and scares in the scenes are top-notch. And, although criticizing the stablishment of characters in general, there were indeed characters that stand out and I could remember who they were and cheer for them in this thriller story. I would rate The Thing 4,25 out of 5 stars
Good intro. That husky was acting pretty suspicious. I agree that timelessness is a huge consideration on movies. You're right, this movie is timeless. I've always felt when movies like to make pop culture references or plugs to real events, they sacrifice the potential to be timeless because they set a timeframe of reference. My only regret with this movie is that I didnt buy the 2018 bluray steelbook or get other memorabilia. Its one of my favorite movies.
Carpenter does it best. One of my favorite horror movies of all time, might never be topped in terms of atmosphere and scares. I remember when I was at Best Buy a month ago I was debating between two movies I should buy, the second I saw The Thing on 4k I immediately put down those other two options and walked out with a true classic in my collection.
The key to the mastery of every jumps scare in this movie is that each one comes with a realization: the thing! Which immediately moves into a fight with the thing. Carpenter uses misdirection masterfully with the EKG and blood test scenes putting our urgency elsewhere.
We’re in TOTAL agreement about this being the best horror movie ever made on EVERY level! The special effects, the insane paranoia level combined with the great acting and better writing…. This movie is truly FLAWLESS
I have an awesome personal story to tell regarding The Thing. I was randomly searching for an old high-school friend on Facebook one day and in the search results I saw a post from a guy talking about his time working on the practical effects for The Thing. Coincidentally he had the exact same first and last name as my friend lol. I looked him up and he was legit! so I sent him a message about my admiration for his work in the film and sent him a friend request. To my surprise he actually replied to me and accepted my request. Since then I've been talking to him about the movie, as well as sending him concept art for the survival horror video game I'm currently developing. He actively likes and follows my development posts on FB. He's a super cool guy and he even sent me concept art from the movie with creature designes that were never used. They're amazing works of art! I feel blessed and honored to have met and befriended him. After watching your video I want to give him a shout out so people can acknowledge his work on it as well. His name is Billy Snyder and he worked on just about every practical effect in the movie as well.
It’s so weird you dropped this today brah! These last couple days I rewatched the movie with commentary and have been deep diving other stuff like the comics.
