This video is by far Dark Corner's best ever. I would love to see more like this. Well researched, beautifully written and delivered. Riffing bad films is fun, but stuff like this is real meat and potatoes for film fans.
Big R True. It's actually a more accurate film version of the source material and not a true remake in the sense. Fans call it a remake because of the 50s Hawks film.
it properly adapts the original 50s classic SF story "Who Goes there" by John W. Campbell Jr. The earlier movie had to change the creature as it was unfilmable at the time. Both are fantastic adaptions given the times they were made
Stop perpetuating this myth - it's *NOT* a remake, and never has been. It's based purely on the book...a book that every 'Thing' fan should purchase and read.
Great job on this video. Lots of research and great insight went into it. You guys at Dark Corners really do an excellent job putting together these in-depth reviews and it's so much fun to see the similarities to other classic films. Thanks for putting together this great analysis of "The Thing" and as always, I look forward to future film retrospectives.
Fantastic video. The Thing is my all time favourite film so it's always nice to hear other people wax lyrical about it. Film critic Anne Bills on wrote a fantastic BFI Classics boo about it a few years back which is an essential read for every fan of the film.
That was a really, really good episode; really hit every nail on the head with that one. I mean, i watch this channel either to be directed to random obscure horror and trash-cult classics i might never find on my own, or just to be entertained by the wit and humour, but i really enjoy the in-depth analysis, especially when it regards movies i reserve a special place for, and particularly when i come away with a much stronger understanding of their roots. 'The Thing' is such a special film for so many people, and i'm sure i'm not alone in saying that this video struck a very special chord for me.
I become obsessed with one film and rewatch clips from it over and over, as well as finding and watching all informative videos about said film like we are watching here. Now it’s The Thing 1982, before Margin Call was another, The Dark Knight is another good example.
A film that absolutely terrified me when I first watched it.. I had nightmares for weeks...quite simply The Thing 1982.....takes you on a shelter skelter...rollercoaster journey that shatters your nerves and emotions.....the grotesquely graphic effects...are both repulsive...and astounding,....the chilling gravity of the film leaves you feeling unsettled and mesmerized....it's a cinematic masterpiece....a classic
Excellent video. Putting the best film ever made in it's proper context in regard to movie history. Always amazes me that some people STILL don't get this film.
Carpenters Thing was one of the best remakes ever. Thing from Another World was a classic B movie and Carpenters Thing became another classic. This is very difficult as 95% of remakes are crap. Great review.
For my money, one the scariest films in film history. I was lucky enough to meet John Carpenter on the set of "Big Trouble in Little China," and had he not had the incredible bad fortune of releasing it at the same time as an unknown film called, "ET," we both agreed that it would have enjoyed the notice and box office success it truly deserved.
What a superb riff on two of my favorites, with so many other favorites cannily cited as influenced by or influences of '51 THING and '82 THING! Thank you! I've never really considered Carpenter's THING a remake of Hawks', not least because their aims seem so distinct. Hawks, I think, was concerned with the threat of his "intellectual carrot" remaining credible with an early- Cold War audience still unused to filmed sf. Carpenter seemed to want HIS "Who Goes There?" adaptation to excel in a way his HALLOWEEN had: instilling unease in its audience at EVERY moment, the quiet and the frantic, monster on or off. I love how Hawks used talk and group byplay, often VERY funny, in '51 THING to set up suspense and shocks. While there's MUCH less talk and much more alienation (Get it?) in '82 THING, its "blood test" scene (as you noted, its best) works to surprisingly similar effect, a deft mix of slapstick and terror. The closing moments of both films are classic, and are, again, similar in the frisson of their not-quite resolutions: '51 has its chilling radio warning, while '82 has its last two people?/things? waiting to freeze. Both films are extraordinary and inimitable, and I feel no need to choose between them.
Having been a long time fan of John Carpenter's thing. I never thought of all the influences that might have gone into it the way you have. Brilliant video! Thank you very much for posting.
Yours is the most insightful critique and analysis of this movie.I saw this in New Zealand 1982 and was blown away,watched it 2 to 3 times a week during lockdown here in Australia,yet you have made me see themes in this movie that had not dawned on me in over 40 years of watching this movie.2011 movie,like the girl,liked the Norwegians,loved the inside of the spaceship including the tetrus,to me, in every scifi there should be unexplainable mystery just like the pyramids,timeless and ancient,unexplainable even after thousands of years of scientific development. The tetris to me is the equivalent of the spikes in Rendezvous With Rama,totally unexplainable.The sad thing about the 2011 movie is there is absolutely zero tension,nothing !
Excellent Video! I really hope you find the time to do more videos in this line, though I suspect they're are among the hardest to do. So Many films to reference. And now I have a few new ones to check out!
We have a few ideas at different stages. This one was written when we thought The Thing would win the horror Smackdown in October, it has just been a case if finding time to edit it.
I always enjoy your " more than just a review " analysis and deconstruction in your videos, but you really outdid yourself on this one. Above and beyond.
Awesome video! Covered all the connections to other films. It is The Thing drawing from other films to become a force within itself. The Thing basically does the impossible giving birth to itself😲👍😎
The rapid fire dialog of the scientists in Hawk's Thing is a joy to listen to. These are smart characters that think fast and bounce ideas off each other the way you'd expect experts to act; unless a lot of the supposed specialists we see in modern films that become stupid in order to progress the plot.
Great comment. I have a saying "100 million dollars for effects and .75 cents for the script." So much in movies these days depends on the characters acting as stupidly as possible.
THE BEST review of The Thing I have ever seen. Strong work. I saw this movie in the theatre when I was...14. Loved it from the start. Bought it on vhs, beta, laser disc, dvd, and Blue Ray. Can recite every line.thank you for the review. My only criticism is the 2011 Thing isn't that bad. Remember how bad Carpenters was reviewed. Don't be so hard on it.
nice review. what is especially interesting when comparing the 50's version to carpenter's film is the focus shift when it comes to paranoia. while the "thing from another world" features a unified group of men battling an external enemy, the group in "the thing" faces the enemy within. this is a nice analogy for the the change of perception due to the social changes in the 60s and 70s. it manifests the divide between conservatives and liberals political within the usa in the reagan era.
I've come across your channel recently and really love your horror analysis. I always thought of The Thing as being essentially a sci-fi remake of 12 Angry Men. Your videos are fantastic!
Good Video. I just noticed another reference to the The Thing in Hateful 8. Just how Kurt Russell says "Back off" in the scene with the dynamite and on the stagecoach in H8. Such subtle homages.
Holy shit.. This video was really fucking good! I love and have always loved Carpenters The Thing, but I never saw it as a western.. Really cool that you could let me see this movie that I’ve been watching literally for decades now in a new way, under a different light.
This is a very good look at The Thing. It still irritates me how it got savaged by critics when it came out because it is undeniably an incredibly well made movie. You don't have to be a fan or science fiction or horror to appreciate The Thing. Every scene and every shot lasts exactly as long as it needs to in order to create just the right amount of tension. It's not a Friday the 13th movie where you enjoy watching a bunch of stupid teenagers get themselves killed. These are characters you want to see survive, and they behave and react to things in believable ways. They don't split up just because, when they do it they have a logical reason to do so. Every character has an understandable motivation for what they do, rather than simply doing things to move the plot forward. The Thing even works as a drama piece. And, of course, there's Bottin's incredible effects. This movie is proof that Ebert didn't have a fucking clue what he was talking about. He only looked at the very surface of the first 15 minutes of the movie, and had by then made up his mind and completely passed it off. And then he was fawning over the mindless, saccharine, banal, swill that is E.T.
both the original and remake are wonderful in showing how people would react to something like this.the first in the shots of discovering the space craft and how big it is are due to the b and w photography and brilliant direction giviung it a documentary feel.[like the way the original king kong looks so much better than the vastly expensive remake] the remake is a joy.kurt russel as in escape from new york gives an unclassifiable performance he not a hero anti hero or coward just a guy in the wrong place.effects aside though they were extrordinary the great cast gives us scenes not in usual horror movies. they dont all like each other for a start and the impact of prolonged exposure to a remote place that they only work at for the money is well portrayed.and the sheer clustrophbic terror is amazing. great remake and a tribute to the original.
John Carpenters film is more aptly an adaptation of the original novella as opposed to a remake. The Thing (1982) is more in keeping with the original story in the book. Regardless of how one wishes to categorise it, The Thing (1982) is 'THE' best science fiction/horror movie ever made. The balance of paranoia, suspense and grotesque gore makes this film unparalleled in horror film history. I have seen this many film countless times since I first saw it in 1984, aged 11. I remember how it terrified me and gave me genuine nightmares for days. It wasn't just the 'Thing' monsters but the fear of something like this creature making it to civilisation. In one nightmare, I actually recall imagining myself escaping from a 'Thing' and then hiding from people as I didn't know who to trust anymore. A truly frightening vision. No horror movie has ever disturbed me like The Thing in such a psychological way. That's why I respect and sickeningly love it so much. John Carpenter. I Thank You 😊
I've always had a closer feeling to the original thing from 1951 because that's the version I grew up with .John Carpenter's remake while closer to the actual story is a little over-the-top at times especially with the shape-shifting monster. one of the characters I think sums it up very well "you've got to be f****** kidding me "when the head turns into a spider .I think if they had toned down all of the shape-shifting it would have made it a better movie. it does get a little hokey at times but still a good remake .the final remake was nothing more than a politically correct version simply change the lead character from a man to a woman and then do the whole plot all over . I don't think it even should be considered as part of the thing series.
This was a great video! Glad you were able to appreciate The Thing From Another World for the great film it is, but I’m puzzled why you showed a picture of composer Dimitri Tiomkin when mentioning director Christian Nyby! BTW, more should be said about Tiomkin’s brilliant score for the Nyby film, the only science fiction score he ever wrote, and another as you mentioned, of the A-game professionals who rarely did films like this. I personally love the Nyby film and Carpenter’s remake. I even like much of the 2010 film, as it fills in details about the first film, but yes, it’s many notches below the first two, for the reasons you describe.
Thank for also praising the thing from another world (1951) I feel that film seems to be written off nowadays due to the excellence of carpenters movie, when really it should also be celebrated.
Same here; it's a truly great film, and it's sad that so many want to deny its important place in the history of science-fiction cinema just because of the remake/tribute.
The fact that Hawks was involved, and that Carpenter has it playing in ‘Halloween’ on the TV, should be reason enough to understand the film’s importance.
Nice job. But surprised you didn't mention Horror Express with Lee and Cushing. It is if The Thing stayed a frozen specimen until on the train. They're isolated on a moving train and the paranoia of who it inhabits now. But a suggestion if you don't know of it.
LOVED IT GUYS !!!!! What I see in the later sci-fi / horror genre is of the 80's and beyond is the influence of the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. I feel that these films have done a great job of doing Lovecraft when not going at his material directly. The Thing ( 1982 ) Phantoms , and Alien have great in this regard. There an idea presented in the novella , WHO GOES THERE , that did not show up in either the '82 , or 2011 versions. In the story it was suggested the crashed ship may have not been piloted by The Thing , but rather it had done to the crew of the ship , what is now doing to the human research team. The Thing is the trickster of mythology ( Loki , Coyote ) . There to turn the ordered world of Men upside down and bring chaos into their lives.
I thinking that Lovecraft influenced more then we know. Even thou Ed Gein inspired TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSCRE . I can't help but see the influence of Lovecraft's short story PICTURE IN THE HOUSE. Or the cavern creatures so like the ghouls in PICKMAN'S MODEL. And we have give Lovecraft for inventing the modern flesh eater zombie that was created through science rather then magic with HERBERT WEST: REAINMATER.
The actual novella "Who Goes There" from which these comes is available both as an audiobook and also as a BBC radio drama. The original story is much closer to this film than the earlier one. I'd like to give a shout out to Bob Cornthwaite (1917-2006) who had 182 screen and TV roles but who is remembered, if at all, as Professor Carrington, the grey spade-beard head scientist in the 1951 version of The Thing. He had NO other memorable roles. He's one of the scientists in 1953's War of the Worlds. In other words, he usually played "the third guy on the left." His bio explains it all. He was active in the LA regional theater scene and took film roles to make ends meet (any actor will tell you that film pays a lot better than regional theater.) What that tells me is that he must have been a talented stage actor as so many are. I used to be interested in the Washington DC regional theaters and saw many wonderful stage actors who you'd then see in a cranberry commercial. (in the US Ocean Spray commercials, one the two men is Henry Strozier, who I've seen doing Chekhov on stage. I saw Patrick Stewart performing in a photo-negative Othello where he was the only white person in the cast. Iago was played by Ron Canada, whose film career was likewise as "third guy on the left." He's in National Treasure, for example .)
For me, Carpenter's Thing is one of the best films of all time. Further, it did something few films ever did, being a sequel or reboot better than the original.
Hold on a minute, in your comparison of 12 Angry Men and Carpenter's film it is mentioned that the men turn against each other for "no reason at all." There are quite significant reasons the men turn on each other in both films.
Great review and very informative. Definitely a must watch video and probably should be on the special features of the Blu Ray. Thanks for the hard work and research gone into this video. As for the film it's a classic that is hard to believe failed at the box office. I been a subscriber for a couple of years and this definitely a good reason on why I stay subbed. Take care.
Winter of 1982 my two younger brothers and I watched John Carpenter the thing umteen times & Yes it's about the people John Cambell great short Scy Fi novel as well as Jack Finney's novel Invasion of the body Snatchers...Hibby Gibbies Deluxe !
A Very Thought-Provoking and Original Perspective. Much To Be Proud Of Here, Dark Corners! I must admit, while I've always thought The Thing was a real solid thriller, and certainly as good as a remake can get, I wouldn't even put it in my Top 50 Horror Films. Its bulletproof reputation today is still sort of a mystery to me, even with the solid points DC's video makes. I think my issue is that while The Thing is a great concept and well executed, there's a certain lack of horror pedigree in terms of the actors and characters. For me, the best horror films have great horror performers or at least a distinctive villain. The Thing has just a thing and an ensemble of somewhat low-key character actors. Maybe if Donald Pleasence had played the Brimley role as planned he could have served as the trope. This is not really a criticism and I'm certainly not looking for an argument; it's just why I've never really warmed to this very cold (in every way) film.
I know that Capenter was a fan of Quatermass or Quatermass II - the one about the astronaut turning into a fungus in the Deptford docklands and Westminster Abby. So I think that also could have been an influence.
I’ve a bit of a crush on Kenneth Tobey 😊 love both versions. Listening to the radio play of Who Goes There is actually quite creepy, especially through headphones 😊
This is great! Very interesting. About the context within films. A western? What strange idea, but it can make sense. And, no, it's not about the gore.
I just thank God they didn't let him remake FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956) scenes from which , along with Howard Hawks' THE THING, both popped up in HALLOWEEN (1978) I say this because FORBIDDEN PLANET is to THE TEMPEST (1611)what WEST SIDE STORY (1961) was to ROMEO AND JULIET (1595)
8:20 - Practical FX over CGI any and everyday; where possible! One of the best horror films and just film ever made; always recommend it, even to non horror fans! I did a few written horror reviews for Project Deadpost website a few years ago; and the first film, I had to do, bu choice, had to be The Thing and then Braindead.. practically awesome films! :D
The Thing and Alien are the same basic premise. Humans trapped in a closed environment with an alien life form.. Hawkins was once asked what would happen when humans meet with an alien life form. He said, “It will be a disaster.”
Cool vid. This movie deserves all the praise it can get. A big f.u. to all the critics who trashed it at the time when it's absolutely genius. It's what going to the movies is all about.
In 1982 this film raised the horror stakes too quickly. 'Alien' was probably the closest predescessor in terms of visceral shocks and body horror. To ramp up things so much in only 3 years between the films (instead of gradual increments over a decade) is the reason I believe the cinema release suffered a backlash by critics.
Great, as usual! The ONLY thing I can nitpick on is the "King's English" uber alles narration. American director Sidney Lumet's last name ends with a hard "t," while Mexican director Guillermo del Toro's first name *doesn't* have a hard "l," and "macho's" first syllable's pronounced "MAW." Like I said, kinda nitpicky.
