John Carpenter's The Thing Review - Off The Shelf Reviews 

I heard a radio interview to an actual antarctica researcher. He explained they did six-month shifts there. They had an established tradition: watching The thing at the beginning of each shift.

Ennio Morricone passed away today. He left us countless wonderful scores.

"Why don't we just wait here for a little while...see what happens" Best closing line ever

I would dare guess that over the years since their release many more people have rewatched The Thing than ET.

Do you see the words tumbling out, the happiness in their eyes, the way they interrupt each other to tell you what they think and what they know about each scene. This is the type of film they and many others could easily do an extra hour on. The purest type of fan boy review.

One of my all time favorites... John Carpenter, what a genius. And an underrated one, at that...

I have similar story to Iain's, when I first watched The Thing. It was a Sunday night, my mom made pizza for me and my brother. I was flipping through the channels and I saw a helicopter chasing a dog in the middle of nowhere, and I was like: "why are they doing that". It was hard to keep that pizza in my stomach durring my watch time, but I'm glad I did because The Thing became my favorite movie.

Just want to say, some people scoff at when he accidentally throws the grenade behind him in the beginning of the movie. If you've ever been in cold that serious, your hands tense and completely lock up. He'd been in a helicopter, gripping and firing a weapon out the side for who knows how long. By the time he was pulling the grenade, he was frantic, his hands were cold and he was likely going insane. All of those things considered, I would've been mad if he didn't fumble around like that.

The evil scream from Bennings after the Thing realizes its been found out just before fully assimilating is the stuff of nightmares, far scarier than any of the sick (amazing) gore in the rest of the film. Glad you also brought up the fantastic score from Ennio Morricone.

The Thing was not filmed in Alaska. It was filmed on a glacier in a small northern community called Stewart, located in British Columbia, Canada. :-)

I saw the Thing in the theaters, saw ET once. Getting near 40 years, I don't remember how many times I have watched this movie. The fluff falls away, the good stuff keeps on delivering the goods. Thanks for the work into the divergent views in the review gentlemen. It keeps one from just being spoon-fed.

Love your channel! You guys always do a great job. I've been waiting for this one to share a brief story. I was stationed in South Korea in the early 80's. I worked as a guard in a military detention facility housing minimum/medium risk criminals, 20 or 30 soldiers and airmen. It was movie night for the prisoners and I was working the blotter desk the night they played John Carpenter's The Thing. Now I wasn't able to see the whole film but I did run back to the bay every few minutes to catch what I could. At one point while at the desk I heard a huge commotion from the back. Thinking there might be trouble in the bay I ran to see what was happening. I arrived in time to see Norris's head separating from his body. The commotion was the prisoners, most of whom were screaming and crying at what was on the screen. It was chaos. Several had actually ran to their bunks to hide. Even some of the guards were averting their eyes. I think about that every time I watch the movie. Just an example of how good this film is. Thanks guys!

The dog kennel scene scared me when I saw it as a kid.

My 2 fave film critics talking about one of the best horror films ever. Sign me up! 😊

Kick in the door and get the popcorn. It's time to watch the boys review a classic.

The Thing along with Alien gives us a remote claustrophobic confined space to build up paranoia & so much tension with no escape. And thats just the setup for both movies. The cast is great in this movie and left me tension filled through the whole movie. One of the 2 greatest horror scifi movies ever made. Period

19:00 The dogs in the kennel have the monster made straight away. That's why it goes for them with complete disregard about revealing it's self.

Excellent Review! This is one of my favorite John Carpenter films.

*THE THING (1982)* just might be The Greatest Horror Film of All Time Excellent Review, guys !

This movie is a masterpiece. The atmosphere, the acting, the music, the camera work are amazing, and the practical effects are equal to, nay, better than anything you see today. Even the way the gore is implemented is marvelously effective. There's little gore in terms of the running time of the whole film, but when it's there, damn, is it powerful!

You guys really did The Thing justice.

The other theory about Norris , is that the thing didn't imitate Norrises heart defect, but he was slowly infected by the thing virus (named the cloud virus in the video game) and it was slowly taking him over, so once the cloud virus took over Norrises vital organs he slowly died, struggle with breathing as the virus took over his lungs, the heart stopping as the cloud virus spread and assimilated it. And when Doc tried to revitalise him the cloud virus had finished assimilating Norrises whole body and attacked Doc as he tried to use the defibrillator.

One of my favorite movies, I had so many nightmares about it that I was afraid is my dog for weeks, oh memories ☺️ This is also when Kurt Russell became the love of my dreams and beards became so attractive for me 👀

It was a lot of fun watching two guys talking with clearly so much love for this masterpiece.

In my top 3 films ever made. The other two; Predator; and Big Trouble in Little China. John Carpenter is so under appreciated.

I was 12 and my mom and my uncle took us kids to see The Thing. It was awesome.

This movie was filmed about 6 hours north of where I live near one of the northernmost cities in British Columbia (Nelson) on the border with the Yukon Territory and Alberta.

Imagine having lunch at a diner with Childs. *Childs opens up his sandwich, removes a slice of cheese and holds it up on display.* Childs: "If this was an imitation - a perfect imitation - how would you know if it was really brie?"

Thursday is here at last! I hope the copyright monster doesn't assimilate this review.

Who else here loves Keith David for his voice acting work? Especially Goliath from "Gargoyles", Spawn from the animated series, and Dr. Facilier from "The Princess and the Frog".

Something else that a lot of people didn't notice: when "the thing" first reveals itself in the dog cage, as the group is confronting it, there's a piece of it that breaks off and crawls up into the ceiling and gets away. So in addition to Norris who was at least already infected, there was another unassimilated "thing" running around on its own that could've infected somebody.

I love this movie. I love the idea for the monster, I love the designs and the fact that you only see it a few times. Modern movies should learn from that.

Love your review of John Carpenter's The Thing. You guys' entheusiasm for this stellar movie shines through from start to finish, i could watch it again and still be entertained; you really did this film justice and have become my favourite reviewers.

Carpenter & Russell provide one of the best commentary tracks on film ever.

You can discuss this movie forever. That's why people watch it so many times , there's always new thoughts popping into your head and most of them you'll never get the answer too . If it was a Blumhouse production , EVERYTHING would be explained more than once , shoved down your throat like a Thing-tentacle , you'd watch it once and forget it . I get the feeling that Speak no Evil will be a hollow shell of its original . Love watching you chaps discuss-arguing about this and the other films you review lol . Keep it up .

Have anyone seen the commentary version with John Carpenter and Kurt Russel? Kurt sits and laughs at every scene almost. It's hilarious

I just finished the previous thing video. What a treat to get this review next.

I love the fact that MacReady's number one character trait that makes him the perfect foil for the thing is set up right from the get-go: he loses at computer chess, and instead of trying again, he drops his drink into the computer and fries the circuit board. If he is outplayed, he will scorch the earth. That's why he won. My favorite MacReady moment in the entire film is when he breaks back into the supply room with dynamite and a flare, half-frozen, covered in frost, and ready to blow everything and everyone sky-high if they fuck with him. It's just a continuation of that trait in him to do whatever it takes to win, and it's what ultimately destroys the creature... probably. Definitely one of my favorite films for all the reasons listed here - #1 for Carpenter, and in my top 10 of all time.

Greatest horror movie ever made. Perfect movie. Cast. Story. Camera-work. Effects. Score. Atmosphere. Director. Editing. An unbelievably amazing film. I remember watching it as s kid and being blown away when The Doc has his arms bitten off and Norris-Thing comes out of the stomach 👌

Ive been waiting for you guys to do this film for years now. Thanks

That cut to Thing from Adam's Family was perfect xD

Halloween, The Thing, The Fog. Some of my all time favorite films. John Carpenter is a master. I watch this one once a year. The effects are unnerving because body horror is frightening. Humans deconstructed, assimilated, reconfigured in grotesque ways. Rob Bottin and his masterful nightmarish other worldly work. The movie is a masterpiece and its sad that it was not well received when it came out. As a film lover I go to the theater hoping that a new film will absolutely knock me to the ground with creativity, great story, great acting. And it so rarely happens. Under The Skin was one movie for me, and i’m sure I can think of maybe a couple more. What I would give to have seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Thing, The Exorcist for the first time ever before others had seen it. Its so rare nowadays. Great review.

I love your long format videos fellas I actually am always looking for something to listen to while I'm at work doing my thing in your videos make for a perfect fit for that

Blair was a simulated before he went crazy he just didn’t know he had been assimilated; if you noticed during the autopsy of the Norwegian thing, he kept touching it with the rubber tip of his pencil and then when he was explaining it to the other crewmembers, he kept touching that pencil tip to his lips which would’ve been enough to transfer things cells into himself; it would only have been a matter of time after that! You guys are wrong about Norris, by the way

40:01 I disagree he charged him with a deadly weapon in my own opinion it was self defense but that’s my own opinion

Guys I’m so happy you got around to reviewing this film, been subscribed to channel for a few years and absolutely love it and both of your great taste in film. Great review again, can’t wait till you get through the rest of John carpenters back catalogue👍🏻

Sick day.... Spending it w/ you, gents. Good ish. :) -J from NJ / USA

I love how you two argue about who the dog “takes over” and whether it’s Norris or Palmer haha. I’ve also had this debate with some of my film loving friends. At the end of the day though, it’s definitely Norris.

One of the best movies of all time!

Love the video! I have to say though that Norris must have been infected before Palmer. The Thing is so much more likely to assimilate someone when alone with them. The dogs were assimilated because they were all trapped in an enclosed space, they couldn’t fight back and they can’t possibly tell the humans what they saw so there was no risk at all there.

You missed the most important thing; The hand in The Adams Family was called "Thing" that's how the surviving hand that takes the small ship goes into the television business. lol

It’s that day of the week!

This is one of my all time favourite films.Everything about this movie just creeps me out.I watched this when I was about 6 or 7 and loved it just as much then.The dog scene and the chest scene were just so different to anything I’d watched.It’s also got bits of humour in that makes me smile.Excellent,Brilliant film 👍

The scene that takes on added weirdness when watching this the second time around is when Norris and Palmer look at each other (when McReady is locked out), since the viewer now knows that they are both non-human "things". The three guys who go out to the flying saucer are McReady, Norris and Palmer. The only obfuscation about the 3rd guy is that some of the coverage showing him more clearly may have wound up being edited out, ie not some sort of deliberate aesthetic misdirection ploy. Btw, Rob (Bottin) had also done the fairly challenging HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP a few years earlier than THE THING.

The Thing is so meticulously ambiguous that even after watching it plenty of times you're still not entirely sure of the exact timeline and events. Endlessly debatable and rewatchable, The Thing can be studied for years (which it has been undoubtedly) but still, everyone has their own opinions and no-one can really disprove them. The Thing is a masterpiece of a movie. The most underrated movie ever made? Possibly. The greatest Sci-Fi/Horror ever made? Probably. John Carpenter's greatest Movie? Undoubtedly. Stellar review guys. Entertaining and thought provoking insight from a fan's perspective. It makes me want to watch The Thing again, and again, and again...

The one we’ve been waiting for lads 👍

OMG this movieee! Oh how I wish they do a sequal with Kurt Russell living in the cave hiding from the thing 30 years on.

Be great if you did a full movie commentary for this.

You guys are the absolute best! Would love to hear your take on Leviathan and Deep Star Six

I saw this film around 1983, when it first went to VHS video rental, with my brother-in-law. I was about 17, and it shook me up, no doubt. Gave me nightmares, and I wasn’t a kid, I was working, and going out to night clubs, drinking, smoking, but it scared me with a scare that lingered, and made me have bad dreams about being infected by some weird creature. Great, great movie by a great, great, highly intelligent director, at his height. Best sci-fi horror ever, best horror ever, one of the best movies of all time, in any genre. Love this film and watched it a thousand times, and still watch it again and again to this day. Brilliant, and who even remembers ET now..?

That´s it !! I´m popping in the blu-ray to watch The Thing for the 50th+ time. Great review guys !

Thank you regarding (especially) your theory about Fuch's death. This always troubled me, and your theory does make a lot of sense. Regarding the ending, when I first saw the movie, as a teen, in a movie theater, I wondered (like everybody else) if Child was "the thing". And my thinking was : Well if Child is "the thing", he (it ?) and McReady may actually try to talk to each other, instead of trying to kill each other. And something might actually happen, some lesson be learned. A truce, even, maybe, trying to help each other out of this Hellish place. Some kind of cooperation. Who knows ?

Big fan of Off The Shelf Reviews!

I was surprised to find you guys never reviewed this, but I'm glad y'all did the two films in this order.

I like the theory that Fukes was "Thinged" and it left some burned remains to throw the humans off. So there is a Fukes-Thing out there,

I’ve just stumbled upon your channel recently and absolutely love your reviews. These films take me back to browsing dark shady independent video shops back in the 80’s when I was a kid. My mate and me managed to rent zombie flesh eaters for 50p for an afternoon when we was 12. I watched the thing on the same mates Betamax and was absolutely blown away by it. Keep up the good work chaps.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎃🍫🍬🍭

Carpenter is my Film God. I went to see him perform mimusic from his films in 2016 @ the Warwick Arts Centre,was AWESOME.

It’s a finely balanced movie that would have been easy to get wrong in the hands of a lesser director.I love the effects etc but also the quieter parts are some of my favourites like the dog walking in the room near the beginning and the exploration of the first station.The atmosphere is amazing and that’s down to the director and it’s why I also love The Fog.

About time, guys! Great film - and so great to see so much enthusiasm from both of you! Although I think if you freeze this video at 56:28 that image sums up your show quite nicely... one of you usually loves the film you review, and the other goes "well..."

I have been waiting for y’all to cover this! Been looking forward to watching all day lmao. Stay awesome my dudes! 👊

The Thing doesn't need a sequel BUT; We still have Keith David and Kurt Russell. If they somehow survived, Childs and Mac would be a great anchor for a story. Set it in the here and now. Maybe someThing has thawed out due to global warming, and the authorities are forced to call on our dynamic duo, after years of not believing their story of what happened at Outpost 31...

top 10 best movie ever, no doubt about it, i know so many people who place it top3 or nr1. i argue then that i cant decide between this, Alien and Jaws. But it might just be the best movie ever.

Love this review -- your enthusiasm is palpable. And great insights.

The Bennings Thing the sound it makes is ingrained in my mind forever.

You two are seriously the best reviewers on RU-vid. Thank you so much for doing such great work. I wish I could sit down with you guys in person and just talk about movies.

Yes!! My favourite horror movie also!!

I’ve been waiting for this review, excellent stuff guys! Thank you, thank you 😊

I always understood the Thing to be a super organism with a hive mind.

Nice to see you guys are fans of Final Space. It's super underrated!

Best creature feature movie ever made..

Love you guys! Love your reviews and I'm glad you did justice to this movie review. Always happy for the next review :)

I am one of the few people who actually got to watch this in a theatre as a kid. My older brother took me, and we were mesmerized!! I'll never forget that dog's face splitting open!!!

Thanks for the review guys! Always enjoy your take on movies. PS: please turn up the volume a little, thanks!

I've watched this movie so many times, I've lost count. Loved this movie as a kid and is in my top 10. Thanks for the review! It's always nice to hear other peoples opinions about it.

Yes! Well done gentleman 👍

Timeless film and a phenomenal review from you both, i dont know how many times I've watched this review, but like the film, it never gets old 👊.

It's already been established that, since the thing can hold copies of dna within itself at the cellular level, Since even some simple plants have 100 times the dna size of a human, then the thing can keep thousands of copies of DNA from all creatures within just one of it's cells.

John Carpenter did not understood why it bomed at the box office. I know why... Because it scares the hell out of of you in 1982....

Great review of my favourite Carpenter film and one of my fav horror films.. I gotta say, it's got to be one of the best ever remakes/re-imaginings. I think only David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) comes close. Great dynamics between characters, great tension and paranoia, the best example of practical effects EVER ... plus I love the ambiguous ending.

A couple of things. -If Palmer was a Thing when he was alone with Childs, he would have infected him when he passed him the joint, since he took a long drag on it first. Since Childs later passes the blood test...Palmer isn't the Thing yet. -The gleam theory doesn't hold up even in the blood testing scene. There are shots of Palmer and you see the gleam in his eye. -The 'Spaceship' is just a transport...it looks like a flying saucer, but so what? My guess is it was building a replacement for the helicopter Blair destroyed, but in a form it's more familiar with. -The 3rd film of the Apocalypse Trilogy you didn't mention, is 'In the Mouth of Madness', and it has a definite ending...with the evil creatures winning and humanity on the road to extinction.

GreetIngs from Michigan! Love you guys and love this movie!!

Fantastic review of one of my all time faves!

I just love your reviews. Keep em going!

Really looking forward to this review, hope u both had a good Halloween guys 👊👊

I believe Russell stated the he was not the Thing at the end and that he was holding a firearm underneath blanket or something ready to fire at Childs.

Good Job guys! you made it!

Lets remember that before The Thing (1981) - Stan Winston was only known for The Wiz (1978), Heartbeeps, Dead & Buried (1981) and The Hand (1980) >>>>> He was not the 'genius' that he became decades later!!!! Rob Bottin just gave Stan Winston the Dogs FX sequence as he was available - everyone else was busy at the time!!!

This is one of the big ones lads, great work!

Gary : Hello and welcome to off the shelf reviews Ian: I've got nothing bad to say about this film 😂😂 Gary: And I'm Gary