THE THING (1982) | *FIRST TIME WATCHING* | HALLOWEEN SPECIAL | REACTION 

"That's a bonnie doggie!" Mm about that...

The Dog should have gotten an acting award just for that hallway scene

"The Thing" was absolutely gutted the year it came out, but many people had to swallow their pride in the following years, since it is now considered to be one of the masterpieces of the genre

Best performance ever by an animal, the dog moves with such deliberation and intelligence.

Those practical effects artists of the 80’s were amazing.

My favorite fact about this movie is that the man who did the practical effects, Rob Bottin, was 22 at the time. Basically created a masterpiece of his craft straight out of college.

The ending is part of what makes this brilliant. The movie keeps augmenting the paranoia until you have no idea who is the alien and who isn't, and that's why you have an ending where the two remaining characters don't know either, or even if they themselves are the alien. All they can go is burn everything down, and make sure if the alien is one of them, or both, it doesn't get to leave to infect the world.

I'm a simple man, I see a reaction to one of the finest sci-fi horror movies of all time...I click....

One of the things I love about this movie is how much of it is open to debate and interpretation. As an example, I read an essay on it years ago that brought up the scene where Blair is running that simulation on the computer. At first, you think he's doing it to see how dangerous the Thing is. But what if he's already a replica by that point, and instead it's The Thing seeing how long it will take itself to take over the planet?

Dawn: "Maybe they could ask the alien questions that it doesn't know?" What... is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow???

The Thing is based on the novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell and was published way back in 1938. I was a kid when I read it and had nightmares for a week.

The paranoia was palatable…and the music score was stellar. My heart begins to race just hearing it.

This one is in my top 5 favourites of all time!

The problem with the alien being a perfect copy of someone is that the alien will know EVERYTHING you know

Rob Bottin, who made the awesome creature effects, actually worked so hard he exhausted himself to the point he had to be hospitalized though he was only in his twenties…

John Carpenter broke into Hollywood with a little film called Halloween. Making a cameo on a television in that film was the original "THE THING from another world" 1951 often referred to as The Thing which he remade into this movie with Halloween money.

Here’s an interesting fact. For the scene where the stomach opened up and bit off the arms of the person trying to revive him, they found an actor without arms and put him in prosthetics. 😎

From the short story 'Who goes there?' by John W. Cambell.

This is one of my favourite JC movies. He builds the suspense slowly but steadily, each encounter ratchets up the tension, paranoia. For a fun but still bit wtf is happening JC movie, I suggest Big Trouble in Little China which also has Kurt in it. You'd love it.

This is one of the few movies that ever really creeped me out. Most of them are just either gross, or unrealistic. This one looked pretty realistic, and the situation payed out more or less how I think real people would have acted. The only other one that really made me lose sleep was _The Omega Man,_ which isn't all that scary as an adult but I first saw it when I was about 11. The people with the disease with the glowing white eyes who couldn't stand being in the light scared the living shít out of me.

For 40 years ago it still holds up so well.

I’m here for the Halloween looks Dawn has, and the movie was good too.

anyone ever tell you, you have a very soothing voice. Like even the best scary parts of this movie your voice makes it better, very low key down to earth

Wicked Witch costume is Magnificent!!! I also enjoyed The Thing when it fist came out, not many did, but they changed their minds over the years. GLAD to see you enjoyed this as well. {Let me guess, 'The Fly' is another movie that I'm sure you would gravitate to and find remarkable as well}. Hopefully you get time to add it to your October list.

In the original book, the dogs tore the thing to pieces. Also, in the book, the humans kill the last thing, i.e., Blair.

I’m so impressed with the make up. Each one is a nice take on a Halloween familiar. Great stuff.

Now watch Carpenter's first film 'Dark Star' . A brilliant, very droll, sci-fi comedy with a philosophical edge.

One theory (not seen mentioned yet) is that Childs is The Thing & that you can tell because his breath isn't visible like MacReady's is*, so they're just going to stare each other down & freeze to death (which the creature can survive). Childs' breath is actually slightly visible, but nowhere near as obvious as MacReady's.

Dawn surprised by the end as if it were an episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Also, excellent Grotbags costume.

I find it adorable that you only knew Kurt Russell as Santa Claus from "The Christmas Chronicles." That's so wholesome! I also like that you called the husky a "bonnie doggie." You're so Scottish that if you cut yourself, you would bleed plaid.

I'm glad you enjoyed that. It's one of my all time favourites. I've seen it numerous times, and I still enjoy it just as much every time. And I actually like the ambiguous ending. It leaves it up to the viewer to decide what happened.

Your wicked witch adorability is off the scale. I did flying rig work for the Wizard of Oz at Iroquois Amphitheater here in Louisville last summer and your makeup and getup is every bit as good as what our wicked witch had going on!

Dawn Marie your witch makeup was top notch. That's an incredible job and it really showed up well on camera. Beautiful counterfeiting and just the overall impression was terrific.

The drink he shares was one of the gasoline-filled Molotov cocktails. He fake-drank it and handed it to him who DID drink it with no problem, just like at the beginning with the chess game, the booze was the winning move.

The ending was deliberately made to be ambiguous and controversial. In a radio talk show Q&A someone asked John Carpenter if Childs' was an alien at the end of the movie, and he said "I know Mac is an alien. I don't know about Childs..." When caller after caller kept asking him to explain, he said "I was joking! I don't know who's an alien NOBODY does. That's the point." It's like the shadow on the wall when the dog goes onto that room. Everybody tries to guess who's shadow it is, but they shot the scene with someone who wasn't one of the cast members so that no matter who anyone guessed it was, their guess would be wrong. John Carpenter endorsed the PS2 video game sequel to "The Thing" as canon, and in that game, you discover Childs' body and determine that he was still human and died of hypothermia, and at the end of the game, Mac helps you defeat a massive Thing creature in the game's final boss battle and saves your life indicating that he's still human. Most people believe that Carpenter was only concerned with developing new movie projects by that time and just endorsed the game so he could move on, so it's generally not accepted as canon. There was also a comic book sequel by Dark Horse Comics with a completely different story in which both Mac and Childs alive and still human. It ends with Childs sacrificing himself in an explosion and Mac alone on the ice field with no hope of being rescued as he waits to freeze to death. The comic had aspects that were inconsistent with the movie and the art and writing weren't very good, so it's not considered canon.

thank god a classic horror movie with no super CGI galore

The unclear ending certainly infuriates people, but over time it is what makes people love it. You can't get it out of your head. It wasn't a 'cheap' ending, it was Brilliant.😀👍

1. The Norwegian killed himself so The Thing couldn't get to him. 2. Yes, that was a doobie they were passing back and forth. 3. You have to realize that this movie came out long before CGI so there was some very creative special effects goin down here. 4. Mac's not a murderer. Clark was attacking him with the scalpel. It was self defense. 5. Of everything that went down the part that got me the most was when Blair was dragging Gary by the face. 6. Something to think about, Childs was missing for a minute. It the final scene with Mac it's extremely cold but we can't see Childs' breath. If Childs is the thing he will survive but Mac won't. 7. Another Russell/Carpenter product you need to first time/share with us is "Escape from New York". 8. My guesses for the next two are: "The Shining" and "Misery". BOTH are Stephen King novel adaptations. Now that you're out of the comedy genre, may I suggest the GOAT of Stephen King's "The Green Mile"? Tom Hanks and you WILL CRY.

Dawn Anderson has the most calmest demeanor I've ever seen for someone whose never watched this film before, it's like she's commenting on the evolution of a folk dance or something; I've seen grown men jump out of their seats watching this movie, see "the boys" manly monday movie reaction. It's hilarious. One's a lawyer, the other a bar owner & his friend.

Hands down the only reactor to this film watching the dog being shot at in the opening sequence 'what would that be for? It's fur!' Top comment, i think maybe even John Carpenter would smile at that

The ending is perfect. Even though everything is destroyed and only two survive, that paranoia is still there.

Last time I saw someone as green as that was when I looked in the mirror after a night on some Somerset farmhouse cider, never again!

What a Bonnie Witch ! - Your eyes matched your green face. Beautiful.

5:30 I think he wants to say, "It's not an autopsy, you ignorant git. It would be a necropsy."

A fantastic reaction to one of my all time favourite movies. This is when filmmakers gave a shit about making quality scary films, The practical effects are amazing & the story builds up despair, isolation & distrust as to who is the thing. There's a prequel movie with Mary Elizabeth Winstead which is set before this film & while it's not as good as this it's still worth a watch.

There was a newer film made that's actually like a prequel. It shows how things went down at the Norwegian camp. Not as good of a film as this, but still pretty enjoyable. The 70's and 80's were rather big on films that didn't provide a comforting sense of closure. I've always enjoyed when they leave it open ended, so the viewer can imagine what would have happened.

Wicked Witches aren't supposed to be smoking hot. 😁

Chiles was the "Thing." That's why he left the building without shutting the door.

There isn't any sequel yet, but there is a prequel which came out in 2011. It's also called The Thing. Some people mistakenly think it's a remake, but it's definitely not. It's set at the Norwegian base and shows how they found the alien.

I think that “Once Upon A Time” forever made green women with accents from the UK ridiculously beautiful and intimidating instead of scary. Well done! Glad you liked this movie. It’s one of my favorites. 🖖🏻

Bombed at the box office. Came out same week as E.T. Rediscovered in the 90's on DVD. Now a cult classic.

This film is a horror/Sci fi legend!! Masterpiece. For a movie to produce so much suspense, fear, doubt, disbelief, disgust.... That's great art.... Those practical effects are far superior in being terrifying than any computer graphic. This stuff is tangible man, you can touch it.... The sound effects are legitimately gruesome and so clear... This was 1982...crazy good. "The Thing" is truly one of a kind. Ide say one of the best, if not the best horror movie ever made.

Absolute Genius! Heard about it st School! Found a copy in a DVD copy in a Charity 30 years later, and watched it one night! Couldn't believe my eyes, best horror I'd ever seen! Talk about the unexpected n not knowing what comes next!!😮👍

So, the first infected victim was Palmer. Blair got infected when he touched the thing corpse with the end of his pencil, then touched it to his lips. Gary's keys were dropped by Windows in the store room when Bennings turned, and recovered by Palmer most likely. Neither Childs or MacReady are infected at the end of the film. I've seen this movie about 100 times over the years, I've practically got it memorized. All. Time. Classic.

i love a woman who gets excited at the mention of a flamethrower! Great witch makeup too :)

Speaking as someone who lives in Kansas, you make a terrific witch!

The ending was meant to reflect the rest of the movies greatest accomplishment, hiding the thing. It's supposed to make you think who's infected, when were they exposed and who survived. Due to the brilliance of this film, it still has fans to this day discussing all kinds of theories. The Thing (1982) is my favorite horror film, although there are many other horror titles that are equally legendary.

The other guy was alien bc he accepted the drink so he was not afraid of being infected. MacGrady was human bc he was the main character, we saw him.

There is no thing 2, there is a prequel that covers what happened at the other base and a sequel game was produced in 2001 that is considered canon to the film and the closest we're likely to get to an actual sequel. In short, according to the game childs was a thing in the final scene and is mostly responsible for everything that happens in the game

There is a prequel made in 2011 about what happened at the Norwegian base and an old videogame that is kind of a sequel to the movie.

The end of the movie was left like that so you didn't know if MacReady or Childs were human or alien. The fear and paranoia built up all through the film, so the audience didn't know who was human by the end. They made a prequel in 2011 to show what happened in the Norwegian base ending with the dog running across the ice, but even in the CGI era it was nowhere near a good as the 1982 version. Rob Bottin is a legend for creating the gory effects that still occasionally give me a jump scare to this day.

The b/w video they watch (men stood around the UFO) is from the original 1950s movie.

Was so happy how much you said you liked it!😊

12:12 It's ONE alien. Not multiple aliens. It's job is to survive and if that requires one piece to kill another..... MacReady and Childs are both things at the end. MacReady infects him with the beer. Earlier in the movie "Thing MacReady" is given the idea it can infect others through food so it infects Blair with a bottle of vodka in the shed and Childs at the end with the beer..

Your skill at the Halloween makeup is incredible.

Childs is the Thing. Macready had a petrol bomb left and pretended to drink from it then offered it to Childs who took a drink, that's why you see the smile on Mac's face at the end as he knows for sure.

The ending is an absolute masterpiece especially if you remember mccready filled those bottles with gasoline to make MolotovsSo even though they don't tell you who the monster is You know when they drink from the bottle

The only questions worth debating is whether you realise you’re a clone and do the separate alien clones know each other. The only scene that made me flinch was cutting his thumb .

And thus the terms 'Banana Dog' & 'Spider Head' were born.

You look really good being green. Wow! Great reaction and I love hearing Scottish people talk, it's a great accent.

THAT'S A BONNIE DOGGIE!

"Creepy" is too nice a term for this one.

The blood test scene is one of the best horror movie scenes of all time.

I think that because you never know for sure what's going on is what makes this such a scary film.

"he's not a thing because he attacked another thing" Well, they are perfect imitations, so they would imitate death, or behaviours that would get other thing instances killed or called out. The guy who calls out the spider-head thing was a thing himself, it turned out (in theory the first to be infected, and probably infected Blair later on). This is what makes the paranoia so high. There were graphic novel followups. Most are silly, but canon has Childs as a thing who shows his true form when an American sub comes to rescue him and Macready, and the infection spreads to an isolated military base in Patagonia, South America. Macready himself eventually is infected. The things are killed, but one infects a small fish that gets away into the sea... Also there is a separate video game with a separate story line, I don't think it's canon.

I am very impressed by your ability to sit there with a smile on your face watching 70% of this movie. So, as far as the ending, John Carpenter gave all of us the choice to decide what happened. I think Childs was the thing, but it's definitely an interesting ending. I don't know what your other choices are, but I think you definitely need some more John Carpenter (Halloween) the original Alien and some great werewolf movies (The Howling and American Werewolf in London) for spooky season.

Best movie, i'm really glad you did this one.

The Exorcist and Halloween are the next/final two. Just have a feeling... The costumes are a complete mystery though.. The Thing is a classic on every level.

Prettiest witch ever!

One of the best cosmic horror movies ever! My favorite little behind-the-scenes fact with it: the actor playing the doctor was a double amputee, so the practical effects with him were giving him prosthetic hands/forearms during the earlier parts of the movie instead of faking having no arms after they get chomped off :D Since you had fun with this, I'd suggest watching The Color Out of Space. It's a newer movie compared to most of what you watch (made in 2019), but it's got some similarities with The Thing while also being a pretty good adaptation of the Lovecraft short story "The Colour Out of Space" to a modern day setting. For the other two, I'm guessing Friday the 13th and Halloween (1978) :)

Childs is infected. He was wearing a blue parka when last seen standing guard looking out the window holding a flame thrower. The next time you see him, he's wearing a grey parka. He changed parkas because he was attacked by the Blair Thing, but Carpenter never showed the attack. Next to Childs, a grey parka was hanging on the rack. Carpenter plays fair, but you have to pay attention. Great reaction!!

There is a prequel from about 10 years ago that takes place in the Norwegian base. It's also called "The Thing."

One small detail I love is how the dog at first frantically tries to lick the faces of the Americans, which is the only exposed flesh of the researchers.

Love your costume! you went all out for this video

Dawn , I learned the hard way. Put loads of moisturizer on before the makeup. That way it wont soak into your skin so much. The original "The Thing" Creeped me Out when I was a kid. This one reminded me of that feeling. AAAAGGGHHHHH !!!!!!

Blaire was insane in the best of ways, he knew the genius of "the thing" and made sure there no possible way for it to try and escape. That is..... until he was turned! Which is also another stroke of genius given to us by carpenter that still has us fans of this series stumped. When do you think he was turned?

There was a Prequel of the Norwegian camp in 2011. Good story that ends with the helicopter-dog chase that begins Carpenter's Thing. The rap on this movie also called The Thing is the CGI vs Rob Bottin's practical effects from Carpenter's film. Bottin was all of 21-years-old when he created them. Amazing. Check that out this this month, as well. Anyway, Great reaction. 🙂 Great practical effects with your witch's costume.😀

3 more great FX heavy 80s horror movies..all came out in 1985: "Lifeforce", "Return of the Living Dead", & "Day of the Dead". The first 2 were written by Dan O'Bannon, co-Writer of ALIEN

Ah, well. Bennings was against burning the "find of the Century."

The hing fae the bing 😂

The Wicked Witch used to terrify me as a child. If she looked like you, I would have fallen in love

Greatest horror film ever made and one of the greatest in general. Not just because of the great cast, ambience, plot etc but because of the concept. Can you imagine anything more frightening? You're on a desolate continent, you're battling an extremely intelligent creature, that is almost indestructible besides against fire/acid, can imitate all life forms and you won't know the difference without a specific test, you have no idea if it's malicious or simply trying to survive, you're dead if it touches you and if it gets to transportation, water or civilization the whole planet is doomed, not only humans. Only thing worse I can think of is utter atomic annihilation.

They did a prequel in 2011, which isn't good per se, but they do have an incredible eye for detail. They recreated the entire Norwegian base camp, and by the end, literally everything our guys see in the original is there in painstaking detail, including the axe in the wall. Really the only good thing about it is Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and that's because she's great in everything she does.

Prettiest witch ever! Lol. Great reaction! 😃

thats the movie who introduce me to horror. It will always be my favorite of all.

12:49 a guy lunges at me with a knife, while i'm armed with a gun, i'm not going to worry if he's an alien or not, i'm blasting him too. great movie, great reaction vid! 👻

Best costume makeup I've seen you in yet, good job! :)

Excellent reaction as usual! Thoroughly enjoyed it! Love your comments!

The sound made by Bennings thing… The screams of a thousand worlds

16:43 What do you mean "can't leave it there"? That's the perfect place to leave it. Now you get to decide what happened next.