THE THING (1982) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | MOVIE REACTION 

Fun fact: according to supporting materials the spaceship is not the ship of the thing. The aliens who piloted the space ship landed on another planet and the thing took over one of the crew. As it tried to take over the rest of crew they crashed the ship into Earth rather than bring the thing to their Homeworld!

I got to see this in a theatre last year for the 40th anniversary. People brought their kids, they were crying, it was awesome.

So hilarious how badly this was reviewed when it first came out. Movie is now a masterpiece in horror with some of the best practical effects to this day.

That husky should have won an Oscar. Masterful acting performance.

EVERY. SINGLE. REACTION: "What, no! Don't shoot the dog!" At the end of the reaction: "...man, they should have shot that dog..." Also, the fact that people get shook and disgusted is actually a hidden compliment to the brilliance and effort of the practical effects team.

The training on that dog was amazing. The way he walks down the hall and looks in rooms and out windows. There is no extra movement. It REALLY looks like the dog has human-level (or greater) intelligence.

In 1982 when this movie came out, I was about 15 and my father took me and my friend to see it. 41 years later it is still my favorite horror movie of all time. Thanks Dad. R.I.P.

The sound design for the Thing never gets mentioned; Some of the most genuinely creepy sounds I've ever heard come from this creature; few other films have had monster sound design this effective and freaky. Incredible movie overall.

Blair was human until he was left alone and the THING absorbed him while in the shack. Also the THING imitates people so perfectly that you don't know you are one of them until it's threatened or it gets you alone. The THING imitated a bad heart and it reacted to the defibrillator.

Possibly the best horror/sci fi of all time that holds up strong today. Amazing practical affects, music, acting and story line from 1982

Blair was a real champ in this film. He knew he couldn't let that thing reach civilization even if it meant they all had to die.

For people who speak Scandinavian, the plot of the movie was revealed during the opening scene; the man who was trying to kill the dog was yelling at the Americans (paraphrasing) "Get back! It's not a dog! It's a thing!"

The practical effects in this movie are the stuff of legend, even watching them today they still look amazing and creepy as hell.

Great reaction. Rob Bottin, the genius who created the special effects had to be hospitalised for exhaustion due to the number of hours he and his team put in to create the creature effects. One member of this team was a guy called Stan Winston (Predator, Aliens).

Kurt Russell's hat has to be in the top 5 all time best movie props 😂😂😂

The Thing is my #1 movie experience ever. My family used to have a small cottage in the mountains of PA, as did my best friend and his family. In the spring of 1986, when I was 11 and he was 12, they had to go back to New York for a couple of days and decided he was old enough to stay by himself at the cottage. I received permission to sleep over, and my friend and I had a great time riding our bikes and swimming in the lake and setting off firecrackers and getting sick on candy from the country store out on the highway. It was very early in the season, so none of the other nearby cottages were opened up and at night it became *perfectly* dark and quiet outside. We heated up some ziti his mom had prepared for us, turned on the little rabbit-eared TV set and our mouths fell open as we watched the scene with the guy shooting at the dog from the helicopter. We had no idea what we were watching but we were glued to that little TV screen and this movie scared us half to death. I'm glad to say we didn't chicken out and run down to my parents at the other cottage. I know John Carpenter considered the network TV edit an abomination, but the sense of loneliness and isolation in that little cottage so perfectly matched the mood of Outpost 31 that it remains the best movie experience and maybe the best weekend of my life.

When we saw this in the theater back in the day, we walked out of the cinema in a state of shock. We had just been terrorized, grossed out, and driven to the edge of paranoia by this movie, only to get no resolution at the end. We had to process everything on the way to the parking lot. A majority of us ended up going back to the theater and watching this movie again (The home video market was in its infancy back then, some movies took over a year before the video cassette release) One thing for sure though, we all took note of the name John Carpenter. Carpenter was a really good director up until this point, but this movie is the one that cemented his name as one of the true Masters of Horror. I know that me & my friends never forgot his name after this. Now Carpenter doesn't just direct horror, he's got plenty of good movies in other genres under his belt. Elvis, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, Assault on Precinct 13, and Starman just to name a few. And when it comes to horror, he literally wrote the book on the genre when he directed Halloween... But the Thing... The Thing... This is the movie that messed us all up. And we loved it. LOL (After they saw the Thing, my niece & nephew believe that this is the movie that messed up Gen X. They go on this tirade about "Who hurt Gen X? it was John Carpenter!" and I laugh everytime I hear it. I'm not going to argue that point with them because I might not win.)

Interesting facts about Blair "Wilford Brimley" He enlisted as a marine right out of high school. Became a horse wrangler and rancher, then a bodyguard for Howard Huges, then a stunt man in Hollywood in the 60's. The man was strong as fuck till the day he died.

So glad you guys watched one of my favorites! The Thing is still one of the finest examples of cosmic horror put to film.

One of my all time favorites. John Carpenter is one of the greatest. The Fog, Halloween, Christine, Big Trouble In Little China, They Live, Vampires, so many gems from Carpenter.

John Carpenter directed Halloween! As well as The Thing, he directed classic 80s movies such as Escape from New York and They Live.

Not only one of the best horror films ever, but one of the best films period. And it just doesn't age. Looks as good today as it ever did. There are few giveaways that it was made in 1982. Amazing effects by Rob Bottin, great direction by John Carpenter and a stellar cast headed by the incredible Mr Kurt Russell. What more could you ask for especially as a horror fan?

This film and "An American Werewolf in London" had the best practical effects, excellent.

I’ve seen at least 7 other reaction videos to The Thing (1982) on RU-vid, and this was hands down the most intelligent one I’ve seen. I don’t know who Amber is, but I can tell she understands way more of what’s going on from a first time watch-through than most other people. And yes, Blair was still human during his “meltdown” in the communications room, but was fully taken over by the Thing (likely via infection since his clothes were confirmed to have never been torn) shortly after he affixed the noose in the tool shed.

Fun Facts: - Actors Keith David[Childs] and Kurt Russell [MacReady] have both stated for the fan questions and interviews that both of them weren’t the thing/alien creature - Kurt Russell debunked the fans theories about child’s being the alien, Kurt shook his head “no” and says “that him and John Carpenter have worked on the ending of that movie together a long time,” because it was a horror movie -- but to see what the movie was about, which was paranoia, they didn't know if they knew who they were.” - John Carpenter even said the video game was canon to the movie and Childs was human, and in the comics Both Child’s and MacReady were human and fought the alien creature in 3 comic issues, they were actually saved by a rescue team and continued to fight [The Thing].

One of the greatest horror movies ever made! The scene with the dogs and the practical effects is just out of this world creepy. And the soundtrack! That "da dumm.... da dumm..." is burned into my memory. They did a remake that is not even close to being as good despite having more advanced effects and modern tech. Edit: Prequel, not remake.

Best Sci Fi Horror Thriller Film Ever Made! Critics were not too kind to this movie, calling it "Boring, dull, And A Wretched Excess." However it's gained a cult following overtime and it's been confirmed as one of the best Sci-fi Horror Films ever made, and also one of John Carpenter's best work in his filmography.

44:29 - The original title of the Sci-Fi story this movie was adapted from was titled "Who Goes There?" Written by John W. Campbell. Director John Carpenter used part of the title of an older Sci-Fi horror for this film. It was called, "The Thing From Another World" (1951), which was also set in Antarctica. He brilliantly combined the story of the Sci-Fi novel with the setting and atmosphere of that older Sci-Fi movie. BTW, in John Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978), when the character Laurie Strode was babysitting Tommy, and Lindsay, they were watching the movie "The Thing From Another World" on the TV. Clearly, Carpenter was a fan of that movie, and was planning on making his own take on the film just four year later.

For some reason I’ve always liked the soundtrack of this movie. Specifically the synthesiser “thump thump” bits, it’s very 80s

John Carpenter's The Thing still feels like a one-of-a-kind film. The entire concept of breaking down morale and having everyone turn on one another is brilliantly well-executed. It's not about jump scares or the gore. It's about the idea of apprehension and distrust that makes this horror movie great.

Rob Bottin did the effects, all practical. Just amazing.

Fun fact: The actor whose hands get chomped off was actually a double amputee in real life and had prosthetic hands. The director & effects team took full advantage of that to make that jump-scare scene work so well.

I love practical effects. 🥰👍

Great reaction guys. I have to say, though, that I’ve never understood the level of disgust people have about the creature from an aesthetic standpoint. I find the creature terrifying, but the “yuck” stuff is just the fact that we are seeing a creature morph in real time. It’s sensational to see it. And while Rick Baker got a lot of deserved credit for pioneering makeup and effects, Rob Bottin set a bar that was never matched with The Thing. These effects are over 40 years old and they are still stunning. Not just the obvious effects during the creature changes, but even what was shown in the form of burnt remains. Simply one of the best horror films ever made.

Kurt Russell was Wyatt Earp in Tombstone also

Imagine seeing this by yourself at night alone at 12yrs old, it was intense to say the least. Such a brilliant film!

The sound effects of The Thing when it transforms are that of Bears, Alligators, Horses, Pigs, Snakes, and Human screams played backwards or sped up to make it sound otherworldly.

My favorite horror movie of all time. You can feel the paranoia. Such a well done movie with the atmosphere it created.

A true classic. I'm 59 I've watched this over the years and still a true classic. Kurt Russell was in fine forum. You must also try his Big Trouble In Little China another classic. And his Escape from New York

One of the greatest horror movies ever made! Once seen, never forgotten. Great reaction!

Perfect time to see this movie. Some of the best practical effects ever in a movie. I watch it every year during this time.

Thank you for this reaction. I had the opportunity to see this film in the theater when I was 16 years old. My mom took me and my twin brother to see this as it was rated R. I knew what this movie was about because of the Starlog comic book that came out before this movie. Everything went according to the comic book so my brother and I were not surprised. We were however impressed with how well this story was pulled off in this film. Very gratifying. I actually like the open ending where you don't know if one of them is the thing. It keeps the suspense going long after the movie ends.

Kurt Russell also stars in on e of the best sports movies ever made, "Miracle" about the 80s olympic hockey team. totally worth checking out

MacReady’s last laugh is, to me, actually another piece of evidence that Childs is a Thing at the end. It’s damning enough that he’s wearing a different coat when he finds Mac, implying that the blue one he was wearing was ripped apart when he was assimilated. But right at the end, when MacReady offers him a drink, Childs didn’t even hesitate. Not a single pause. After all, what reason would a Thing have to fear a possibly contaminated drink? To me, Mac’s laugh was one of resignation. I’m pretty sure he was still wearing the flamethrower pack under that blanket, but even if he was fast enough to ambush Childs with it, he’ll still be frozen to death by morning. He has accepted the fact that, win or lose, he’s dead anyway.

OMG YOU GUYS WATCHED THE THING!!! One of my all time favorites. Im worried about you guys watching this one though 😂

Penguins live in Antarctica… This is my favorite horror movie of all-time! This debuted the same weekend as E.T., and was shredded by reviewers because this was *so* dark in tone compared to E.T. It’s a remake of a cheesy 1950’s sci-fi movie The Thing From Another Planet, and because of that my parents thought it would be more silly than scary, and took me to see it in the movie theaters. I was 9! 👀 Not only is John Carpenter a film director, he composed most of the music for his movies, and is basically credited with birthing the genre of electronic music known as Vapor Wave. (Vapor Wave is a modern take on 80’s electronic dance music)

I was 12 years old and saw this in the theater in ‘82. Way ahead of its time and holds up. Also, there were no “graphics” or CGI, this was all expertly crafted practical FX. Everything you saw was real, not computer generated.

You didn’t notice, but at the very last scene, you could see McCreadys breath, but not the other guys. That’s why McCready laughed. He already knew he was in the company of the creature.

Amber looks legit terrified in the thumbnail! Love it!

G'day it's Steven from Down Under again As a younger teenager I was horrified and intrigued by this film at the time of its release, I do own a VHS copy of this movie and later a Blu-ray copy too. In my opinion this is an underrated film and it's great to see that younger generations are enjoying it too.

OMG I saw this and immediately said OH SH*T!! Lol can’t wait to see the reaction to one of the best sci-fi horror movies ever made.

This is the best sci-fi horror , let alone one of the best movies ever made! Just a great story, great acting and great directoring.. just love this movie!

the ending is so good because it lets you draw your own conclusions. there are a ton of fan theories about the final scenes. did Macready get infected? was childs telling the truth? and what becomes of them after the end scene? My own personal interpretation is that both are human, but they then both know they cant trust each other now, and so choose to wait each other out

Loved this remake of the original 1951 Black and White "The Thing from Another World" which isn't as graphic but just as suspenseful. James Arnis from the TV series Gunsmoke plays "The Thing" it's worth checking out.

This won awards back in the day for the practical special effects.

This is one of the greatest films period. I saw it in 1982. Every character was flushed out so well and the dog being the best actor. The non-stop tension.

I saw this at the theater back in 1982. It still has shock power.

Oh boy, I can't believe you two went for "The Thing"! Wow! Well, you go this under your belt now 🙂

I love the 1951 version of this movie. It has a totally diferent vibe.

Now we are talking. A genuine horror film…and a really good one

This is one of my favorite Sci Fi movies of all time!

The original short story, "Who Goes There?" also adds a lot to this. But the movie is one of the all-time-greats, even without reading the print version.

The Dog Kennel Sequence was done by Oscar Winning VFX artist Stan Winston, after make up effects artist Rob Bottin ended up in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer and exhaustion.

It’s almost just a modern adaptation of Lovcraft’s “Mountains of madness.” What a masterpiece

The best horror-remake of all time! The director John Carpenter show real respect to the orginal film "The Thing" from 1951.

Kurt Russell was also Wyatt Erp in Tombstone. Keith David was so young too.

This movie will forever prove that practical effects will always be better than CGI in horror movies

Now you need to watch John Carpenter’s “The Fog”. It scared the bejesus out of me the first Tim I saw it. It is not as gorey as “The Thing” but is a psychological thriller.

Ennio Morricone was hired as the film composer, but most of his music was rejected and replaced by John Carpenter but portions of his original soundtrack can be heard in the Oscar Winning HATEFUL EIGHT. Jerry Goldsmith was the first choice, but was too busy working on RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD, The Secret Of NIMH, and Poltergeist, all released in 1982.

He giggled at the end because they had already told everyone prepare your own food. Don’t share anything and the fact that childs took the bottle. No questions asked. McCready knows he’s the thing.

Loved this movie when it came out. Two great but less scary sci-fi films you absolutely need to see are "Close encounters of the third kind" and "Starman"

"Damn! Just prick the tip of my finger homie!" I laughed so hard at that. Great reaction as I knew it would be. Love you guys

I was 15 when this film premiered on British TV back in 1988.My dad recorded it on videotape.I managed to wake up at 6am and watch it before I went to school.Then I told everyone how brilliant it was.The next day all my mates were talking about it non-stop!For weeks afterwards we were all walking around saying things like"you gotta be effing kidding!"and"yeah and eff you too!"A masterpiece of horror and sci-fi.Great reaction guys!👽 Greetings Greetings

Jay: (on Kurt Russel) "I know the name but can't put a face to it..." ...picture of Kurt Russel (as 'The Dude' in The Big Lebowski) on the wall over Jay's right shoulder!!! Had me laughing 😂🤣😆

Wow never thought you guys would watch this, it's so icky, but one of my faves lol Also every reactor is like "Don't kill the dog!" until they realize....lol

One of the best things about The Thing is all of the conversation that it instigates because fan theories abound as to what really happened.

I was 15 when seeing this in the movie theater, along with "Poltergeist" at the same time. My sister had to sneak us in because we were under 17. John Carpenter started the Halloween movie franchise in 1978...

As a huge John Carpenter fan...I love this movie! I suggest The Fog if you've not seen it.

They did a prequel in the early two thousands which is about what happened to the people that first found it. So glad you guys reacted to this

The famous heart de-fib scene in this is like the 'Ben Gardeners boat' moment in Jaws. They both really catch out most reactors!.

One halloween movie I forgot to suggest was sleepy hollow You'll be frightened and grosses out every step of the way and it has johnny Depp so you'll enjoy it that way as well!

The soundtrack, special effects and isolation 💀☠️💀

That’s one of the greatest horrors of the 80’s! I remember well going to see it in theaters when I was 18, and it stuck with me all these years. I love it. It’s creepy, scary and suspenseful. If y’all get to “The Exorcist “. I’d be shocked. 😂 Y’all might also like “The Abyss “. Another Sci-Fi horror, but under water.

12:47 Still garners a strong reaction 🫣😂 You can’t beat practical effects!!!

Awesome movie! 💯💯💯

The bit that really gets to me is the poor dogs locked in with it, the first time I saw this film in a cinema in Manchester I actually shouted out loud "No not the dogs."

I rushed when i saw the thumbnail because i knew y'all were about to be SHOOK. My niece asked me what my favorite horror movie is, and its The Thing, and she's been asking me if she's old enough to watch... I'm not even sure my grown ass is old enough 💀

Although I've read it was discounted by John Carpenter, there's a fan theory that in the ending, Childs is a 'thing'. When MacReady offers him a swig from his bottle of booze, it's actually one of the molotov cocktails he'd been using. When Childs drinks it without reacting, MacReady realises Childs is infected and laughs to himself, resigned to his fate as he knows he's in no position to do anything about it.

A real masterpiece.

Finally watching one of my all time favorites! A few yrs ago they had the audacity to do a remake. You cannot improve something that's perfect. This movie is stunning on many levels. Let me share a theory about the ending. Remember they all agreed to not share food and drinks with each in case it could spread that way. Well, the reason he chuckled is because he tricked the Thing/Childs. When Childs drank without hesitation he revealed himself as The Thing.

Welcome to the genre known as cosmic horror. A genre originated with the author, H.P. Lovecraft (his personal beliefs are not politically correct, but his writing is superb). The Thing was a short story written in the 1930s called "Who Goes There", by John W. Campbell. It was adapted into a film in the 50s, but it wasn't until this version by John Carpenter that the story really became a cult classic. There was a prequel in 2011 starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead (wife of Ewan McGregor), that shows what happened to the Norwegian crew and ends with them chasing the dog. Also shows how they found the spacecraft and that The Thing was actually a biological specimen discovered by the alien race that piloted the spacecraft until it assimilated that crew. There was also a sequel comic that came out a few years ago, in which its revealed Childs was infected, and the organism makes it to South America. Another good "cosmic horror" film to check out, is Event Horizon starring Laurence Fishburne (Matrix) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park). It is a real mind-bender. There are several others - another favorite of mine being "Lifeforce". A really cheesy, British horror flick about vampires from space where an American crew finds a pair of naked bodies, one male and female in a cryostasis. They bring the creatures to earth, the male dies, but the female starts going on a killing rampage to drain all human life of their "lifeforce". Stars a younger, pre-Star Trek and X-Men, Patrick Stewart.

80's classic sci-fi horror. Remember it's all incredible practical effects. No CGI Blair definitely destroyed everything to prevent the alien organism from reaching the outside world. He wasn't infected till sometime after being locked in the shed.

This is one of the best scary movies of all time. I loved it when it came out and never miss a year without watching it. The suspense is over the top. It did so badly upon release because it had the bad misfortune of coming out at the same time as E.T. Carpenter is a master at film making. I would love to see your reaction to Carpenter's Prince Of Darkness. Great reaction!

Glad you guys had such an appreciation for the film and the special effects. One of my all time favorite movies.

If you're looking for a great film about aliens, check out Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. 💯❤️👽🛸

The defibrillator scene gives whole new meaning to the phrase two heads are better than one!

Love this movie!!!

With Jada Pinkett so much in the news, you really should do Matrix 3 (Revolutions). Jada plays an important role in there, I will say no more.

A theory about that final laugh from Mac is that he knows Childs is the Thing. Earlier in the film, they're told to not share food or drink with each other since it can be transmitted by a single cell. When he offers Childs the drink at the end, he takes it and drinks it without hesitation - if you were already infected, you wouldn't be worried about sharing food. So Mac chuckles to himself as it's confirmation to him that Childs is infected. Like so many other theories, that's all it is - it's never been confirmed or anything, But it does make sense.

This film's a masterpiece. It combines psychological terror, no one knowing who's infected, along with superior gore and practical special effects.