This movie actually saved my life. I was up watching this instead of normally going to bed, so I didn't die in my sleep and was able to call for ambulance when I had the emergency.
@@altosforteaquax5083 It was a hemorrhagic stroke. 🧠 Spent months learning to walk again, left side side is still fucked. Funny thing, after all that experience I was online one day and saw that the human warehouse I'd done rehab in was in the news for patient abuse. I was not surprised. But that's another story...
@@geniusbonobo3593 First I thought my leg was asleep from sitting watching the movie. I went and used the bathroom and couldn't feel the hot water on my left hand. After thinking about the cost I was like "fuck it" and called. Then a few minutes later I face planted the floor while waiting for them to show up. This happened back when they weren't showing up to some calls in Detroit btw. Dudes had to bust in. They loaded me up, I woke up three days later.
Out of all the "No! Don't hurt the thing that's being turned evil!' moments in fiction, I find Clark's to be one of the most believable. Like the guys mentioned, there's zombie-fiction, and as a consequence most of zombie-fiction takes place in a weird alternate reality where it itself doesn't exist, but there's very little "blob from space" fiction, so Clark has no basis to assumedly know the Thing's assimilation is 100% once it touches you. He has no way of knowing that's what's even happening. All he sees is this weird meat plant grappling and eating his dogs. Then Big Hero Man misses the main blob by a country mile, and shoots a dog that's still like 98% itself, and looks like it could otherwise be saved. It even lets out that heart-wrenching "dog that got hurt" noise. Since we've already established Clark harbors an immense pool of empathy for the dogs, it's understandable that he'd freak out and try to grab the gun when that specific set of circumstances unfolds. God this movie's damned good. I wish it was even better.
Holy shit. Just yesterday I was re-listening to the Star Trek track and thinking, "Man, this and Conan were great! I really wish Plague kept making these." And here we are now. Thank you, Plague. AND IT'S GOT PAT AND PAIGE YEEEEEEAAAHHHHHHH Honestly I’m just listening to this without the movie, but unlike the Star Trek one I’ve watched this enough times that I know what you guys are talking about the whole time. Good movie.
I always thought Doc was thinking that he would be high up on the infected list because of the tests he did using Thing's cells. That's why he was ready to die during that freakout in the lab. Even if he wasn't, he came to this thought during his alone time in the cabin. So, he decided to hang himself before his transformation comes to an end. He made a noose, but wasn't fast enough. I just can't imagine a person so determined to die for the great cause would just stop because he wanted to eat some canned foods. And then, of course, all that "I'm fine, let me inside", that's pretty on the nose.
I have another idea on that. I think by that point he's assimilated due to MacReady's alcohol test. I think the reason he so casually has the rope up is because it's a bad attempt for the thing to gain pity from the humans so he can be released. The thoughts of suicide before he was assimilated may have been used as a tool by the thing.
As far as power levels go the Thing is the ultimate monster. Unlike Xenomorphs or invincible slashers the Thing is completely indistinguishable from anyone or any animal you come across. With every other monster you can try to come up with a way to overcome it but with the Thing the moment it reaches society humanity is done.
The Thing is a highly advanced form or bioengineering. Like I mean this thing is on DBZ (Cell) levels of Regen Speed. I'd love to see The Thing vs The Long One from the movie Slither. That'd be amazing 🤣
A little late to the party, but, I remember someone pointed out that at the end of the film, similar to when he lost to the computer in a game of chess, MacReady gave his would-be opponent a drink as he has just given up at that point. If Childs was the Thing or not no longer seemed to matter simply because, to MacReady, they would have both died to either the cold or one of them was indeed the Thing and was going to kill the other and just freeze itself afterwards. Either way, this movie is definitely a favorite of mine and I love how even after all these years the movie still gets you to question what the hell truly happened after the end of the movie!
When everyone is tied up on the couch, they purposefully have everyone's face fully lit, and their eyes. The guy who is the Thing in the scene also has his face lit, but his eyes are shadowed. Its something very few people notice, and during filming was thought to be too direct and would give away who is the Thing in the scene. In earlier scenes the same guy has his face fully lit along with his eyes. Another thing done in the film is everyone's jackets are always the same except for the end of the film. Child's is not wearing his coat when he shows up at the end, which that is one thing they say in the film, that clothing is ripped or destroyed by the Thing taking over someone and transforms. So the fact Childs is not wearing his coat and is wearing a different one, possibly gives away that he may not be human anymore. The Thing is a really great film, its a favorite of mine too. They Live is my most favorite John Carpenter film, third favorite is Escape from New York, and fourth is Prince of Darkness.
Something Plague and Pat seem to be forgetting about the prequel film, is that they went inside the alien ship because the Thing was trying to start it up and fly away. They had to stop it because it may have been trying to fly to another part of earth, like a city or town. The film has a lot of issues, but going inside the Alien ship wasn't one of them.
This is tied for my favourite movie with In The Mouth of Madness. John Carpenter's work has always been super inspiring to me and his approach to psychological horror is what turned my attention towards horror and truly start respecting and enjoying it as a genre.
Carpenter tends to be really talented at making the characters sound and look real, unlike Stephen King or Dario Argento where nearly all the dialogues are ludicrously phony in a dreamlike or childlike manner.
In the mouth of madness is amazing, if the the special effects were a little more advanced at that time it could've been the definitive horror movie. (think special effects like the ones from Event Horizon. Sam Neil is very good in horror btw)
Actually with the exception of Childs, Everyone else has pretty well defined jobs, though they're often hinted with blink and you'll miss it scenes as well as throwaway lines MacReady- Helicoptor Pilot [Obvious] Blair- Biologist [Does Autopsies and Creature analysis] Fuchs- Apprentice Biologist / assistant to Blair. [Always with Blair, has to replace Blair] Bennings- Meterologist [Gives weather reports when MacReady is about to fly] Norris- Geologist [Estimates low long ago the ship crashed due ice backscatter] Copper- Physician [Treats Bennings, Tries to revive Norris, uses medical equipment] Nauls- Cook [Claims the kitchen as his, Wears a stained apron] Clark- Dog Handler [Handles the Kennel and strong affection for the dogs] Garry- Security. [Wears a security uniform, is the only one armed. Shoots a gunman] Windows- Radio Operator [Obvious] Palmer- Mechanic/possible Helicoptor Pilot [Makes a makeshift flamethrower, Offers Copper a lift after MacReady complains] Childs- Manual Labour/Possible Mechanic [Child is the most muscled one in the group, Often with Palmer.]
I prefer Childs NOT being the thing. That being said, there's clear hints to it, like the missing dark navy coat that was on the wrack next to him initially when they left him, and then shown later missing (as in, his original coat got destroyed or lost somehow, and he had to replace it, pointing towards a thing attack). And secondly, the willingness to share a drink with Macready after days ago they established that No one should eat anything that didn't come out of a can that they themselves fixed, and a very (up till that point) mistrusting and pragmatic Childs sees no issue with taking a swig after he and Macready were separated for so long. Again, I prefer them both being humans, freezing to death with only their mistrust and paranoia to keep them warm, but pretending like there's nothing to suggest Childs is an imitation is your own headcanon.
I think thats the point of the ending, a weird, sobering, somber reminder that despite their sacrifices, the thing may still survive in ice and eventually be the same problem for other people and perhaps eventually the entire world.
This is so petty, and coming up long after the track was posted, but since I'm really into traditional art I recognized that pencil Blair is using. Plague specifically mentions it's funny that there's an attachable eraser and it implies he makes a lot of mistakes... but, that pencil doesn't actually have a built in eraser, it's a Faber-Castell "artist" pencil with nothing but a rounded nub covered in black lacquer at the end. I'm *super* surprised that both attachable erasers and that particular brand of pencil haven't changed at all between 1981 and 2019.
1:48 they made EXACTLY the same mistake in the original Predator. It seemed like an afterthought, forced down by some business executive, and it is really detrimental to the entire movie. If you, having seen the movie, are going to watch it with someone who hasn’t, skip that shot of the UFO, and start from there, without letting the other person know. :)
The Norwegian guy at the beginning of the movie is actually German. His Norwegian is pretty good but you can clearly tell that it isn’t his first language
Best dog actor ever. That dog/wolf hybrid really knows how to act alien. Funnily enough I knew a man who raised orphan wolf pups and dog/wolf hybrids. They definitely don't act like dogs but they didn't seem as stoic as that dog. He had one semi feral hybrid he was trying to socialize in a kennel last time I saw him. that dog was desperate to spill your blood. It gnashed and yelped at the kennel cage with desperate ferocity if you approached it. His 1 wolf and 1 dog that he kept as pets I only saw from afar. The wolf was a grey wolf and he was goddamn huge compared to his labradour brother. Apparently if you're an Alaska native the state govt. just gives you free pass to rehabilitate wild wolves. Like they never interfered with him but he DID have success raising and releasing more than a few wolf orphans.
This is a movie that never ceases to scare me and interest me, most horror movies don’t scare me after one viewing but just the thought of what these aliens do keeps me up at night, has to be one of the best movies ever
I like the story from the aliens perspective, where it just blatantly tells you who is and is not infected, and more importantly how confused the alien is by a centralized nervous system. Literally calling it a “cancer” and thinks that the Antarctic is some kind of laboratory it landed in
I absolutely believe the gasoline theory, as the ending with Child’s emulates the beginning where Mcready pours his drink into the computer after losing to the computer.
Two years later. I'm sad. Anyway there was a series of comics that continued the story and confirms childs was the thing so it's what you feel like running with.
Plague brings up a major problem I have with zombie movies: They always completely disregard skin cell absorption: when any kind of substance that is thin or "small" enough, it is permeable. So when characters get absolutely soaked in zombie blood, or it just falls into their mouths, they're perfectly fine. Aside from the fact that the American Military would wipe an outbreak right the hell away, this fact bugs me more than anything with that genre.
Forget just the American military, any armed forces that aren't from an impoverished third world country could probably stop a zombie outbreak before it's a real issue. Classic (reanimated corpses via rising from the dead, or infection, bitey, fast or slow) zombies rely on everyone in the movie's universe being incompetent, if zombies were ever possible in real life, you might get a couple dozen casualties at most - at least it makes for an interesting movie scenario
Its actually impressive how well our skin acts as a barrier against forgien substances. The only areas where you would openly absorb something would be the eyes and the mouth/nose, after that the key points of absorption are the armpits and the crotch (from a liquid chemical standpoint). In the context of a zombie movie, however, it still doesn't make sense, because by the time a person has come in contact with the "virus", they'd probably be running away from the zombies, which would have them incur cuts and scrapes which would be open infection points.
There's also the issue of ATP which your body needs to make your muscles move so the "infected" needs a fully working nervous system and bloodflow in which case its just as vulnerable as any other human and lacks self preservation instincts to stop it from tripping over every ledge in the world. People often forget you can die just by hitting your head when you fall over and zombies would be doing that all the time.
This is why I generally like fantasy zombies more, you got magic as a workaround for how come they work and zombies are just a local problem. And honestly, this is why I like Shaun of the Dead. It doesn't have zombies be a setting destroyer.
Your one of my favorite youtubers plague and I just love listening to everything you have to say, also take your life lessons and talks into very consideration. You help take stress in my life away when things get tough and inspiring me to keep drawing when I have the time. Love you so much plague, your awesome youtuber.
Over the course of your life, every single one of your cells has been replaced. You are literally a different person, but you feel the same. What if that was the absorpsion process of The Thing, but it was cold so it got super impatient. You could be The Thing right now. Did you ever touch anything ever? Could be.
I don't know how faithful of an adaptation of the thing is to who goes there but i Pat brought up. At the mountains of Madness which was published two years before who goes there and maybe because of what was written about at the time they have similar elements but i wonder if more so that who goes there was influenced by Lovecraft
I had that defibrillator scene spoiled for me when I was a kid, never watched the movie until earlier this year and the special effect was so ingrained into my subconscious that I was basically just waiting for it. Shame since it is genuinely one of the best scares (I guess) of the movie.
I love the thing just because of all the interesting potential stories that could come out of this one scenario. None of them are the thing, all or most are, maybe even the POV main character is the thing, but doesn’t know it because of the perfect simulation. I really wish there was a compendium or different stories that all spawn from this one scenario, but they each come out differently. One interesting take that I enjoyed was “the things” by Peter Watt’s which describes the movie from the thing’s perspective. It’s less of a who-done-it that the thing concept is ripe for though, but it’s an interesting take on an intelligence that is so far removed from the human one.
That scene were the dog goes into the room with the mystery man they had actually used someone who wasn't among any of the cast so there was no way to definitively can't tell who it was.
Never watched The Thing before, watched it last night and actually really enjoyed it. Someone told me to not watch it but that's understandable if you get easily grossed out or scared. Really liked how the characters reacted to the situations they were thrown into, such as destroying all the vehicles so that The Thing wouldn't have the chance to spread to civilization or how the crew always seemed to at least try something new out to help them survive and see who they could trust and who they couldn't trust. Imo seemed like the crew was doing the best they could with a situation that they couldn't fully understand or fully have control of with.
Huh... I never realized how much I wanted commentary tracks by my favorite content creators for my favorite movies till now. Is there an Audible like website that does this? Either way, plague please do more of these in the future!
There's a Thing sequel comic where MacReady's blood does freak out during another test without his knowledge but it's because an infected person taints the sample beforehand. The comics are...real hit or miss.
Well I didn't have plans for tonight so this works, thank you Gripe-sama, continue confusing and making us all feel funny with your suggestive animal ladies for years to come, Happy Halloween
I dunno. I think Walken could have done okay. It would depend on the role, but he'd be fine in most of them. edit 0:37:00 I skimmed through the original short story, and I'm sure you don't care, BUT. Every instance of the Thing is described as primarily motivated by its own self preservation. If you cut off an arm and set it on fire, that arm will try to escape from you so it can heal and grow into some sort of combat form. If you extract blood, the blood will pretend to be inert until it is under assault, etc. An instance of the Thing, if it thinks it might be able to skate by without being detected, will 100% allow all other instances of the Thing to be murdered, even if it reduces its overall chances of survival in doing so. The Thing is alien, not necessarily intelligent or logical.
Regarding the ending- I once got into a stupid, pointless argument in a RU-vid comments section (I think is was from a "first time watching reaction" vid) and I mentioned a comic sequel I glanced at in the late 80's or early 90's. I had a problem with it due to the fact it went against the ambiguous nature of the ending of the film. Somebody piped up saying the ending _wasn't ambiguous,_ that in the end, neither Childs or McReady were the thing, but just thought that the other may be, which is the tragedy of it all. The thing is, that _is_ a valid take, but it isn't the _definitive_ take. In fact, ironically enough, if it _were_ the definitive take, it would take us the audience out of it. We too, like Childs and McReady are wondering what would happen next, we are emphasising with the characters on screen, we're in _their_ position, when we don't know.
I've never "tracked" a movie, I've never watched "The Thing", I haven't celebrated a holiday in 3 years. It's been ages since I've watched a video at anything but 1.5x speed. Plague, I hope you hear this. I did all four today. This Halloween will not fade into the blur of of this half of the decade. This video was the perfect combination of coincidence. I won't forget this experience, not because of quality, but because for the first time in while, I decided to treat today as a holiday. Thank you.
That bit about the hypothetical female character. Reminds me of a deleted scene from Alien were Ripley questions Lambert about whether or not Ash has tried to fuck her. Which played into her suspicion about him
Take my favorite movie of all time, combine it with my favorite Strangecaster™️ of all time, and what do you get? A great fucking reason to watch The Thing.
55:25 the best copy is one that thinks it’s real 1:05:15 it basically provided a fake conclusion while the “actual” one chose to just freeze itself in the meantime
I feel called out since I'm just listening to this while I game cause I enjoy listening to your thoughts. I do remember the movie well enough to follow along roughly where you are in the movie at least
The thing works really well as a horror monster that creates fear of the unknown in my opinion, because you never actually know a true form of the monster. You might see something horrific from it, but the shape it will take next remains unknown. You can see it, and never really know for sure what it looks like.
In terms of practical effects and monster design the thing and jacob's ladder among others (pumpkinhead/alien) were fucking outstanding, they don't make monsters like they use to.
I came to this video thinking Plague was going to be ripping on it while Pat yells at him. But Plague says it's his favorite movie, so all is right with the world.
