THE THING mini RETROSPECTIVE 

John Carpenter's adaptation of the Thing in 1982 is best horror movie ever that hold it's own to this day

Carpenter said a year or 2 ago that he'd be up for The Thing 2 and that it would answer the question from the end of the 1982 movie. I took it as some sort of threat.

My grandma watched The Thing (1982) with me and then told me about watching The Thing From Another World when she was younger ❤

To me, John Carpenter's The Thing is the original even though I know it isn't, lol.

John Carpenter's The Thing, is one of those movies I will watch every time a stumble upon in.

Another adaptation of "Who Goes There" that is never mentioned but very good is "Horror Express" with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

You're alone, you're scared, you're cold. A creature from another world stalks you. It can't get any worse...but...wait. You see a shape in the distance. It's him. Shia Lebouf.

They're actually 4 movies one is less known it's called Horror Express. Based on the same book who goes there with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing it's very much the same concept only takes place on a train.

Donald Sutherland passed away two days ago. He played Merrick in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie (and a lot of other roles).

Kinda sad Ryan didn't mention Parasyte: The Maximum or Prototype, which definitely draw from The Thing more than Amongus. Prototype has you essentially playing AS The Thing and Parasyte pulls both the paranoia, the dog scene, and even the blood drawing scene (though they do it a bit different) from the movie

Carpenter actually endorsed the game and considers it the canon follow up to the movie. Spoilers if you don’t want to know what happens, but it’s discovered that Childs died of hypothermia and MacReady survived throughout the entirety of the game confirming that neither of them were the Thing at the end of the movie.

I've seen the original The Thing From Another World and John Carpenter's The Thing. Tbh, the original is actually really solid and stands out from many of its contemporaries. The remake by John Carpenter though is peak old school creature feature horror. It's one of those films that holds up now and probably will forever.

What they managed with the dogs scene is breathtaking.

The Thing has so much potential. Imagine that the film takes place in a time when Black Death was a pandemic and its revealed that it was the Thing👀

"mini" retrospective lol I appreciate the hour long content. Keeps me entertained while I work

Ayyy, love that you’ve added The Thing to your retrospective lineup.

Well this was a suprising one

Horror Express 1972 is based on who goes there as well

the thing 1982 is my favourite film, i saw it on pirate vhs in either 1982 or 1983 and i was only born in 1979, but you don't forget that first scene where the dog transforms

Take a shot every time he says “thing”

The fact that a 1951 movie had a softcore BDSM scene is insane.

As someone’s who’s been using these long form retrospectives as something to watch while working out, your channel is exactly the thing I’ve been looking for! Youve earned a subscriber!

I love the you include Roger Ebert’s original reaction. That fucking hack was WILDLY wrong on a myriad of his takes on films. He even hated Aliens originally.

Very nice! Will you eventually do retrospectives on series such as Puppet Master, and or The Living Dead, or Of The Dead series? Those are trickier, because Romero’s collaborator split off and took “The Living Dead” as a series, while Romero took “Of The Dead as his series

Definitely going to need some more mini retrospectives! Great video!

Love these retros ryan! cant wait for the next!

The prequel also reminds me of the X-Files episodes about worms it’s basically a TV version of the thing and the character Scully is very much like the lead character from the prequel

I know you didn't complain about the end of this movie and it being plot armor, but I never hear the same about the end of Alien. The xenomorph just happens to make its way to the escape shuttle and takes a nap, then lumbers about slowly as Ripley gets dressed.

Man, you REALLY have to check out Horror Express (1972), Harbinger Down (2015) and Zygote (2017). The first one is loosely based on the novel, the second one has multiple references to The Thing (JC) and its connected to the practical effects that were going to be used in the prequel and the last one is a mix between Alien and The Thing in the eyes if Neill Blomkamp, i’d love to see you touch these ones when making the new The Thing Game Review !!!

Hey Ryan! Just binge watched all of your retrospectives. I am a narrative game designer so it is very important for me to know how different people tell different stories, horror included, But I am afraid of horror movies! But, thanks to your videos, I got to know a lot of new amazing things about a horror genre and movie industry. Thank you for your hard work!

I just discovered your channel, and I absolutely love it!!!

I know its very popular to say these days but the thing has been one of my favorite films since I first saw it back in the day on VHS. Such an incredible classic.

Great video! Some thoughts from a random fan, maybe of value, maybe not; Focusing on Carpenter’s versions, I always, since first viewing in the mid 1980’s on tape, FINALLY with VCR (nobody wanted to take me in ‘82 and I was 14Y.O.…) was that it was amazing and smart. I absolutely loved it. You pointed out the very things that did it for me as well, including but not limited to the intelligent construction of situations and directing. The way it’s filmed without a clear leader at first, the way they used the original story, all the players are great, the pacing as they learn about their problem is perfect. The effects…. I mean, in the 80’s? Jesus, I was squirming in my couch a few times. I also feel a bit vindicated and jealous at the same time with all the attention the film gets now, with excellent videos like this and many more decent ones and waves of new fans building up…. when I was PLEADING for people to give Carpenter’s masterpiece a chance decades ago. No, I wasn’t alone, there were other fans and some critics gave it love, but it was rare hearing compliments about it let alone being included at all whether peers or strangers discussed movies. I want to yell at the world; “I told you so!”. The first film- I also love this film because it’s actually older yet better than countless monster movies that followed. The Hawkes’ trademark overlapping dialogue (you pointed it out!! Bravo!), is a good touch, and though it feels a bit forced and staged back then, I know it’s mostly because it was extremely rare (as you mentioned) in films prior. The third film drove me nuts because I love that actress M. E. Winstead (relatively new and young yet solid in everything I’ve seen her do); I loved the concept of a prequel; (always had great curiosity about that situation, which compliments the second film and story); and being new technology, had the chance of making it look amazing. I couldn’t stand the very things you complained about either, plus the way they omitted the stealthiness and intelligence of the creature used in the second film. What predator, anytime or anywhere, roars with announcements that it’s trying to stalk prey? An idiot predator. I also wanted to see if that creature was actually a stowaway, parasite picked up from somewhere…. and ALWAYS thought that should be the case whether intended or not by Campbell or filmmakers. Back in the 80’s upon first viewing, I figured it was the reason for the crash on Earth in the first place- the original beings trying to get rid of it caused chaos. Finally, I actually found the paperback including “Who goes there?” back in the 90’s while snooping around book stores in northern California, after the military stationed me at Travis AFB. I also found “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” AND “We can remember it for you wholesale” during those years of hunting for things I found cool yet most didn’t care about back then. It was disappointing many years later when using the internet to learn more about Campbell being sort of a jerk-turd, especially knowing I thought his story “Who goes there?” was genius. And I still do, actually. Sure there are better written, far better written sci-fi… but there SHOULD be because that was written BEFORE so many other authors were able to learn from each other! That long ago, limited science to work with, and coming up with something that terrifying? Holy sh-t! It unofficially means we should always give everyone a chance unless imminently dangerous. They might be trouble, but I take a look at their work for something good that came out of it. Thanks again for the great video.

I consume every Thing related media I can find. I seen dozens of videos like this. This is the cream of the crop. Thank you!

I’ve been waiting for this video for 22 years.

I think that’s the same everybody calls the banter session .... it was also used alien but has become a film trope like high tech low tech and truckers in space.

So in the case of why the prequal plays out more like a traditional monster movie is because thats what it is. the lore goes that when assimilated by the thing it gains the memories of the one it takes over, also the thing was ejected from the ship (or it crawled out, either way) and froze in a block of ice. when it thawed out it would wake up no with no idea where the ship is. that being said and if i recall correctly it didnt head back to the ship until it absorbed somebody who knew the location of it. and it absorbs rapidly in the prequal because from the first person it took over the memories of that person would reveal there is another person who knows the exact location of the ship. and keep in mind at this point as far as the creature knows the ship is still intact. the prequal takes place over 2 maybe 3 days. As for the original, this is the things second run in with human beings now, creatures that burned, shot, cut, and blew up the thing. and as we know, the creature is a hive mind, meaning that everything one part of it knows all parts of it know. with this information we can see that in the original the thing bides its times assimilating who it thinks would the best option to turn the already violent humans against each other. it spends several days at outpost 31, so long that the crew have had to resort to making there own meals, TL;DR - The prequal takes place over a couple days because the thing is actively trying to escape the planet on it's still intact ship. It's lost, scared, and on the defense so it acts fast. The original takes place over several days because the thing has nothing but time now and has done this before. It's still lost, now its pissed, and now it knows humans. hell it's been 8 or 9 of then by this point. When i first saw these movies i watched the prequal first and then the original right after as they had both dropped on the netflix. I think this is the best way to view the story as it shows how the thing is able to adapt to its new enemies

The Thing from Another World and The Thing (1982) are perfect films

Fantastic retrospective I also really recommend watching Morbid Zoo’s video on the 2011 Thing movie!

This was a wonderful surprise. One of my top favorite horror films.

Great vid as always Ryan!!

The biggest continuity flaw was in the original they are watching a video of the Norwegians blowing up the spaceship when they try to thaw it out .

I love Carpenters Thing so much, I’ve seen it a bunch of time. The effects still hold up today I think.

You can find the scripts for the cancled thing sequel on the internet. Great read with fun references, parallels, and callbacks. If you're a fan of the thing, I recomend it. Hopefully it gets made one day.

Dude!!! What. A thing retrospective. Awesome. It's my favorite horror film so I'll take it. I was going to suggest the predator franchise as your small retrospective before your next big one, but this is also good.

If Alien was the mother of Among us, then The Thing is it's father!

I saw the original first. Than at 7 I saw the thing on beta max in my dad’s collection and asked if it’s the same movie. He said no but you you can watch it if you promise not to get nightmares. It’s been my number one movie ever sense.

What a treat, this made my friday. The thing is such a classic, I never watched the original and thought that a movie about paranoia was the whole point of it and the alien, a device to make the "trust nobody" plausible.

TIGHT! More of these!

The main problem with the prequel is Thea the suits forced them to use cgi when the had already invested heavily in practical effect

I like all 3 for what they are. Definitely all worthwhile watches. A end of the world scenario for every era.😂❤👽

Hell Yeah, love your retrospectives!!

Thank you for all the hard work you put into the retrospectives brother. Cant wait to see the next one!

The Thing is my ALL TIME favorite horror movie. The “prequel” from 2011 is also good in an “this is still fun to watch” kind way and dont tell mw otherwise

One of my favourite horrors, thanks Ryan love from London

What a pleasant surprise !! 🖤

The same way fans want to see the Predator in different time periods, seeing The Thing in different time periods trapped would be fun too!

This is my favorite horror film of all time. Out of the 3, this is number 1, 2011 at number 2, and the 50’s version at 3. I have the original story and enjoyed that novella. There was a short damage story that was told through the POV of the creature. 36:11 I was away from my phone at this part and thought Donald Trump was talking when it was JC.

Wish I could've watched the stream last night but so glad you covered this! I watched Carpenter's 1982 version when I was around 16 I think. For me it's near perfect, favourite movie of all time.

Let’s go, this is my favourite horror film, super excited to watch

I had a lot of fun with the game and am pumped to hear its getting a remaster.

This was a fantastic video! I haven't watched 'The Thing' by Carpenter in a few years & after watching this retrospective, I definitely feel an itch to seek it out again! The psychological elements of 'The Thing' (& perhaps all three films) is really the draw for me. The paranoia makes total sense and the consequences of failure could be world-ending! 😮

JC's The Thing is in my all time top 3 films

Aliens success may have also been a factor in the Trajectory of the prequel

There was traditional 3D animation stop motion scenes filmed in for the movie. A lot of practical scenes were shot and scrapt under executive orders

The 2002 video game is funnish schlock for what it is. There's a lot of interesting gameplay mechanics...in concept. In practice, the team either didn't have the skill, the budget, or the time to implement them in any functional way. There's a blood-test mechanic, but your teammates don't get "infected" by the thing. They are scripted to die or change at specific points in the game, so you can test someone and get a negative result, and then within 3 seconds you cross the event flag trigger and boom, they change into Things for no reason. Bigger things need to be weakened with gunfire and then burned to permanently kill them, and flamethrowers/blowtorches can be aimed at the ground to create a fire barrier to repel them, but it's kind of pointless to do when you can just burn them. NPCs have a "stress" meter, and being around grisly, gore-filled scenes will cause them to puke, freak out, and/or start crying and refuse to move. But just moving them outside the radius of what scares them will make them fine again. There's a trust system, but literally all you need to do to earn someone's trust is hand them a gun. Any gun, even a shitty pistol and some ammo they're loyal soldiers who will follow you into hell. Hopefully they truly remake this game a la RE2 remake, and not a lazy "remaster" for a game that honestly is pretty forgettable.

This hit differently!

8:08, it was also common way back then. Movies went under the name of their producer, not director. They were the ones with the vision, and the money. IIRC it started shifting with extremely influencial directors such as hitchcock that really put their "thing" into a movie and making it their own.

I knew what to expect, and the visuals just in this video still ruined my appetite for lunch, lol. Shouldn’t have sat down to it during this. 😅 Great video though!!

The final girl trope was in effect

The Thing is awesome and I’m so happy the video game is getting remastered

The pilot isn't a monster it is intelligent and greatly more knowledgible than we are of science and intends to leave Earth.

The prequel was a passable enough movie up until it wasn't. The part that really made me dislike the movie was the "Test" scene. It was such a cool idea to have a test with that could give false positives and the potential for paranoia was amazing... Then not even 2 minutes later everything randomly goes to hell and most of the cast die in a completely unrelated CGI clusterf**k... They really wanted to have the "Test" scene and even came up with a good idea but couldn't be bothered to do a damn thing with it and that just irks me.

I've always thought that neither of them were the thing at the end. I always thought that the point was that the thing broke their minds' ability to trust anything anymore even if they were both pretty certain that the other one was not the thing. Which will and in their deaths, giving the thing one final victory.

I tried to play all the way through the 2002 game... The combat isn't tricky, but it's way more complicated than it lets on. It's nothing like resident evil, though it may take some pointers from Sweet Home, which resident evil is technically a reimagining of.

The Thing is my all time favorite John Carpenter movie.

Best practical effects of any movie ever made

Great retrospective this true classic is extraordinary. John Carpenter is a terrific director. One of my favorite movies along with "Alien". I've heard that Blumhouse Films is adapting "Frozen Hell" into a motion picture release date TBA. I hope they move forward on this project using practical SFX only. I'm new to your channel & already enjoying it. 👍 Long Live Horror Movies!!

Best suspense body horror movie ever made.

Good choice here

The Thing 1982 scene where the trio are at the shed to find Blair where the camera pans from empty hallway to basement generator room to empty exit doorway where Childs was guarding suggests to me Blair-Thing was in the generator room and snuck up on Childs as he was watching the trio walk to the shed. Also the computer game foreshadows the events. MacReady lost a chess game against a computer, something imitating a human (sound familiar), loses the game/war, gives it a drink and destroys it. Likewise, MacReady lost the war as all his friends are dead and he will die in the camp, but he gives one last drink to Childs, the most skeptical and distrusting member of the group who wouldn’t normally accept the booze from Mac if he gave it to him earlier. Mac laughs and the camera zooms out to the fire of the outpost and fades out. Suggesting to me Mac blew away the thing (childs) and dies in the cold after the fires go out.

Of course. Stuntman Tom Steel. Middle name "Balls Of".

I will enjoy this one

Honorable Mention to Parasyte the Maximum. It was inspired by The Thing.

The original Thing game was awesome. You can play it on emulation. It was well done. Carpenter has said that the PS2 game is actually canon. Really looking forward to the remaster because a) it's The Thing b) Nightdive Studios is doing it and they're pretty much amazing when they do these things and c) it's The Thing.

37:37 Amazing how the two greats of the sci-fi horror genre (Alien and The Thing) were trashed by critics at the time both have gone on to become recognised as masterpieces that get better with age and actually transcend the genre. The critics simply couldn't see past the gory and shocking elements, which doesn't say much for the objectivity of movie critics.

The game has some interesting ideas but feels clunky here and there. What annoyed me most was that you kept your team uninfected only to be surrounded by infected the next scene since the game demanded it. Probably do to technical limitations of that time. It's still a fun game if you keep your expectations low enough.

It's criminal how little exposure your videos have on YT! Another phenomenal retrospective, this time encompassing all the media surrounding The Thing! Can't wait to see more!

John Carpenter has made great movies and bad movies. As an artist that just means he's trying. Experimentation is key

Theres a story where it's from the things point of view from john carpenter's the thing out there. Its actually very interesting.

56:21 That is a great idea! Not only would she have killed an innocent, but could have made herself seem like she is the thing to her victim.

Top 3 movie. Do a video on ‘The Fly’ just watched it last night it was soooo good

There should be more horror tales set in Arctic conditions Dark Matter by Michelle Paver I consider worthy of that setting even though it's a ghost story rather than a sci-fi

If I had to choose which version of the Thing I had to fight I would go with the 1951 plant thing, the reason behind that is because of what the Carpenter Thing can do to you. Now the 1951 thing may kill you and drain your blood to feed its seedlings but that’s just it, it’s plain death and harvesting, quick and painless (Well maybe not as quick and painless in certain circumstances but you get what I mean). The Carpenter Thing on the other hand when it gets you it doesn’t kill. No, it assimilates you, takes you over in both body and mind and basically makes you apart of itself. Now it’s not very well known what being assimilated is like, most have speculated in other videos and fan made books, but all possibilities are equally terrifying. Like what if somewhere inside the imitation you’re still alive or conscious in some degree, you can’t move, you can’t speak, you can’t even control you’re own body, and you can only watch as you’re whole being is used to inflict death and spread the infection and even feel you’re own form twisting and mutating into ungodly abominations. You are forced to go on and endure a possible eternity being trapped in a hellish purgatory along with any others who shared in you’re fate, unable to move on to the next plane and forever exsisting as a prisoner in a gestalt of souls trapped inside the warped biomass of an Alien violator. Add to that the unpleasant and violating experience having you’re body being converted and you have possibly one of the Worst Fates in Horror to date. So yeah, I’d definitely go with the plant guy.

I would love to see another movie with Mary Elizabeth Winstead character "Kate" arriving at the Russian camp and then they head out to the American camp and find Childs & MacReady and the rest of the American camp in the way that they found the Norwegian camp in the original (Carpenter's version). From there the paranoia can start over again with Childs and or MacReady being the start for the members of the Russian camp.

Fuck yeah

I remember watching the original Thing when i was a kid and loved it. One of my favorites. I was 5 when the 82 remake came out but didn't see it until probably 87 on TV. It was so different from the original and much more psycholigical and child me just didn't understand or like it. I finally saw it a few months ago and liked it more. However, i prefer listening to the theory videos about who is who and when they get assimilated.

have you read the novella The Things? it tells the story from the perspective of the monster. I highly recommend it. there is and audio version on RU-vid about an hour long.

What if. What if this wasn't a mini retro and instead it was a full 4 hour retro 😳

The 1951 version was good especially the scene with the kerosene. 1982 version was perfect in every way and the 2011 is enjoyable as a popcorn flick and not much else.