A well written essay praising this absolute masterpiece; one I only watched recently.
This is absolutely my favourite quote also. “I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I’d rather not spend the rest of the winter tied to this fucking couch!” What a movie.
Thanks Jessica. Yeah, I thought the latest season of True Detective was really good. Issa Lopez, who was the show runner, admitted she borrowed a lot from Carpenter’s movie but I thought it was good enough to tell its own story in a genuinely unsettling way
I saw this film in theaters when I was eleven years old. It was . . . intense. I couldn’t sleep for weeks afterwards. Can you imagine watching that if you suffered from one of those mental conditions where you believe everyone around you has been replaced by copies of someone else? I think that’s the thing I find so chilling about “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” as well. I’m one of the rare people who enjoys both versions of that film, but prefers the 1970s one with Donald Sutherland and a very young Jeff Goldblum.
Well, I’m going to see it in the cinema in 2 weeks so can’t wait for that 😁
That is the most chilling part of the story. Never mind all the gore etc, you just don’t know who is human and who is The Thing. Same with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It speaks to that irrational fear, like you said, that we are the only “real” person and everyone else is a copy.
I also agree that the 70’s version is the better movie but I had forgotten Jeff Goldblum is in it!
Thanks for reading Daniel. Hope you’re keeping well 👍🏼
Bonus points for not mentioning the remake! 😅 Excellent essay, Dan. Loved it. As you know, it’s one of my all time favorite movies as well. The best movie of all time … for me goes to another title :)
"The best" lists are tricky; after all, is "the best" yet to come, or is this as good as it gets? And I'm not saying that's the best, even though Jack was excellent in that one, but it's not "the best" by a long shot. Checking my IMDB rating page, I only have one film rated 10. Then again, these ratings have been done ages ago; maybe it's time to revise...
A great indeph essay Dan. I love this movie too and is one of my favourites. What I love about it is the paranoia- no one can trust anyone and any one of the characters could be The Thing. The other great movie which has this concept is The Invasion of the Body Snathers.'
Thanks very much Jason. Glad to hear you like it too 👍🏼
Yeah, there are lots of similarities between Body Snatchers and The Thing. Both speak to that fear of not trusting anyone to be who you think they are. Interestingly the next one I’m doing is on Salem’s Lot with all its various adaptations and there are lot of similarities in who might, or might not, be a vampire
I like ET well enough but, you’re right, Blade Runner and The Thing still influence modern day science fiction cinema and story telling on a much deeper level
Thanks as always for reading and hope you’re keeping well 👍🏼
Fantastic essay, Dan. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts.
A brilliant film, but one I haven't watched enough times. I now want to watch it right now!! (Alas, I have work.) Maybe it'll be showing at the cinema here for spooky season, too. Will have a look.
Also..."All masterminded by a 22 year old Rob Bottin." 😲😲
As I’ve been discussing the movie with everyone it’s made me want to watch it again too! However, I’m going to hang off until me and my son go to see it on the 30th at the cinema in Glasgow. First time on the big screen so can’t wait. Hope you manage to find a cinema that’s showing it too. I have a feeling it will be an awesome experience
Yeah, Bottin had worked with Carpenter on The Fog prior to this but The Thing was such hard going, he ended up living on the set and had to check himself into hospital once it had finished shooting. I guess it was worth it though as we’re still talking about his work all these years later 😁
Just a quick note to say that I haven't read this yet but boy am I excited to read it. I've been really looking forward to your long-form essay on this, Dan.
The Thing is my all time favourite film too. I watch it on the first day of winter every year. Totally subbing off the back of this post, superb write up.
Nice write-up! I'm a big fan of this film as well. So much so that I even got the Xbox game years ago that acts as a sequel to Carpenter's film. It is quite good and manages to capture the suspense and tension of the film.
I’ve read about that game and Carpenter even had a role in it I think. They were meant to be issuing a remastered version this year but not sure if that’s still happening. I really want to play the board game which is also meant to be great. Maybe someone will get me it for Christmas 😁
It’s just great. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched it. Going to the cinema on the 30th to see it on the big screen for the first time though and can’t wait
As I commented in a previous post (one of Honeygloom's Horror Haiku pages), The Thing brings up the question of the "philosophical zombie" in its positing of a creature that can apprently mimic human consciousness just by imitating its outward appearance. As the central question of the philosophical zombie has it:
"What is going on in my zombie twin? He is physically identical to me... identical to me functionally... He will be perceiving the trees outside, in the functional sense, and tasting the chocolate, in the psychological sense... He will even be “conscious” in the functional senses... It is just that none of this functioning will be accompanied by any real conscious experience. There will be no phenomenal feel. There is nothing it is like to be a zombie."
As I mentioned in the post, it is a part of the story that I would be interested in delving into in more detail. Both Palmer and Norris are really interesting cases. The Norris Thing being almost surprised at the pain he feels prior to the heart attack and Palmer pointing out the spider Thing when he is the same organism. Such a fascinating movie on so many levels
This was the movie that cinched it for me. There was no way I was going to do any science experiment that required me to visit Antarctica or the Arctic Circle. Yeah, nope, nien, nicht, nada, NFW!
A well written essay praising this absolute masterpiece; one I only watched recently.
This is absolutely my favourite quote also. “I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I’d rather not spend the rest of the winter tied to this fucking couch!” What a movie.
Thanks very much Chris 🙏
That is such a great quote. After all the absolute craziness of the previous 20 minutes, it just cuts through it perfectly 😁
It’s showing in The Grosvenor in Glasgow on the 30th so me and my son are off to watch it. First time ever seeing it on the big screen so can’t wait 😃
A fantastic cinema; that will be a special event!
Never go wrong with The Thing. The season of True Detective with Jodie Foster plays around in that world. It's worth checking out.
Thanks Jessica. Yeah, I thought the latest season of True Detective was really good. Issa Lopez, who was the show runner, admitted she borrowed a lot from Carpenter’s movie but I thought it was good enough to tell its own story in a genuinely unsettling way
I saw this film in theaters when I was eleven years old. It was . . . intense. I couldn’t sleep for weeks afterwards. Can you imagine watching that if you suffered from one of those mental conditions where you believe everyone around you has been replaced by copies of someone else? I think that’s the thing I find so chilling about “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” as well. I’m one of the rare people who enjoys both versions of that film, but prefers the 1970s one with Donald Sutherland and a very young Jeff Goldblum.
Well, I’m going to see it in the cinema in 2 weeks so can’t wait for that 😁
That is the most chilling part of the story. Never mind all the gore etc, you just don’t know who is human and who is The Thing. Same with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It speaks to that irrational fear, like you said, that we are the only “real” person and everyone else is a copy.
I also agree that the 70’s version is the better movie but I had forgotten Jeff Goldblum is in it!
Thanks for reading Daniel. Hope you’re keeping well 👍🏼
Okay…it’s been so long since I’ve seen the film, I’m going to watch it again, then come back to this. 💥 (I stopped at the plot spoilers sentence.)
Good plan as I do go into quite a lot of detail on all the main spoilers 👍🏼
Plus, having to watch The Thing again is always a joy 😁
Bonus points for not mentioning the remake! 😅 Excellent essay, Dan. Loved it. As you know, it’s one of my all time favorite movies as well. The best movie of all time … for me goes to another title :)
Thanks very much Alexander 🙏
There was a remake? 🤔😁
Yeah, we don’t talk about that
Hmm. Now I’m intrigued. You should write a counter article on what you think is the best 👍🏼😁
"The best" lists are tricky; after all, is "the best" yet to come, or is this as good as it gets? And I'm not saying that's the best, even though Jack was excellent in that one, but it's not "the best" by a long shot. Checking my IMDB rating page, I only have one film rated 10. Then again, these ratings have been done ages ago; maybe it's time to revise...
A great indeph essay Dan. I love this movie too and is one of my favourites. What I love about it is the paranoia- no one can trust anyone and any one of the characters could be The Thing. The other great movie which has this concept is The Invasion of the Body Snathers.'
Thanks very much Jason. Glad to hear you like it too 👍🏼
Yeah, there are lots of similarities between Body Snatchers and The Thing. Both speak to that fear of not trusting anyone to be who you think they are. Interestingly the next one I’m doing is on Salem’s Lot with all its various adaptations and there are lot of similarities in who might, or might not, be a vampire
As always, an excellent read, and insights.
No, ET was too sentimental and sugary to have cultural impact, other than 'ET phone home', a line that lives on.
Thanks very much Caz 🙏
I like ET well enough but, you’re right, Blade Runner and The Thing still influence modern day science fiction cinema and story telling on a much deeper level
Thanks as always for reading and hope you’re keeping well 👍🏼
Fantastic essay, Dan. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts.
A brilliant film, but one I haven't watched enough times. I now want to watch it right now!! (Alas, I have work.) Maybe it'll be showing at the cinema here for spooky season, too. Will have a look.
Also..."All masterminded by a 22 year old Rob Bottin." 😲😲
Thanks very much Nathan 🙏
As I’ve been discussing the movie with everyone it’s made me want to watch it again too! However, I’m going to hang off until me and my son go to see it on the 30th at the cinema in Glasgow. First time on the big screen so can’t wait. Hope you manage to find a cinema that’s showing it too. I have a feeling it will be an awesome experience
Yeah, Bottin had worked with Carpenter on The Fog prior to this but The Thing was such hard going, he ended up living on the set and had to check himself into hospital once it had finished shooting. I guess it was worth it though as we’re still talking about his work all these years later 😁
Wow, that's crazy! Poor guy, although clearly his effort payed off. But hopefully he walked out of hospital ok.
Yeah, he went on to have a great career. Though he never worked with Carpenter again after that 😁
Those special effects still stand up today- brilliant! Well ahead of its time.
Just a quick note to say that I haven't read this yet but boy am I excited to read it. I've been really looking forward to your long-form essay on this, Dan.
The Thing is my all time favourite film too. I watch it on the first day of winter every year. Totally subbing off the back of this post, superb write up.
Thanks very much Lewis 🙏
So glad to hear someone else recognises what a masterful movie this is 👍🏼
Hopefully, when you watch it in the first day of winter, you repeat MacReady’s line 😁
Also, thanks very much for subscribing. Really appreciate it 🙏
Ha, I basically do a script read by myself while I'm watching it. Winds my wife up no end but I just can't help it.
Nice write-up! I'm a big fan of this film as well. So much so that I even got the Xbox game years ago that acts as a sequel to Carpenter's film. It is quite good and manages to capture the suspense and tension of the film.
Thanks very much J.D. 🙏
I’ve read about that game and Carpenter even had a role in it I think. They were meant to be issuing a remastered version this year but not sure if that’s still happening. I really want to play the board game which is also meant to be great. Maybe someone will get me it for Christmas 😁
The board game is very cool!
It's a great film. May have to watch it again!
It’s just great. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched it. Going to the cinema on the 30th to see it on the big screen for the first time though and can’t wait
Oh that's going to be fantastic!
As I commented in a previous post (one of Honeygloom's Horror Haiku pages), The Thing brings up the question of the "philosophical zombie" in its positing of a creature that can apprently mimic human consciousness just by imitating its outward appearance. As the central question of the philosophical zombie has it:
"What is going on in my zombie twin? He is physically identical to me... identical to me functionally... He will be perceiving the trees outside, in the functional sense, and tasting the chocolate, in the psychological sense... He will even be “conscious” in the functional senses... It is just that none of this functioning will be accompanied by any real conscious experience. There will be no phenomenal feel. There is nothing it is like to be a zombie."
David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind (1996)
That’s a really interesting quote 🤔
As I mentioned in the post, it is a part of the story that I would be interested in delving into in more detail. Both Palmer and Norris are really interesting cases. The Norris Thing being almost surprised at the pain he feels prior to the heart attack and Palmer pointing out the spider Thing when he is the same organism. Such a fascinating movie on so many levels
Thanks very much for your comment 👍🏼
I'm tempted to watch this tonight now!
Ah, you’ve got to now. Whenever you get a chance to watch The Thing you have to take it! 😁
This was the movie that cinched it for me. There was no way I was going to do any science experiment that required me to visit Antarctica or the Arctic Circle. Yeah, nope, nien, nicht, nada, NFW!