THE THING is John Carpenter's 1982 horror masterpiece, combining a simple but sensational premise with some of the most incredible special effects ever devised from legendary prosthetic makeup designer Rob Bottin.
Crash landing on earth over 100,000 years ago, an unknowable alien entity has lain dormant in Antarctica until unfrozen by a doomed scientific team. It's unique ability is to precisely mimic any life it comes in contact with and this ingeniously paranoid idea sees the audience in the same predicament as our hero MacReady (Kurt Russell, THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES); not knowing which of our excellent ensemble cast might be the cosmic abomination until their face splits open to reveal some grotesque transgressive horror. As tension mounts and the team start to fracture, scenes of almost unimaginable awfulness unfold from a terror truly beyond human understanding and the ambiguous downbeat ending is an all-time classic.
Tune in to hear us discuss Ennio Morricone's Razzie nominated score, gather tips on how to spot which characters might be The Thing and unpack the unsettling existential implications of its terrifying central conceit. The iconic poster was conceptualised, painted and delivered to the studio in less than 24 hours by the wonderful film poster artist Drew Struzan and a copy of his artwork hangs on my office wall so if you can't tell already I'm a bit of a fan of this one.
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