------------- MY RATING: 68/100 -------------
*CONTAINS SPOILERS!*
"The Thing" is another classic horror film from the 80s. Unfortunately, it seems I am the only one who struggles with the 80s sci-fi movies...
The plot is indeed an innovative one, an alien life form crashed on Earth 100.000 years ago is being discovered and revived by a Nordic research team in Antarctic. The alien functions on the cellular level with unknown original appearance and infects any life form and absorbs it to create a mutated combination of anything it absorbed so far and all that on multiple hosts. Being smart and adaptive, it can take one form at a time to imitate an ordinary organism and it seems it can even absorb memories and habits to adapt even further when it has taken a intelligent life form (ex. a human). The American research team will soon find out that the crazy Norwegian who chased for miles a dog wasn't that crazy and will have to come up with their own plan to survive when the discovery of the mutated form hits the plot.
"The Thing" does a great job scaring you under a confusing and unpredicted predicament. It's visual effects are great and horrifying and the disturbing "fade to black" scenes of the movie are hiding you what you need to know to keep yourself relaxed and "in control" of the plot.
However, the movie is seriously hurt by multiple problems. While the plot is great, cinematography is mediocre and writing is clunky, convenient and unrealistic. Some examples:
1) When the dog is led to the room with the other dogs we have great lighting. When the dog transforms and while the other dogs are screaming, one of the characters, in almost zero visibility and complete darkness, calmly opens the door only to realize that there is something horrible inside. As they burn the creature for 2 seconds with a flamethrower, the alien dies immediately and without any second thoughts they distinguish the fire and carry it without quarantine measures to examine it. Then, the doctor has a perfect super computer which can run cellular simulations and calculate the probabilities of infection.
2) Throughout the movie and until the last minute, while it is more than clear to the dumbest that the creature strikes those who are separated, our characters are conveniently and stupidly separated all the time, making it extra easy for the creature to devour them. After the 7th time, it really gets annoying, massively downgrading the movie and making you build great frustration.
3) Initially, the characters are not really surprised with the discovery, making you look more surprised, despite you are located in your safe sofa in the real world.
4) While the characters are trying to save themselves individually and seem so selfish for the 3/4 of the movie, they unrealistically offer to burn down the entire complex and freeze to death in the end.
5) The scene with the shark-stomach is voted as one of the most hilarious death scenes of all time and the spider head nearly makes its escape without any of the characters realize it, despite that thing was making noise and it was too big to leave unnoticed. And let's forget that it didn't simply run but waited to be killed by the flamethrower (again)!
6) While the creature makes a full reveal in the end and was always devouring its victims immediately, it just stares at our protagonist growling, giving him enough time to use a dynamite to blow it up!
All and all, the movie is classic with a great, original plot and truly disgusting horror scenes to shake your spine but the film itself will probably leave you more frustrated than scared.
*CONTAINS SPOILERS!*
"The Thing" is another classic horror film from the 80s. Unfortunately, it seems I am the only one who struggles with the 80s sci-fi movies...
The plot is indeed an innovative one, an alien life form crashed on Earth 100.000 years ago is being discovered and revived by a Nordic research team in Antarctic. The alien functions on the cellular level with unknown original appearance and infects any life form and absorbs it to create a mutated combination of anything it absorbed so far and all that on multiple hosts. Being smart and adaptive, it can take one form at a time to imitate an ordinary organism and it seems it can even absorb memories and habits to adapt even further when it has taken a intelligent life form (ex. a human). The American research team will soon find out that the crazy Norwegian who chased for miles a dog wasn't that crazy and will have to come up with their own plan to survive when the discovery of the mutated form hits the plot.
"The Thing" does a great job scaring you under a confusing and unpredicted predicament. It's visual effects are great and horrifying and the disturbing "fade to black" scenes of the movie are hiding you what you need to know to keep yourself relaxed and "in control" of the plot.
However, the movie is seriously hurt by multiple problems. While the plot is great, cinematography is mediocre and writing is clunky, convenient and unrealistic. Some examples:
1) When the dog is led to the room with the other dogs we have great lighting. When the dog transforms and while the other dogs are screaming, one of the characters, in almost zero visibility and complete darkness, calmly opens the door only to realize that there is something horrible inside. As they burn the creature for 2 seconds with a flamethrower, the alien dies immediately and without any second thoughts they distinguish the fire and carry it without quarantine measures to examine it. Then, the doctor has a perfect super computer which can run cellular simulations and calculate the probabilities of infection.
2) Throughout the movie and until the last minute, while it is more than clear to the dumbest that the creature strikes those who are separated, our characters are conveniently and stupidly separated all the time, making it extra easy for the creature to devour them. After the 7th time, it really gets annoying, massively downgrading the movie and making you build great frustration.
3) Initially, the characters are not really surprised with the discovery, making you look more surprised, despite you are located in your safe sofa in the real world.
4) While the characters are trying to save themselves individually and seem so selfish for the 3/4 of the movie, they unrealistically offer to burn down the entire complex and freeze to death in the end.
5) The scene with the shark-stomach is voted as one of the most hilarious death scenes of all time and the spider head nearly makes its escape without any of the characters realize it, despite that thing was making noise and it was too big to leave unnoticed. And let's forget that it didn't simply run but waited to be killed by the flamethrower (again)!
6) While the creature makes a full reveal in the end and was always devouring its victims immediately, it just stares at our protagonist growling, giving him enough time to use a dynamite to blow it up!
All and all, the movie is classic with a great, original plot and truly disgusting horror scenes to shake your spine but the film itself will probably leave you more frustrated than scared.