SF Debris: The Thing

[Nutso]

John Carpenter's 1982 film.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

[Tyyr]

I loved the review and analysis and I love this movie. It is still one of the few movies I've watched from that time that genuinely scares the shit out of me. Hell, all the times I've watched it some of that shit still makes me squirm.

[Nutso]

I can't believe it had negative reviews in 1982. To me it's one of those films that just has this paranoid atmosphere that never lets up. The music is so simple and creepy and alien it just keeps me on my toes.

[Tyyr]

Yeah, I grew up always thinking it was a classic and turns out the thing positively bombed when it was first released. Go figure.

[Mikey]

This film was definitely a defining work of the genre. Often imitated, never duplicated. I can count one one hand the number of film adaptations that I like at least one-quarter as much as the books on which they were based - The Thing is far and away the best film adaptation ever, which is even more astounding considering how absolutely fan-fucking-tastic the book was.

[Tsukiyumi]

Still at the top of my list of favorite horror films, up in the top ten in my list of best sci-fi films, and one of my top twenty favorite films ever as well.

[IanKennedy]

I'm trying to fight the urge to talk about carrots.

[Mikey]

I'm trying to fight the urge to talk about carrots.

Believe it or don't, I've never actually gotten around to seeing that original adaptation.

[Graham Kennedy]

I really, really like the original film. I don't say it's better or worse than the Carpenter remake, because they're such different films from such different eras that it just feels impossible to reasonably compare them to me. But something about the original just gels for me.

And I believe it had the first full body burn scene in history. Shot on a blacked out set in which the fire was the only source of illumination, no less. How can you not like that?

[Mikey]

I guess I'll have to check it out. I like James Arness, and Campbell's story was definitely great, so I'll have high expectations.

[Tyyr]

I need to watch the remake. Honestly, I hold The Thing in such reverence that when I heard they were doing a prequel I just groaned.

[Mikey]

I need to watch the remake. Honestly, I hold The Thing in such reverence that when I heard they were doing a prequel I just groaned.

You mean the Carpenter remake, or the more modern one? I haven't seen the newest one either.

[Tyyr]

Carpenters, never seen the original. The modern one is the one I'm talking about.

[Mikey]

Yeah, the idea of screwing with the timeline or backstory of Campbell's original story really bothered me. Wasn't that a del Toro film?

[Tyyr]

...you sir have intrigued me. I love del Toro and he's probably one of the few guys that if you told me he was making a Thing prequel I'd give it a watch.