“We found something in the ice. We need some help down here! Can anybody hear me? We found something… We found something… We found something…”
Outpost 31.
Birthdays don’t make me feel old. Shit like this makes me feel old: John Carpenter’s The Thing premiered 35 years ago this summer. What the HELL?
The Thing is, hands down, my favorite horror film of all time. I think it is my brother’s favorite horror film of all time, too. He’s the one who saw it with me. Twice, if I remember correctly. It’s set at a remote U.S. research facility on Antarctica called Outpost 31. The hero of the tale is R.J. MacReady, played by Kurt Russell, channeling I-Don’t-Wanna-Be-A-Fucking-Rock-Star-Anymore-era Jim Morrison.
MacReady also rocks leather jacket and perhaps the most badass hat in cinema history — a Mexican sombrero of unique shape and proportion. Why? Because he’s R.J. MacReady and that’s how he rolls! I recall wanting that sombrero bad when I was, what? 16?
Turns out it can be bought, too, from one of the custom hat makers who caters to the film nostalgia trade. Hmm….
One way to recapture one’s youth…
The Nerdist examines the Lovecraftian aspects of the film:
At the heart of The Thing, we have a story about an invading force that is ultimately beyond our understanding and has the capability to completely destroy life on Planet Earth in a staggeringly short amount of time. When the characters in the base see the Thing at its most alien–as it’s half-transformed between stages–they stand in awe, gobsmacked for sometimes minutes at time. This is so Carpenter can show off the amazing effects work by Rob Bottin, yes, but it’s also to amplify a mixture of awe and disgust.Apparently, The Thing has become a cult classic; there’s an entire fandom devoted to it.
Lovecraft would often not describe his sinister entities, choosing instead to say simply “the indescribable horror” or the like, and allow the reader to come up with their own visuals. The inability of humans to comprehend the physical form of these creatures is integral to Lovecraft’s cosmic fear. Carpenter continues this, not by hiding the monster from us, but by showing it to us in full light, because even though we’re looking at it, it’s still mostly indescribable. No image of the Thing in any of the scenes behaves the way something of this world would, and we share the characters’ astonishment, both by recoiling and staring.
But the beast itself is only a portion of what cosmic horror is about, and the larger part comes from the fear of being overtaken, and the debilitating realization that your worldview is changed and will never be the same again. It’s very hard to explain and visually express someone being totally overcome with a feeling of being an insignificant, minuscule speck in the universe….
Apparently, The Thing has become a beloved cult classic — which just goes to show you that the world has not entirely gone to hell. If you haven’t seen The Thing, you simply must. That dog scene… I mean, c’mon. And it don’t get more FRONTIER than man-vs.-nature at Outpost 31. And, I still want that sombrero!
John C. says
Blast from the past! The visual effects were awesome, and not for the squeamish. Don’t agree about the hat, though. Dope.
Love the Wiki. How else would we learn that:
– The Thing is annually viewed by members of the winter crew at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station during the first evening of winter. It is also viewed by scientific personnel at the Summit Camp on the apex of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Whistling past the graveyard.
JimC says
How much do I love that…
As for the sombrero: Given that the hat costs as much as Ceili’s college tuition, it’s a moot point.
Alexander Lauber says
I saw this movie once. Back in 82 or 83. I REMEMBER that dog scene, still gives me the heebie jeebies.
JimC says
Kind sticks with you for three-and-a-half decades, don’t it?
Matthew says
Carpenter’s film was based on John Campbell’s story “Who Goes There.” Campbell is best known as a science fiction editor and this is his most famous story. In the story MacReady seems based on (and according to fan theory actually is) pulp hero Doc Savage.
The Thing from Another World was also based on the same story and involved Howard Hawks and James Arness. I think it’s a bit odd that Leigh Brackett wasn’t involved in Hawks one Sci-fi film.
JimC says
Doc Savage? Too cool.
Paul McNamee says
I need to re-read “Who Goes There?”
Yeah, THE THING is a classic.
deuce says
I never thought about Brackett NOT being on that Hawks project. It is odd.
Paul McNamee says
Just for information, “Who Goes There?” shouldn’t be too hard to scare up, but its most recent reprint (that I know of) was from Baen last year.
http://www.baen.com/things-from-outer-space.html
Annie says
You failed to mention that with the hat purchase:” Because of the unique power this hat holds in “The Thing”, Baron is pleased to include, as a gift to you, a factory-sealed DVD of the movie!”
Laughing so hard at you AND at me, ‘cus I know I am going to rent that dang movie.
JimC says
Enjoy!
Keith West says
I have to confess that I’ve not seen this version, although I have seen the black and white version with James Arness. I need to correct that oversight.
I compared Campbell’s “Who Goes There?” last year to Lovecraft’s at the Mountains of Madness” if anyone is interested.
http://adventuresfantastic.com/what-do-h-p-lovecraft-and-john-w-campbell-jr-have-in-common/
JimC says
You’ll dig it. Promise.
Keith West says
I’m looking forward to it.
I linked to this post on mine, btw.
J.F. Bell says
I haven’t read Campbell’s, but I’ve made the slog through Lovecraft’s a couple of times.
Actually, calling it a slog isn’t fair, exactly. At the Mountains of Madness is a good piece of writing – not Lovecraft’s absolute best, and not the first of his stories I’d put in front of a Lovecraftian neophyte – but it wears better than most credit it, I think.
This of course presumes you meet the story on its own terms. If you watch The Thing first and then jump over to Mountains of Madness you’ll be confused, if not disappointed. As has been stated…Lovecraft deals primarily in humans realizing how feeble and unknowing humanity is when faced with an inestimable nightmare incarnate. That being the case, his works tend to fall more in the vein of our Hapless Protagonist dragging his heels on a slow descent into madness whereas – as you pointed out – The Thing takes a different tack.
Shifting genres (and drawing with a broad and clumsy brush) it’s the difference in the story of a fatal mine collapse and the siege of the Alamo.
Matthew says
I think it was Campbell’s Astounding Science Fiction that published Mountains of Madness, not Lovecraft’s customary home Weird Tales.
J.F. Bell says
Didn’t know that. It doesn’t really surprise me, though. From what I’ve read of Lovecraft, Mountains of Madness is kind of an odd duck.
…though I admit, I do occasionally like poking the bear by suggesting that The Call of Cthulhu isn’t even his strongest work. You can usually get some fun reactions out of that one.
Matthew says
I always thought Dreams of the Witch-House or The Shadow over Innsmouth were Lovecraft’s best. Lovecraft does tend to be verbose, but it allows for a kind of slow burn build of horror.
A year ago, I wrote a Lovecraft pastiche as I’d imagine Donald Westlake in his Richard Starke mode might write. Been trying to get it published. No luck.
JimC says
That sounds like a hoot.
J.F. Bell says
Heh. I’ve got one of those floating around somewhere, too. I doubt it ever goes anywhere (slow and verbose and presently lacking a proper ending and all) but it was a fun enough exercise.
For Lovecraft’s best, I’d go Shadow Over Innsmouth. This isn’t to take away from his lesser-known stuff, naturally, but that one bears all his trademarks with the added benefits of fitting clearly into the greater mythos AND coming in short enough to finished in one sitting.
That said, a lot of his one-off/monster of the week stuff is absolutely first-rate.
J.F. Bell says
A great movie is a great movie in any age, and The Thing was a great movie. And the funny thing about great movies is that great movies are timeless.
Ergo, a great movie does not age.
Much as I’ve enjoyed some of Hollywood’s offerings these past few decades, overabundance of CGI was/is/will be the death of movie-making.
thedarkman says
The practical effects from 1982 in The Thing have never been topped, in my opinion. Great cast, awesome story and some of the creepiest cinematography ever captured on film. Dark, cold and claustrophobic. The topper is the chilling music; I get goosebumps just listening to it. And yeah, I got this one on blue ray, along with the inferior, but still entertaining prequel from 2011.
wayne says
“The Thing from Another World” was a masterpiece in its time as well. James Arness was briefly on screen as the alien at the end of the film, but the rest of the cast made the movie. My favorite scene was the view of the spacecraft still encased in translucent ice somewhere in the Arctic – remarkable special effects for the times. If you have a soft spot in your heart for those 50’s and 60’s science fiction movies like I do, you’ll want to see this one. I eagerly awaited Carpenter’s version of the story and it was worth the wait. What a spectacular film!
JimC says
I am not surprised, but quite gratified that this post hit a chord.
Betty says
Jim and Wayne, I never saw this 35-year-old version. The 1951 Howard Hawks thriller starring James Arness as The Thing had me jumping out of the seat at the Majestic movie palace in Houston when I was 13 years old. Shit like what Jim said really makes ME feel old. What the HELL? He is a mere sprout.
Tell you how the times have changed: my mother let my 12-year-old brother and myself ride the bus downtown by ourselves to see this movie. I wouldn’t do that today.
We never knew till many years later that Marshall Dillon played The Thing. Of course, he was tall timber and suited for the role, but really! Not Matt! Never! What a surprise.
That mystery in the block of melting ice, oh Lordy. The shock when The Thing shot his fingernails through the opening door – the first and best “jump scene” of my life.
Don’t go to the movies anymore for many reasons. The old gray mare ain’t what she used to be, and they turn the volume up so loud I have to put in ear plugs. That’s for the young whippersnappers deafened by loud music in their cars and earphones.
When was the last time you were scared in a movie house, and I don’t mean by easy jump scenes? “Carrie” was it for me.
JimC says
Wow! That’s a great story.
Pat_H says
I hit this link merely because of the way cool hat.
However, “a Mexican sombrero of unique shape and proportion”. That’s not unique, that’s a classic “Sugarloaf Sombrero”. They were a really common broad brimmed hat in the 19th Century but sadly disappeared on the one size fits all, every male must dress like a toddler era, that the 20th Century increasingly brought in.
Of course, it’s not like I have an opinion on these matters or anything.
Another cinematic version shows up, I’d note, being sported by Sgt. Gomez (if I recall the name correctly) in Major Dundee.
JimC says
Pat_H says
Wow, that’s one pricey chapeau.
Eccentric Cowboy says
I wouldn’t have pegged you for a horror fan Jim, but I’m ecstatic to see that I’m wrong! The Thing is one of my top three favorite scary movies of all time, tied with Tremors and Jaws. All three hold up beautifully and stand defiant of overblown movies today.
That dog scene even now elicits indescribable sensations, feelings of grotesque fascination as this biological factory burbles and pulsates. No explosions, no running, minimal light, and a subtle music in the background bathing you in raw uncomfortableness, and it stands as the pinnacle of horror.
Good grief it’s good to know so many other fellow partisans share the love of this movie! The Lovecraftian connections are inevitable and warranted, and as others noted this was based on the story Who Goes There, which is awesome and well worth reading. If the others hadn’t convinced you to read it already, I’ll throw my hat in the ring in hopes of getting you to read it too. Thankfully it’s short. 😉
The Thing will always be amazing. It has withstood the test of time, and it will continue to do so. Its style will never truly be replicated.
And if I may, I highly recommend you see Tremors if you haven’t already. Shock of shocks, that movie actually has characters that know a thing or two about guns! The armorer they had was top notch.
Thanks for making my day with this post pard!
J.F. Bell says
Burt Gummer was my childhood hero.
Also, my adulthood hero.
Paul McNamee says
A little late for another follow-up, but I re-read “Who Goes There?” this weekend and was reminded;
A year or two go I watched the movie, HORROR EXPRESS, which stars Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee, though not a Hammer movie. I don’t know that it was expressly noted, but from all I’ve read, the movie was probably loosely based (or perhaps “inspired” is a better description) by “Who Goes There?”
Instead of an Antarctic base, the isolation is provided by the setting of the Trans-Siberian Express, circa 1906. The thing moves mentally from host to host, rather than physically.
And, Telly Savalas shows up as a scene-chewing Cossack who raids the train hunting for rebels.
For a horror movie, it’s a surprisingly good one and much better than I expected.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_Express
Buzz says
Dog scene or the Head growing crab legs is the best. I love this movie and need to order the DVD. 🙂
JimC says
Do it! (sez the enabler…)
Betty says
Head growing crab legs? I don’t remember such a thing in The Thing of 1951. Maybe the heads with crab legs in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Chessmen of Mars” were the inspiration. The Kaldanes.
Jim, I think The Thing thread will never end. I’m going to keep checking to see what other late followers have to say.
JimC says
Another fan…
Matthew says
Heh. I’ve got one of those floating around somewhere, too. I doubt it ever goes anywhere (slow and verbose and presently lacking a proper ending and all) but it was a fun enough exercise. —
I actually wrote it more like Richard Stark than Lovecraft. I couldn’t write like Lovecraft if I wanted to. It’s still searching for a home.
J.F. Bell says
Aren’t they all…
Pat McGowan says
Love this movie on first viewing and have watched it many times since.The ending is pure gold. A story about Hawkes’ version. I was in a production of The Crucible and a character actor by the name of Robert Cornthwaite was playing Giles Corey. The same character I played with The Sober Voice of Reason Vince Austin Bell in college. At the first meeting, the sound designer came up to Mr. Cornthwaite and said, “It would be my great honor to shake the hand of the scientist from ‘The Thing’ who uttered the immortal line, ‘I think we can talk to it.'”
JimC says
Love this.
Morador says
Great post. It is a constant debate on the networks about whether the film is inspired by a story by Lovecraft or by John Campbell. Although the evidence seems to indicate that both are true.