The Thing (1982)

The Thing was such a crazy film for me to watch. I knew it wasn't going to be about the Addams family and yet I couldn't shake the image of that damn hand out of my mind. So despite trying to ignore everything and go into it with a clean slate I was still expecting a somewhat tame creepy movie so when I was greeted with body horror it was a huge shock to the system. Especially because I am the worst when it comes to blood and gore. I get so squeamish that I even struggled to watch moments involving injections or cutting their thumbs so to see these creatures made of purely blood and goop was not good for me. Thankfully being broke and not paying for an ad free subscription meant I sat through five sets of adverts which allowed me some time to decompress and collect myself. Thank god because I was 30 minutes in and feeling real queasy.

Clearly a large part of this will be detected to talking about the aliens more specifically so for now I want to mention other things. Like the huge question that still remains unanswered: what was the point of that facility?! The facility was gated and they had weapons readily available which made me think it was some kind of government official building but doing what I don't know. If I am to use my brain I am able to conclude it was likely a science facility where they were investigating Antarctica as that was what the other facility was doing but when the film first starts it doesn't seem they had any project they were working on besides fooling around. That is until the Swedish people came over and began this whole even in the first place so if they are supposed to be constructing some kind of investigation they don't seem to be doing a very good one, not that it seems to matter considering they were never able to get a call out. Still it counts as a question because if it weren't for this alien invasion takeover they'd still be playing pool and chess on a broken computer. That doesn't even cover how quickly they let in the husky. I am a dog lover too so really I am not one to shame but if you are some top security building why let in this random dog from who knows where so easily. Even if they did think it was their own would they not mention 'oh there you are' but they don't. They just seem a little too open if you ask me. Now onto what you came for.

As I said I have always been sensitive when watching media so this was quite difficult but at the same time it was so interesting to watch. Firstly the scene when they investigate the Swedish base and find the bead body- the way the blood had been frozen into icicles was chefs kiss. Was it simple? Yes. Was it revolutionary? No. Yet I thought it was low-key cool and it made me think how more horror films should be set in the cold. All I can picture is how cool it would be to have the final setting/ base of the killer or creature to be in a dark cave with dripping blood icicles. This is a similar sentiment I had in regards to the creatures themselves. Despite their gross appearance something about them was fascinating to me and I think that was because of the slight uniqueness that followed them. When the shapeshifters took their final form they never looked like a set creature in the same way that all werewolves look like wolves and all vampires have fangs. Oh course there were similarities and underlying factors they all had such as the long thin tendrils or thick intertwining arms but each one was different to the point I was never quite sure what I was looking at. That almost seemed like the point. Because they are shape shifters they are always changing and trying to absorb new data to fit in so it would make sense that the larger form underneath would be an amalgamation of messy body parts and blood to project that message of uncertainty. It's whole purpose is to copy and fit in so why wouldn't the underneath be a mess of body parts and slime as they attempt to recreate what they don't yet fully understand. Not to mention the way it opened up like a demagorgan with multiple sets of teeth. All of it is so squeamishly good.

Another thing I enjoyed about the film was Blair as a character. When I first saw Blair on screen I thought this is who was going to become my new favourite character. He first appeared and was experimenting the dead bodies which I hated because why are you pulling apart these poor people. Why did they bring them back I'll never understand, I just know that helecopter stunk on the way back. And then when he began pulling out the creatures insides I wanted to shut my computer and never return. Shout out to the surgeons who do shit like this all the time you have real nerves of steel thank you for your service. But after that he began to become one of the most understanding characters. He did it all to find answers which I suppose I am grateful for in the end and from it he was the one to realise how the shape shifting works, he was the one to start being suspicious of everyone else even if he didn't act on it and he was smart enough to destroy the communications that would keep it blocked inside. I loved how this character was asking questions to Clark about being around the dog to raise suspicion and got the ball moving at there being a chance the thing has moved on and began changing into someone else. He was also the one to really question what it would be like for wider society if this creature got out and began shifting into everyone else. Which can I just say was done in such a fun way. This is gonna make me sound really gen z but I forget how different computers were back then so seeing the little animation of how the creature would shift and transform was so fun. It also felt a little like it was simplifying it for the audience in case they weren't following which I also enjoyed as a dumbass.

Anyway, the use of having this moment again when he is already suspicious of someone else being a thing only to learn that even the computer agrees it's highly likely is so good. Then adding to that fear by saying it could spread and kill everyone was just perfect. In reaction Blair then goes on to get rid of all communication stations and transport as a way of trapping it to this environment as a way of saying if we sacrifice ourselves then no matter what happens it won't have a way to reach any farther. This was so smart on his behalf. See in my head I thought he was going to end up killing himself because right after learning this information we see him grab his gun and then hear he has locked himself in a room. Therefore I was reading into this as he is so afraid that he won't survive (plus it is going to be difficult to really denounce who the imposters are) that the easiest solution he could think of was removing himself from the equation. But that didn't happen or at least the action itself didn't but the self sacrifice still remained just in a different form. For this reason I truly believed he was going to become my favourite character and go on to be a badass leader in the final core group just for him to be locked in a cabin for the rest of the film. Such a let down for something I was so excited to see. Then there was the whole side mission Blair had where he started building a space ship. This is where it confused me because how did he have the ability to both find a secret exit, collect helicopter parts, have the knowledge to construct it and physically do it all without anyone knowing. Let's say he had the knowledge and strength from the fact he was turned into a thing, it still does not equal the time he had to do it considering it had only been a day or two.

Which is disappointing because the rest of the movie was surprisingly realistic. Now, I saw that in terms of a science fiction movie because the realism in this film revolves around the realistic nature of a shapeshifting killer alien. But in terms of character actions I was surprised to see a lot of understandable actions taking place. For example, the burning of the blood bags after they had been tampered with just in case any remains from the creature was left behind. A logical and safe decision. The same thing happened when the decision was made for everyone to eat out of their own separate tins with their own cutlery to ensure no cross contamination took place. Again, a very logical assumption to make that even I wasn't thinking of. I was too busy focusing on who was suspicious enough to kill that I didn't think about ways to stay alive. Ironic isn't it. Both of which dispelled the traditional horror movie trope in which characters seem determined to enter any situation that will clearly get themselves killed. Meanwhile in the thing the characters are making real world decisions based in knowledge which to me makes it all the more interesting and enjoyable to watch because I'm not forever yelling at the screen. Except for the time they just left Bennings to be absorbed by the monster. That was stupid they should have shot him first or something.

Finally the way it ended was so ambiguous I'm not sure if I enjoyed it or was mildly frustrated by it. I do wish it was a tad clearer but at the same time the way it ended with us never truly knowing if it was safe or not does give a small sample of the same suspense the characters would be feeling towards not knowing who was safe and who wasn't. That being said I do have my own opinion on what the ending means. I am currently under the impression there is no sequel in which the answer to what happened after is revealed so on that impression (you can correct me in the comments if there is a follow on) I choose to believe everyone died. One thing about me I enjoy media that is a touch dark or that isn't going to end on a happy note. On that thought my first prediction was that after the first thing was killed there was no one else that had been possessed/ absorbed and as a result they all ended up killing eachother out of paranoia when they did not need to. When that didn't happen I instead pivoted to the aliens killing everyone and taking over the world. An ending which I still believe based purely on a smile. At the end of the film after MacReady passed over the bottle and Childs drank it a somewhat evil smile grew on his face. So I think that after the explosion MacReady was absorbed and the thing shifted into him before spiking the bottle and passing it to the soul surviver Childs to turn him also. Meaning that at the end of the film I got my ending and no one survived.

Now this isn't exactly a hard assumption to come to, hell it may even be confirmed the truth. But I am not going and searching for ideas or answers after I watch these films. I am literally: watching the movie, making notes and then compiling them into a steam of consciousness until I run out of things to say. So if this seems obvious I don't care, kindly let me yap all I please and then comment below if you wish confirming or denying what I have wrote. On that note I will end the post here. I feel as though I wrote more positively on this than the others which were more so highlighting my confusion which is exactly the reason I rated it so highly. I can also see myself willingly watching this again if it weren't for the more gruesome scenes but that is all part of the genre so I won't mark it down for that reason. Tomorrow I will be watching and writing about M3gan to hopefully lighten this queasy mood I am still in.