Any other "Thing" fans out there?

[HappyPenguins]

How many others are fans of JC's The Thing? Also, how many of you are looking forward to the upcoming prequel? I've heard a lot of news about it and the director is definitely a fan of JC's film and seems to be very dedicated to keeping the same tone, even limiting usage of CGI for creature effects.

It wasn't supposed to be released till April of 2011, now I've heard its been pushed back to October of 2011.

As much as I believe a prequel isn't needed, I'm still going to see it, just out of curiosity.

So yeah this thread is for discussion of JC's film or the prequel.

I've only been a fan of the movie for about six years, but that was because I had been too afraid to watch it when I was younger, now that I have, I'm glad I did. It's definitely one of John Carpenter's best films. Even though I am a hardcore fan, I will admit that the movie isn't perfect. There are things (no pun intended) that could have been done better, especially the ending and the handling of Fuch's death. What I personally like about the film is the amount of questions it leaves you asking. Especially the whole keeping you in suspense over who could be the thing scenario, cause its always the person you least suspect. I mean did anyone suspect Norris or Palmer? I sure didn't.

There's also a lot that can be asked, but still no definite answer, only those based on personal speculation. Such as who's shadow was on the wall of the room the dog walked into?, Who got to the blood?, What really happened to Fuchs?, At what point did Blair become the thing? The list of questions goes on.

There's really not many movies like this anymore, which is a shame. It's also too bad the movie wasn't a box office hit, but I've heard that was because of the level of gore. The special effects were way ahead of their time for a horror film in 1982. Rob Bottin was amazing though, gotta give him that. Also the creature designs were amazing, right up there with Giger's Alien in my opinion.

So "Thing" fans speak up =]

Notice Blair isn't in this picture =O

[taksraven]

Love the JC original (yeah yeah, I know its a remake) film (thats a great pic BTW), but I am NOT looking forward to the new one.

Taksraven

[EXO]

I'm a huge Rob Bottin fan. I think his design of the Darkness from Legend is one of the best on the film. There's an interview on Ain't it cool where the director praises the hell out of Bottin, and mentions that a lot of the effects will be handled physically instead of CG, which is good news. I'm still skeptical on how it'll be though but I'm interested in seeing it. It doesn't need a prequel IMO. I think a lot of it holds up and is actually better than most horror movies today.

I was watching it the other day and I thought it was funny that Mac outlasts Windows...

[taksraven]

And the thing is, even though it is a prequel, how true will it hold to the events that we know take place at the Sweden base? I'm betting nor very.

Taksraven

[myk]

Loved the movie, saw it as a kid and it was probably the first movie to make me think about "what else is out there," in regards to the universe and definitely outside of my catholic upbringing.

Prequel though, huh? What-are we going to follow the original team members as they fumble about in other parts of the world before they head to the base? You'd figure they're going to at least show the origins of the Thing.

This movie also scared the s**t out of me. For many years after I saw it, I could not-WOULD NOT be alone in a room with someone, lol. I remember having nightmares where the entire planet was infected and I was on the run. Know what, now that I think of it, I still feel that way ha ha.

Did any of you guys ever play the Thing game? I played it on the PC back in, oh I dunno, '03 I think? I remember playing it in the dark, the sound turned up and literally shaking at the keyboard, lol.

In regards to some of the loose threads you brought up OP, I think that the infected dog went into Norris' room, and that's his shadow you see. I'm obviously guessing, but the shadow matches Norris' profile-at least it does to me, anyway. In regards to Blair, I remember screaming at the t.v. when they put him into confinement-the worst thing you could do with a shapeshifting monster running loose. You'd think he became infected while he was locked up in that shed BUT.........he was in full contact with the Thing well before he went bonkers. I would theorize that he was infected very early on, but the Blair-Thing was crafty and acted human until he was locked up. There, with the rest of the team thinking Blair was under control, the Blair-Thing was free to plot, sneak about and start construction on that wanna-be UFO. As for the rest of the unanswered questions, I think JC intentionally crafted the movie that way, so that decades later, people like us could sit around and have fun toying with potential answers. Thanks for bringing this up, JC's Thing is easily one of my personal favorites of all time...

I was watching it the other day and I thought it was funny that Mac outlasts Windows...

Ha ha, that's 'sig worthy material right there...

Edited December 8, 2010 by myk

[Graham]

Loved JC's The Thing.

Fantastic movie, they really don't make em' like that any more.

Graham

[mustang1]

I absolutely loved this movie! Also, I loved the fact that it had so many questions left unanswered. finally, I especially liked the ending, it really held true to the original message at the end accept without dialog.

" let's just sit here awhile...see what happens" Classic.

[reddsun1]

I can't remember (and I'm too lazy to find the original thread/posts on this movie) though: will J. Carpenter have anything to do with this upcoming movie?

Meh, doesn't matter; I still say it's going to SUCK. They need to leave this one alone.

[HappyPenguins]

Love the JC original (yeah yeah, I know its a remake) film (thats a great pic BTW), but I am NOT looking forward to the new one.

Taksraven

yeah that pic is awesome, would love to have it blown up and posted on my wall =]

not sure if a larger version exists though

I was watching it the other day and I thought it was funny that Mac outlasts Windows...

LOL never thought of that before, but yeah that is funny =P

I can't remember (and I'm too lazy to find the original thread/posts on this movie) though: will J. Carpenter have anything to do with this upcoming movie?

Meh, doesn't matter; I still say it's going to SUCK. They need to leave this one alone.

As far as I know Carpenter has nothing to do with the prequel, but I do know that Matthijs van Heijningen has been studying JC's film like mad trying to get all the details of the Norg camp right. This is his first film by the way.

links to info on the prequel

http://thefilmstage.com/2010/04/07/first-look-ralph-fiennes-coriolanus-and-the-thing-prequel/

http://io9.com/5524998/what-sick-john-carpenter-moments-will-the-thing-prequel-explain

http://io9.com/5654684/first-inside-look-at-the-thing-prequel-shows-why-it-may-be-awesome-after-all

http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/10/29/kultur/film/hollywood/jorgen_langhelle/trond_espen_seim/14030306/

http://io9.com/5675952/all-the-john-carpenter-easter-eggs-in-the-things-prequel

http://www.aintitcool.com/?q=node/47389

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-captured/posts/exclusive-details-on-upcoming-additional-photography-for-the-thing

Edited December 8, 2010 by HappyPenguins

[EXO]

I honestly don't care if JC has anything to do with the prequel. I just stopped being a fan of his a long time ago. Didn't anyone see Escape from L.A.?

[Keith]

I don't know what you're talking about, Escape From LA was freakin' awesome. Pliskin' disabling all technology & walking away FTW!

[Gubaba]

I honestly don't care if JC has anything to do with the prequel. I just stopped being a fan of his a long time ago. Didn't anyone see Escape from L.A.?

Well...Carpenter's always been an oddball director, straddling the line between b-movie schlockmeister and auteur. It should be no surprise that the mix misses more often than it hits, and that even his fans remain divided on which of his films "work" and which don't.

As for The Thing, I like it, but I don't love it. Roger Ebert in his review pointed out two flaws that nearly ruin the film for me: first, the scripts reliance on stereotypes for the characters, and second, the characters' sometimes dumb behavior (RULE #1: FORM A BUDDY SYSTEM, GUYS! DON'T LET ANYONE WANDER OFF ALONE!).

The movie manages to slide by on creepy atmosphere and the horror of the Thing itself. Really, one of the best monsters ever.

And uh...I ended up assuming that BOTH of the "survivors" were replaced by the alien, and that the world was pretty much doomed. But that may be because later, Carpenter called the film the first installment in his "Apocalypse Trilogy"...and the using word "Apocalypse" kinda spells it out for ya.

Edited December 9, 2010 by Gubaba

[Vepariga]

always loved the thing. I'll hold judgment on this new prequel after I see a trailer,but in all seriousness its one film that never needed to have a new installment at all.

[myk]

I don't know what you're talking about, Escape From LA was freakin' awesome. Pliskin' disabling all technology & walking away FTW!

............Don't forget the surfing. The surfing with the super-fake wave background, like something out of a 60's surfing safari movie...

[taksraven]

Notice Blair isn't in this picture =O

He's taking the picture, dude...... :P

Taksraven

[Warmaker]

It's going to be hard to top the last effort. Good luck with it!

[HappyPenguins]

He's taking the picture, dude...... :P

Taksraven

lol, mystery is solved!

Still want that image as a poster, I should start looking around

Also while I'm thinking of it, did anyone read the novel adaption? I've heard it handled some things better, like the end for example. I plan on buying it soon, definitely a must read for my list.

Edited December 10, 2010 by HappyPenguins

[myk]

lol, mystery is solved!

Still want that image as a poster, I should start looking around

Also while I'm thinking of it, did anyone read the novel adaption? I've heard it handled some things better, like the end for example. I plan on buying it soon, definitely a must read for my list.

There's a novel? Thanks for tipping me off to it. I can't wait to see how much more detail is in the story...

[HappyPenguins]

There's a novel? Thanks for tipping me off to it. I can't wait to see how much more detail is in the story...

yes there is, here's the link on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thing-Novel-Alan-Dean-Foster/dp/0553204777/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IKW1R5ZXRMF99&colid=10ZLOCLLCFGP9

Also, when you first saw the movie, who did you suspect of being infected?

I never suspected Palmer that's for sure. Hell during the blood test scene, I thought

Windows was looking very suspicious. I didn't even think Norris was infected either, so the

thing was very clever when it came to hiding itself, that was until the heart attack and blood test, but then it really had no other choice.

On another forum someone brought up the fact that maybe the thing felt threatened by the defibrillator and that's why it attacked Copper.

[HappyPenguins]

Does anyone have the figures?

This one is awesome

Also

I'd like it if they would make the entire cast into figures =]

[EXO]

Lol. As much as I love the movie, I can't have those things staring at me all day long.

[myk]

yes there is, here's the link on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thing-Novel-Alan-Dean-Foster/dp/0553204777/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IKW1R5ZXRMF99&colid=10ZLOCLLCFGP9

Also, when you first saw the movie, who did you suspect of being infected?

I never suspected Palmer that's for sure. Hell during the blood test scene, I thought

Windows was looking very suspicious. I didn't even think Norris was infected either, so the

thing was very clever when it came to hiding itself, that was until the heart attack and blood test, but then it really had no other choice.

On another forum someone brought up the fact that maybe the thing felt threatened by the defibrillator and that's why it attacked Copper.

I remember I was so freaking scared watching the movie I couldn't think straight, let alone try and figure out who may have been infected. Hey, I was like 10 or something, lol. In retrospect, I could just as easily say that no character truly stood out behaviorally to indicate that they were infected-results of JC's directive genius, no doubt. I didn't expect Norris to be infected either but I believe he was probably one of the first to be infected, since I contend that it was Norris in the room that the infected dog first went into.

As for the de-fib scene, I figured that the extreme electric shock frightened or harmed the Thing so it did what it had to do.

In regards to those figures? Jeez talk about horrifying. I remember Electronics Boutique had the Thing game on pre-order; if you ordered it you got a Blair-Thing figurine for free. When I went to pick the game up I told the guys there that I didn't want the Blair-Thing, because the figure looked to damn unnerving, lol...

[electric indigo]

I remember that the "who is infected" tension creeped me out more than the actual monsters, who were too over-the-top for my taste. But I found the dissected stuff at the deserted station very disturbing. Great designs.

[HappyPenguins]

*reviving for an interesting discussion*

What was the thing? Evolutionary based or a biological weapon?

this should spark some interesting ideas

At the beginning of the film it's a complete mystery as to whether the thing was piloting the UFO, then crashed, or it assimilated the alien crew and then crashed. JC never really gave us an answer ,and pretty much just left it up to our imaginations, but again what do you think happened?

[Max Jenius]

Love this movie.

The prequel should also depict the origins of Macready's Hat.

[myk]

*reviving for an interesting discussion*

What was the thing? Evolutionary based or a biological weapon?

this should spark some interesting ideas

At the beginning of the film it's a complete mystery as to whether the thing was piloting the UFO, then crashed, or it assimilated the alien crew and then crashed. JC never really gave us an answer ,and pretty much just left it up to our imaginations, but again what do you think happened?

I don't know why, but I had the idea that the Thing was imprisoned or otherwise contained in that UFO; it just happened to be Earth's rotten luck that the Thing crashed on the planet. I would assume that the Thing is, more or less, a "simple" organism that had the ability to mimic other forms, but was somehow coaxed into adopting more sophisticated forms, maybe due to biological weapons programs by an alien race somewhere. I know this is all conjecture, but it's fun nevertheless...

[taksraven]

lol, mystery is solved!

Still want that image as a poster, I should start looking around

Also while I'm thinking of it, did anyone read the novel adaption? I've heard it handled some things better, like the end for example. I plan on buying it soon, definitely a must read for my list.

The novelisation is pretty good. Alan Dean Foster. 'Nuff said. As usual he was clearly working from a script rather than the finished film itself, so some parts are fairly different. But its a great read. Back in the 70's-80's it was often a lot of fun to read the adaptations of Sci-Fi features, but these days with DVD's etc they are no longer required.

Taksraven

[myk]

I actually liked the way the movie ended-leaving more questions than answers, which was sort of how the entire movie worked anyway. Was either Chiles or 'Mac infected? Did they survive? Did any other organisms survive? You gotta love it...

[HappyPenguins]

I actually liked the way the movie ended-leaving more questions than answers, which was sort of how the entire movie worked anyway. Was either Chiles or 'Mac infected? Did they survive? Did any other organisms survive? You gotta love it...

I've heard some fans talking about the idea that both of them were infected at the end. There is also that comic which acted as a sequel, and in it Childs ended up being infected and went after Macready. I'm sure that comic isn't cannon either. I don't know how Childs could have gotten infected in the first place, but the Blair thing was quick on Nauls and Garry so I'm not ruling it out. But I don't think either of them were infected at the end and like Mac said neither of them were in shape to do anything about it, meaning they were both going to freeze to death after the fires died.

There was also an alternate ending which showed a dog running away from the outpost, then looking back. That leaves more questions too. If that had been the original ending, would it mean that the thing turned back into a dog and made its escape?

[myk]

There was also an alternate ending which showed a dog running away from the outpost, then looking back. That leaves more questions too. If that had been the original ending, would it mean that the thing turned back into a dog and made its escape?

You know I've actually seen that alternate ending-they used to show it whenever the movie was aired on t.v. Every copy of the movie that I've rented or purchased, whether it was on VHS, DVD, blu-ray or whatever, does NOT have the scene with the dog running in the end, with a narrarator talking about possibilities. You know they're trying to say that the THING survived with that scene.

Speaking of alternate, non-canon storylines, did you ever play the THING video game? In it, Chiles is found dead, and in the end a helicopter flies in to rescue you-when you get on board the pilot introduces himself as "MACREADY..." I s**t in my pants when Mac's voice, sampled right out of the movie, introduces himself to you, because you know his having survived can't be right, lol...

[taksraven]

I actually liked the way the movie ended-leaving more questions than answers, which was sort of how the entire movie worked anyway. Was either Chiles or 'Mac infected? Did they survive? Did any other organisms survive? You gotta love it...

Yeah, it was a great ending. So up in the air, beautiful.

More movies need to end like that, instead of the cookie-cutter "The good guys win".

[HappyPenguins]

You know I've actually seen that alternate ending-they used to show it whenever the movie was aired on t.v. Every copy of the movie that I've rented or purchased, whether it was on VHS, DVD, blu-ray or whatever, does NOT have the scene with the dog running in the end, with a narrarator talking about possibilities. You know they're trying to say that the THING survived with that scene.

Speaking of alternate, non-canon storylines, did you ever play the THING video game? In it, Chiles is found dead, and in the end a helicopter flies in to rescue you-when you get on board the pilot introduces himself as "MACREADY..." I s**t in my pants when Mac's voice, sampled right out of the movie, introduces himself to you, because you know his having survived can't be right, lol...

Yes I played the game I thought it made an awesome sequel to the movie as well. I was also shocked that Mac survived and Childs didn't. That definitely made things more suspicious

Also Merry Christmas

if you haven't seen this already you must

Edited December 25, 2010 by HappyPenguins

[myk]

ZOMG! That was hilarious! I love the "helicopter" and the three or four different Keith David/Childs, lol. Parody or not though, the kennel scene still remains horrifying...

[Kanedas Bike]

I actually liked the way the movie ended-leaving more questions than answers, which was sort of how the entire movie worked anyway. Was either Chiles or 'Mac infected? Did they survive? Did any other organisms survive? You gotta love it...

Yeah, it was a great ending. So up in the air, beautiful.

More movies need to end like that, instead of the cookie-cutter "The good guys win".

That's how Carpenter left most of this movies, they all ended with a sort of ambiguity that either sets the story up for a continuation or allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions about how everything ended.

And after all this time John Carpenter's The Thing is still one of my all time favorite horror/science fiction films. Hell I like most of the stuff he did in the late 70's and 80's - Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, Prince of Darkness - I even liked Ghosts of Mars .

Probably like most I have mixed feelings about the prequel but I am curious to see how it turns out.

-b.

[HappyPenguins]

I'm hoping the prequel can stand on its own and still deliver the same tone JC's film did.

anyways, here's some awesome production stills I came across

enjoy!