The Thing

Name: The Thing
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery, Horror
Released: June 25, 1982
Duration: 109 min
Rating: 57
Cast: Keith David, Kurt Russell, Richard Masur, Wilford Brimley

1982

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 295 Ratings

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8.6

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8.6	Your Score
8.6	User Score Universal acclaim based on 295 Ratings

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The Thing (Blu-ray Trailer)

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Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date: June 25, 1982 | R

Starring: Keith David, Kurt Russell, Richard Masur, Wilford Brimley

Summary: A research facility in Antarctica comes across an alien force that can become anything it touches with 100% accuracy. The members must now find out who's human and who's not before it's too late.

Director: John Carpenter

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Mystery, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 109 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Guardian Dave Turner

The menace of the dark polar night and the claustrophobic confines of the base are utilised to raise the fear, tension and paranoia to unbearable heights. This is a creature that doesn't just hide in the dark, but could be your friend, your colleague, or the girl beside you whose hand you are breaking in a terrified vice-like grip. Read full review

100

Empire Adam Smith

The Thing is a peerless masterpiece of relentless suspense, retina-wrecking visual excess and outright, nihilistic terror, placing 12 men at an Antarctic station while a shapeshifter takes them over one by one. Read full review

100

Bud Simons

The Thing is paranoid, bleak, uncompromising, and thankfully devoid of a traditional Hollywood happy ending. Led by Russell, the ensemble cast is outstanding, but the real star of the film is Rob Bottin's imaginative creature effects. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

With its fades to blinding white and its atmosphere of testosterone-fueled paranoia, Carpenter's remake hews more closely to the source material — John W. Campbell, Jr.'s 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" — than THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD and is a masterful exercise in claustrophobic suspense. Read full review

Roger Ebert

The Thing is basically just a geek show, a gross-out movie in which teenagers can dare one another to watch the screen. There's nothing wrong with that; I like being scared and I was scared by many scenes in The Thing. But it seems clear that Carpenter made his choice early on to concentrate on the special effects and the technology and to allow the story and people to become secondary. Read full review

Gary Arnold

John Carpenter's remake of The Thing is a wretched excess. It's not that originals are too sacred to be reinterpreted. They're period pieces that would have to be tinkered with to appear contemporary. They've simply been unlucky with their tinkerers, who haven't spruced up the pretexts without laying waste to the accompanying human interest, wit and thematic suggestiveness. [25 June 1982, p.C3]

Vincent Canby

The Thing is too phony looking to be disgusting. It qualifies only as instant junk. Read full review

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User Reviews

spacebear1

Jan 2, 2018

John Carpenter's The Thing is probably my second favorite horror film of all time. I loved all of the characters and the suspense. I thought the cinematography as well. I absolutely loved the use of practical effects in this film. In the end, this is an amazing film and one of the best horror films.

7 of 7 users found this helpful70

NickTheCritick

Nov 22, 2022

The Thing, a living substance that atomic radiations have unearthed after millennia of silence under the eternal ice of Antarctica, attacks a group of scientists whose base is located in Alaska.
an indescribable film, it makes me shiver just to think about it. One of the best films inThe Thing, a living substance that atomic radiations have unearthed after millennia of silence under the eternal ice of Antarctica, attacks a group of scientists whose base is located in Alaska.
an indescribable film, it makes me shiver just to think about it. One of the best films in history directed by master John Carpenter.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Cloudybellonio

Apr 21, 2020

The film comstantly has you at the edge of your seat. You never know who's the thing upping the suspense. The gore is some of the greatest in film history and coolest imagery in film history. This film has some great characters who aren't idiots which is so hard to find in horror films andThe film comstantly has you at the edge of your seat. You never know who's the thing upping the suspense. The gore is some of the greatest in film history and coolest imagery in film history. This film has some great characters who aren't idiots which is so hard to find in horror films and lets be honest Kurt Russell is certified badass.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Deadlizard

Aug 5, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Thing is an unmitigated masterpiece. The building tension throughout the movie perfectly frames every paranoid action of our unlikely "hero's". MacCready is the perfect protagonist for the movie because his actions make the audience question his reliability. In a movie about people questioning each other's moves every step of way, making the main character untrustable is a perfect decision. The ending is truly amazing, as it leaves everything up to interpertation. The movie is tense, stressful, and captivating, and it is truly one of the best horror movies of all time.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

IntakeCinema

Jul 5, 2022

Absolutely legendary practical effects, they look amazing 40 years later and they will still look amazing 40 years from now.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

HellHoleHorror

Apr 16, 2022

The shots are perfect. The build suspense with their slow tracking and are perfectly planned with a great beginning and ending. This has to be one of the nicest shot films of this type. It started using the surround a lot but slowly became quite front-heavy. The sound was lacking in dynamicThe shots are perfect. The build suspense with their slow tracking and are perfectly planned with a great beginning and ending. This has to be one of the nicest shot films of this type. It started using the surround a lot but slowly became quite front-heavy. The sound was lacking in dynamic range and sounded eighties in the technical quality. The music was mostly really good but occasionally a bit dated. Dialogue was perfect except afore-mentioned technical problems. This is the definition of paranoid suspense horror. It builds on an idea into terror with perfect film-crafting. The acting is amazing and each character is distinct. The special effects are real and harrowing. Some scenes are so intense that it is almost impossible to take! A near-perfect horror that transcends its b-movie roots.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

amheretojudge

Jul 4, 2018

an annihilated breach with an "in and out" agenda..

The Thing 2 And A Half Out Of 5 The Thing is plot driven horror feature that is more blame game than poetic as it aspires to be. The concept isn't as smart as the makers think and the scrutiny isn't loud enough to bang its way out of thean annihilated breach with an "in and out" agenda..

The Thing 2 And A Half Out Of 5

The Thing is plot driven horror feature that is more blame game than poetic as it aspires to be. The concept isn't as smart as the makers think and the scrutiny isn't loud enough to bang its way out of the screen; it stays with you but maybe you don't want to keep it. It is short on technical aspects like background score, art design, visual effects, sound department and editing. The writing is weak on terms of creativity for it completely relies upon its concept and never even attempts to outgrow it which fades away its specific chareacteristics after the first act. The screenplay by Bill Lancaster is gripping if not smart, for it contains all the essential ingredients that a mandatory commercial cinema does, to draw in most of the attention from the audience. John Carpenter; the director, is not in his A game as he lacks better execution skills or maybe isn't focused on the vision that is aspired to set and is enjoying a bit much of it to breed sincerity. There isn't much range offered to any of the star cast to factor in effectively on terms of performance although Kurt Russell is giving all he can from the allotted part. The Thing is an annihilated breach with an "in and out" agenda that is similar to its characters; one-dimensional.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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