History Film / TheThing1982

* GunsAreUseless: As MacReady observes, even a shotgun blast barely slows the Thing down, because it can so rapidly heal and reassemble damaged tissues and organs. Burning it is the only sure way to kill it.

* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: In the original story "Literature/WhoGoesThere", the story ends [[spoiler:at the cabin where they locked up Blair when the last three survivors discover the half-finished spaceship and kill the Blair-Thing]]. The movie [[spoiler:includes this final confrontation too, but afterwards is far more ambiguous with two survivors of whom one [[TomatoInTheMirror or both]] may be another Thing.]]
* AdaptationalVillainy: While they didn't become villains of their own free will, [[spoiler:Bennings and Norris]] are absorbed by the title creature and become alien agents. In ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'', they were never assimilated and remain human throughout the story. [[spoiler: In particular, the scene where Thing Norris kills Dr. Copper is absent, and Copper survives, too, Norris in particular remaining a useful ally in exposing and defeating the alien. While Bennings's fate is a little more ambiguous, he isn't listed by Copper at the end as one of the casualties, heavily suggesting he survived.]]

* AmbiguousEnding: By the end of the film the characters have lost so much it isn't worth it to be paranoid anymore. [[spoiler: On the plus side, the Thing is dead. Probably. Maybe. On the downside, [[KillEmAll Mac and Childs definitely soon will be, too.]] Both men decide that it's worth it if they both die, just so the Thing can have no hosts to mimic, and to assure the other that they're not the Thing (for which there is potential evidence to support every theory about which, if either, is infected). This is the ''good'' ending. Creator/JohnCarpenter felt it was inspiring that each of the survivors were willing to give their lives to save the rest of the world.]]

** The film is almost literally one situation after another full of plot threads that are never fully resolved and left to the viewer's interpretation. Who got to the blood? What happened to [[spoiler: Fuchs and Nauls]], when were [[spoiler:Palmer, Norris, and Blair]] infected? Are [[spoiler: Mac and Childs]] infected or are they still human? To this day fans still debate on these questions and more.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: One of the Norwegians clearly decided this, as the Americans find him with his wrists slit. [[spoiler: It's possible that Fuchs immolated himself rather than be assimilated, since the Thing would gain no benefit in killing him.]]

** [[spoiler: Inverted - there are two black characters, one of whom is the ''last'' to (probably) die, with the other (probably) surviving the entire film!]]

* BrainFood: Once its face is done melting, the [[spoiler: Palmer]]-Thing's head splits in two to reveal a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth and a long tongue, the latter of which wraps around [[spoiler: Windows']] neck and reels him in before the jaws clamp shut. The Thing manages to hold him in there for a full thirty seconds as [=MacReady=] fiddles with the flamethrower. Eventually [[spoiler: Windows]] is released, but since he got infected and his face was horribly maimed [[spoiler:Mac had no choice but to torch him.]]
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:The characters are able to make a stand against the monster, but by the time they're done all but two are dead, and the survivors are likely to freeze to death. It's also not entirely clear if they actually succeeded in destroying the Thing or if they've only temporarily contained it, and there is a faint possibility one of the two survivors could be a Thing]]. To make things even darker there's an alternate ending where [[spoiler: a dog is seen running away from the ruins of the camp, implying that the Thing escaped, and [=MacReady's=] efforts were for nothing]].

* ChessMotifs: [=MacReady=] destroying the chess computer by pouring whiskey into it mirrors the metaphorical game of chess played through the rest of the movie, and how he will destroy the game, or [[spoiler: burn down the entire facility]], to prevent his opponent from winning. Notice how in the end, [[spoiler: he hands Childs a drink -- and then laughs when Childs doesn't refuse it]]?

* TheCorpseStopsHere: Although for once this is actually a rather sensible policy, given that the "corpse" is a really contagious alien organism. Clark becomes prime suspect #1 due to his creepy behavior and prolonged exposure to the infected dogs. [[spoiler: Funnily enough, after [=MacReady=] kills him in self-defense it turns out he was human all along.]]

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Assimilation by a Thing counts as this by default. In addition to that, [[spoiler: Windows]] is ''brutally'' mauled by one of the Things (and then set on fire for good measure), [[spoiler: Copper]] bleeds to death after having his forearms bitten off, [[spoiler: Garry]] gets a Thing arm down the throat and is dragged around by the [[spoiler: Blair]]-Thing as additional biomass for a OneWingedAngel transformation [[spoiler: which also happened to Nauls in a more graphic way in a deleted scene]], and [[spoiler: Fuchs]] is implied to have set himself on fire to avoid assimilation.

* DeathByPragmatism: Since even the audience doesn't know who's been assimilated already, it's difficult to say whether this trope is or is not in effect for [[spoiler: Blair, who flips out at the beginning of the film]]. It may be that he [[spoiler:destroys the radio and vehicles, and kills the surviving dogs]] to stop the Thing from using them, or it may be that the Thing does all that in his shape to stop the others from escaping. His shirt changes for that scene from the last time he was onscreen.

* DissonantSerenity: [[spoiler: Palmer]] during the blood test, an early giveaway for attentive viewers that he's infected.

* DownerEnding: In some versions edited for broadcast on TNT/TBS, an alternate ending is included that is much grimmer than the original cut. After fading to black on the [[spoiler: burning camp, the camera fades up again on a husky running across the Antarctic landscape. So not only is everyone dead but the Thing definitely survived.]] [[http://youtu.be/2Xu2cFljkPw?t=3m32s Can be seen here.]] Blair did say earlier that a dog couldn't make it very far, so there may be hope yet.

** [[spoiler: Bennings gets killed and assimilated by the NotQuiteDead remains of the Dog-Thing before being burned by [=MacReady=].]]
** [[spoiler: Fuchs immolates himself so that the Thing can't assimilate him.]]
** [[spoiler: Norris has a heart attack, but he is outed as a Thing during the failed defibrillation.]]
** [[spoiler: Copper bleeds to death after his forearms get bitten off by the Norris-Thing.]]
** [[spoiler: Clark gets shot dead by [=MacReady=] after he tries to attack him.]]
** [[spoiler: Palmer is outed as a Thing after the blood test goes awry and gets burned alive and dynamited for good measure.]]
** [[spoiler: Windows is viciously maimed by the Palmer-Thing and is torched out of mercy.]]
** [[spoiler: Garry asphyxiates after an infected Blair shoves his hand down his throat.]]
** [[spoiler: Nauls disappears in the underground cave and is presumed dead.]]
** [[spoiler: Blair is blown up by [=MacReady=] after fully transforming into The Thing.]]

* EatenAlive: In a strange but very real way, once the Thing gets ahold of you, it devours you from the ''inside out'' and leaves a perfect-looking copy of you, ready to explode into a monster at any time. This is ''especially'' apparent with the Dog-Thing, as one of the dogs is obviously being ''digested alive'' by the malformed Dog-Thing, whining piteously in pain. This was [[spoiler: also Nauls' fate in a deleted scene.]]

** The eyes of the [[spoiler: Palmer]]-Thing swell up with blood before bursting.

* FinalBoss: The [[spoiler: Blair]]-Thing. [[spoiler: It basically was the combination of Blair, Garry, Clark's body, and presumably, all the rest of the living-Thing biomass on the base, mashed together to fight as one.]]

* FireKeepsItDead: A person killed by a Thing will become one unless their body is destroyed by fire. After [[spoiler: Windows]] was killed by the [[spoiler: Palmer]]-Thing, [=MacReady=] had to burn him with a flamethrower. [[spoiler:Unfortunately the bodies at the Norwegian camp were burned too hastily, so there are still active cells that can infect others.]]

** During the blood test, the only one who's not looking at [=MacReady=] is [[spoiler: Palmer.]] Instead, he's looking down with a resigned, almost rueful expression on his face, like "Damn, I guess the game is up."
** There’s a saying that the guilty get sad and the innocent get angry when accused of something. [[spoiler: Garry]] is the person seen as most likely to be a Thing because of the sabotaged blood, and so his test is left until last. Right before he is tested, [[spoiler: Garry]] is glaring at the guys. [[spoiler: He’s human, and yells at them afterwards to untie him from the couch.]]

** [=MacReady's=] reaction to the [[FreezeFrameBonus cheating chess game]] foreshadows the ending: [[spoiler: In the end, it seems like The Thing will inevitably win, but [=MacReady=], Childs, and Nauls pay the ultimate price to stop it, destroying the entire base in the process.]]
** When [[spoiler: Windows]] freaks out and runs for a firearm and the others chase after him, pay close attention to who is positioned where during the confrontation. [[spoiler: Norris and Palmer - the only two present who are infected - are standing off to the side with Fuchs. ''They were subtly trying to isolate Fuchs while the rest of the group was distracted''.]] And though he's out of focus in the background, look at where [[spoiler: Palmer is staring: ''directly at Fuchs''.]]

** Before the blood test, when [=MacReady=] has everyone tied, including [[spoiler: Copper and Clark]], [[spoiler: Palmer]] protests that it is unnecessary as they are already dead. At first it may pass for an understandable reaction to the absurdity of what's happening, but [[spoiler: it's established that the Thing can attack even after its human form is appearently dead.It would be in the Thing's interest to take everyone's attention away from that.]]
** During the blood test, [[spoiler: Palmer]] is the only one who doesn't visibly seem upset or agitated. More significantly, while Mac is potentially getting ready to set any of them on fire, ''he's not even looking at [=MacReady=].''

* FreezeFrameBonus: If you pause the scene where [[spoiler: Palmer's]] blood leaps out the petri dish, you can see in response to the test, the ''blood grew fangs, eyes and claws.''

** In one interpretation, the Thing becomes a perfect copy of the original organism, even its flaws. This would mean that [[spoiler: Norris' weak heart condition was transferred into the Thing, causing it to have a heart attack. However, it's possible that Norris' heart stopped beating ''because'' he was being taken over, and the process was completed as he lay inert]].

* HardToLightFire: When [=MacReady=]'s blood test reveals that [[spoiler: Palmer]] is a Thing, he attempts to burn it with the flamethrower. However, the flamethrower malfunctions, and by the time [=MacReady=] can finally get the fire running, [[spoiler:Thing!Palmer]] had already eaten [[spoiler:Windows]].

** The blood test scene where [=MacReady=] casually puts a heated wire to a tray of [[spoiler: Palmer's]] blood and the blood explodes with a hideous screeching sound. It should be hilarious but it's horrifying.

** [[spoiler: [=MacReady=], Childs, Nauls, and Garry decide to destroy the camp and themselves with it to prevent the alien infection from spreading to the rest of the world.]]
--->[[spoiler: "Whether we make it or not, we can't let that thing freeze again. Maybe we'll just warm things up around here. We're not getting out of here alive... but neither is that thing."]]
** Also {{implied}} with [[spoiler: Fuchs]], who is found as a charred corpse. There was no reason for the Thing to kill him off instead of assimilating him, so it's safe to assume that he did it to himself in order to avoid being assimilated and thus being used to assimilate the rest.

** Special notice should go to Nauls at the end of the film, who walks towards a moving form ([[spoiler:the Blair-Thing pulling Garry's body]]) without telling [=MacReady=], who's literally 3 or so feet away from him at the time. [[spoiler: We never see Nauls again]].
** Additionally, when Fuchs looks out the window of his lab, he sees the shadow of a figure run by. Knowing full well that the Thing is loose in one or more imitations, he goes outside alone and unarmed to investigate. [[spoiler: It ends with the charred remains of Fuchs being found outside by [=MacReady=] and Nauls sometime later]]

** During its initial appearances, the Thing only makes incoherent animal noises and appears to be driven by simple instinct, but it soon becomes apparent that it's highly intelligent. Granted, this was already strongly implied by the spaceship (assuming the spacefarers weren't its victims, too), but that doesn't change how unnerving it is when the [[spoiler: ruined blood samples]] make it clear just ''how'' intelligent it is.

** [[spoiler: When Palmer-Thing gets exposed by the blood test, it doesn't attack Garry who is sitting right next to it and is utterly terrified for that very reason. It notices that [=MacReady'=]s flamethrower isn't in working order just yet. It instead struggles to work itself free to attack the one character who was a threat to it, Windows who did have a working flamethrower. Too bad he panicked instead of pulling the trigger.]]

* JerkassHasAPoint: By smashing up all the equipment, Blair essentially trapped everyone there, but he had recognized the danger of allowing the Thing access to the outside world, a concept which the others would soon pick up on. [[spoiler: Of course, he might have been taken over by this point anyway]].

** Let's not forget the scene where the lights go out. Fuchs takes out a flare, and [[spoiler: ''a shadowy figure suddenly slips across the room quickly with a horrific noise so unnerving that no words in the English language'' (or ANY language, for that matter) ''can describe what it sounds like.'']]
** [[spoiler: Blair suddenly popping out from behind Garry, to a loud soundtrack chord, before slamming his hand over Garry's mouth and beginning the assimilation process in the span of about five seconds, before poor Garry can utter a single word.]]

** In another scene, after finally killing the [[spoiler: Bennings]]-Thing, they bulldoze snow around it to form a pit, pour kerosene on it, and take several minutes to make sure it's completely burned, down to the last cells.

** When Mac visits the imprisoned, oddly much calmer Blair, [[spoiler: a noose is hanging from the rafters. Neither character comments on it.]]

* NotHisSled: The effect isn't tremendous because ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'' isn't that well known, but everyone who was the Thing in the original short story [[spoiler: turns out to be human in the film]], with the exception of [[spoiler: Blair]].

** During Blair's autopsy of the corpse found in the Norwegian base, he recovers several organs from it. [[spoiler: They're all apparently human. The camera lingers on the distinctly inhuman corpse afterward.]]
** [[spoiler: Bennings]]'s infection is telegraphed in one of the subtlest yet creepiest methods possible. After the remains of the Dog-Thing have been destroyed, he and Windows carry the corpse from the Norwegians' camp into a storage room. Windows then leaves him alone in the room with the corpse (covered by a sheet) with his back to it, and nothing happens for several seconds...then something ''moves'' under the sheet.

** Windows gets several of these -- when he realizes whoever got to the blood did so by retrieving the keys to the fridge that ''he'' dropped, and when he sees [[spoiler: Bennings being assimilated]], and when [[spoiler: the Palmer-Thing drops down from the ceiling in front of him]].
** Everyone during the failed [[spoiler: defib scene]]. Especially Palmer, who has that one great line.

** The look on Mac's face when Fuchs, reading from Blair's journal, tells him that [[spoiler: there's still cellular activity within the burnt remains of the Thing, and it's not dead yet.]]

* ProperlyParanoid: Though played straight for most of the film, it's horrifically subverted in the case of Clark. He seems to be the most likely candidate for being infected as he was alone with the initial Thing for quite some time, and doesn't have an alibi for most of the cases of sabotage that one or more infected has been behind. In the end, it's later proven that he wasn't one of the infected... [[spoiler: after [=MacReady=] has already shot him through the skull.]] Childs makes sure to point out that [=MacReady=] [[WhatTheHellHero screwed up royally]] in that respect. (Although, in fairness to [=MacReady=], Clark did try to attack him.)

* RedHerringMole: [[spoiler: All the characters set up to be The Thing turn out to be human. In fact, in the end it turns out that only 3 characters (Palmer, Norris and Blair) had been infected. [[ParanoiaFuel That we know of for certain, that is...]]]]

* RewatchBonus: Many. A good one is during the blood test, where [[spoiler: Palmer]] has a curiously calm, almost ''resigned'' expression on his face like "Well, shit. Here goes."

** For what it's worth, the [[Videogame/TheThing video game sequel]] and the [[Comicbook/TheThingFromAnotherWorld comic book sequels]] provide contradictory answers. In the game, [[spoiler:Childs isn't because he froze to death shortly after the film ended, but it's still ambiguous if [=MacReady=] is.]] In the comic, [[spoiler: neither is a Thing at the end of the film, but Childs gets infected over the course of the comic.]]
* ScareChord: The Thing seems to be capable of making its own, a high-pitched, short, inhuman wail, heard when [[spoiler: Fuchs sees the shadowy figure after the lights go out]] and when [[spoiler: Blair appears behind Garry in the basement before giving him his FacePalmOfDoom.]]

* ShellShockedVeteran: According to WordOfGod, [=MacReady=] is meant to be a former military helicopter pilot who served in Vietnam and survived a terrible tragedy. This serves as a catalyst for why he adapts fairly well to the horror of the situation and doesn’t hesitate to shoot [[spoiler: Clark]] after he tries to attack him.
* ShockAndAwe: Sufficient voltage can cause a Thing to lash out instinctively (this is how [[spoiler: Norris]] is outed as a Thing during the [[spoiler: defib scene]]).

* SoreLoser: When we meet [=MacReady=], he loses a game of chess to the computer, accuses it of being a "cheating bitch", and then pours whiskey into the CPU. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment [=MacReady's=] character will destroy the game rather than lose to it]] -- which is what he does at the end of the movie, [[spoiler: burning down the camp in order to deny the Thing victory]]. This was noted in an article in ''Script'' magazine.

* StatingTheSimpleSolution: As they're putting the Split-Faced Thing into the storage room, Windows says that they should [[KillItWithFire just burn them.]] Bennings ignores this, saying that it could get someone a Nobel. After this, he's left alone with said Thing. [[spoiler: He pays for it dearly.]]

* TomatoInTheMirror: Discussed. The survivors wonder, if the Thing perfectly mimics who it copies, does ''it'' even know it's a fake? The novella claims it does, absorbing the memories and personality of the Thing, and Carpenter in the commentary says that if it did, it wouldn't matter -- it'd use their personality to react accordingly. Given that the Thing-imitations take several actions to frame unassimilated humans, and one of them is [[spoiler: secretly building a craft to attempt to escape]], it seems probable that they know what they are.\\

The actor playing [[spoiler: Norris]] mentions in the commentary that he played his character as being worried that he might be the Thing without knowing it. ([[spoiler:He's very much correct.]]) Note his reaction when offered [[spoiler: Garry's gun -- "I'm not up to it."]]. Note also Nauls's expression when his turn comes for the blood test. [[spoiler: Though he does turn out to be human,]] it is pretty clear that he is terrified he will not pass the test.

* TrashTheSet: The burned-down Norwegian camp was actually the same set as the American camp [[spoiler: after the final battle]].

* TheUnsolvedMystery: One of the main mysteries of the film is who, exactly, sabotaged the blood samples kept in storage. Early on, they narrow it down to either Garry or Dr. Copper, [[spoiler: neither of whom turn out to be The Thing.]] The other mystery is whether or not Childs became a Thing when he went missing shortly before the confrontation with Blair. [[spoiler: The film ends with [=MacReady=] and Childs resigned to death from the arctic cold, both of them unsure if the other is human.]]

%%* VirusVictimSymptoms: Played with in a scene with [[spoiler: Blair]], which just underscores the paranoia.

-->'''Fuchs''': Damn it, [=MacReady=], there is ''still'' cellular activity in these remains... [[spoiler: '''''they're not dead yet.''''']]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never find out who sabotaged the blood samples, or whose shadow it was on the wall. [[spoiler:Presumably it was one of the men later revealed to be Things -- Norris, Palmer, or possibly Blair -- but which one is never specified]]. More importantly, we never see exactly what happened to [[spoiler: Nauls]]. They did film a resolution for that last one, but they weren't happy with the special effects on it, and Carpenter decided it would be more effective just to leave that particular thread hanging.

** Or [[spoiler: he's flabbergasted that part of "himself" would be so stupid to try to escape in such an obvious fashion.]]

** [[spoiler: When Palmer-Thing gets exposed by the blood test, it doesn't attack Garry who is sitting right next to it and is utterly terrified for that very reason. It notices that MacReady's flamethrower isn't in working order just yet. It instead struggles to work itself free to attack the one character who was a threat to it, Window who did have a working flamethrower. Too bad he panicked instead of pulling the trigger.]]

** [[spoiler: When Norris-Thing gets exposed by the blood test, it doesn't attack Garry who is sitting right next to it and is utterly terrified for that very reason. It notices that MacReady's flamethrower isn't in working order just yet. It instead struggles to work itself free to attack the one character who was a threat to it, Window who did have a working flamethrower. Too bad he panicked instead of pulling the trigger.]]

* MutagenicFood: The titular monster is like a virus, it can infect people by merely touching them. Since small particles are enough to take over a body, one of the scientists suggests that everyone prepare their own food and eat out of cans in order to prevent contamination via the digestive system.
** This is actually not true. The Thing can’t actually “infect” you, it has to completely consume you before it can replace you. However, this is justified because it’s a valid hypothesis coming from a character who doesn’t have all the information.

* FaceStealer: The titular alien is able to consume and replace any living being.

* FromASingleCell: One of the more dangerous qualities of the Thing, provided it has biomass to feed on. The kicker? It only needs a single cell to consume you from the inside out.
** This is actually not true, and only speculation by one of the characters. The Thing doesn’t infect you, it ''consumes and replaces'' you. It cannot replace an organism without completely consuming it first.

* FaceStealer: The titular alien is able to infect and take over anyone who comes into contact with a single cell of it.

* TheAssimilator: Each part of the Thing's body can live and act autonomously from the main body and all it needs to do is [[ViralTransformation infect a person]] with even a small piece of itself for its tissue to spread, grow, replicate, and consume the host. It has the ability to [[ShapeShifting partially or completely assume the form]] of any creature it has previously infected and absorbed and can use the knowledge and skills of the people it has copied.

%%* NiceHat: Mac's sombrero.

* RiddleForTheAges: The ending. [[spoiler:Is Childs a Thing or not? Is [=MacReady=]?]] There's plenty of evidence towards any number of conclusions and fans are still debating it to this day. For what it's worth, the video game sequel provides one definite answer. [[spoiler:Childs isn't because he froze to death shortly after the film ended, but it's still ambigious if [=MacReady=] is.]]

[[caption-width-right:326:[[{{Tagline}} Man is the warmest place to hide.]]]]

* AmbiguousEnding: By the end of the film the characters have lost so much it isn't worth it to be paranoid anymore. [[spoiler: On the plus side, the Thing is dead. Probably. Maybe. On the downside, [[KillEmAll Mac and Childs definitely soon will be, too.]] Both men decide that it's worth it if they both die, just so the Thing can have no hosts to mimic, and to assure the other that they're not the Thing (for which there is potential evidence to support every theory about which, if either, is infected.) This is the ''good'' ending. Creator/JohnCarpenter felt it was inspiring that each of the survivors were willing to give their lives to save the rest of the world.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: By the end of the movie [[spoiler: only Mac and Childs are shown to be alive, each unsure whether or not the other is the Thing. Since they are stranded, with no provisions, it's implied that they will both die]].
%%* AndThenJohnWasAZombie

* RiddleForTheAges: The ending. [[spoiler:Is Childs a Thing or not? Is [=MacReady=]?]] There's plenty of evidence towards any number of conclusions and fans are still debating it to this day. For what it's worth, the video game sequel provides one definite answer. [[spoiler:Childs isn't, but it's still ambigious if [=MacReady=] is.]]

* AmbiguousEnding: By the end of the film the characters have lost so much it isn't worth it to be paranoid anymore. [[spoiler: On the plus side, the Thing is dead. Probably. Maybe. On the downside, [[KillEmAll Mac and Childs definitely soon will be, too.]] Both men decide that it's worth it if they both die, just so the Thing can have no hosts to mimic, and to ensure the other that they're not the Thing (for which there is potential evidence to support every theory about which, if either, is infected.) This is the ''good'' ending. Creator/JohnCarpenter felt it was inspiring that each of the survivors were willing to give their lives to save the rest of the world.]]

While a commercial and critical bomb when it was first released (partially due to comparisons to [[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial a much more family-friendly movie involving an alien released around the same time]]), ''The Thing'' is a remarkable example of what [[VindicatedByHistory time can do for a film.]] These days, it has not only been very successful on VHS and DVD, but is a staple among discussions of the best sci-fi/horror films of all time.

Such a reputation is due in part to its unparalleled use of ParanoiaFuel, its unique subversion of NothingIsScarier while still retaining every ounce of ParanoiaFuel, and its [[BodyHorror graphic effects]]. The visceral depictions of the [[ShapeShifterMashup anatomically creative forms]] the lifeform adopts when attacking or threatened were milestone achievements in both SpecialEffects rigging and creature design thanks to a fusion of masterful puppetry, makeup, and advanced FX rigging, bolstered by new green-screen effects like high-end claymation, matte painting, and early CGI. By using each for the tasks it did best, and combining several approaches in a single shot to create seamless composite effects, Carpenter and co. left surprisingly little room for {{Narm}} to set in, and created one of the first cinematic environments to believably pull off DaylightHorror sequences. The film's effects have since been cited as influences for later franchises like ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' -- especially [[VideoGame/DeadSpace3 the third one]], as both take place on remote icy outposts.

A much more faithful [[TheRemake adaptation]] of Creator/JohnWCampbell's novella ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'' than Creator/HowardHawks' ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'', ''The Thing'' is a 1982 SciFiHorror film directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter and written by Bill Lancaster. With a leading cast of Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/WilfordBrimley, Creator/KeithDavid, Creator/RichardDysart, Creator/CharlesHallahan, Creator/RichardMasur, and Creator/DonaldMoffat, the film is the first entry in Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy", the others being ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'' and ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness''.

A much more faithful [[TheRemake adaptation]] of Creator/JohnWCampbell's novella ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'' than Creator/HowardHawks' ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'', ''The Thing'' is a 1982 SciFiHorror film directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter and written by Bill Lancaster. With a leading cast of Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/WilfordBrimley, Creator/KeithDavid, and Creator/RichardDysart, Creator/CharlesHallahan, Creator/RichardMasur, and Creator/DonaldMoffat, the film is the first entry in Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy", the others being ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'' and ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness''.

A much more faithful [[TheRemake adaptation]] of Creator/JohnWCampbell's novella ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'' than Creator/HowardHawks' ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'', ''The Thing'' is a 1982 SciFiHorror film directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter and written by Bill Lancaster. With a leading cast of Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/WilfordBrimley, Creator/KeithDavid, and Creator/RichardDysart, Creator/CharlesHallahan, Creator/RichardMazur, and Creator/DonaldMoffat, the film is the first entry in Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy", the others being ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'' and ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness''.

A much more faithful [[TheRemake adaptation]] of Creator/JohnWCampbell's novella ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'' than Creator/HowardHawks' ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'', ''The Thing'' is a 1982 SciFiHorror film directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter and written by Bill Lancaster. With a leading cast of Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/WilfordBrimley, Creator/KeithDavid, and Creator/RichardDysart, Creator/CharlesHallahan, Creator/Richard Mazur, and Creator/DonaldMoffat, the film is the first entry in Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy", the others being ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'' and ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness''.

A much more faithful [[TheRemake adaptation]] of Creator/JohnWCampbell's novella ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'' than Creator/HowardHawks' ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'', ''The Thing'' is a 1982 SciFiHorror film directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter and written by Bill Lancaster. With a leading cast of Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/WilfordBrimley, Creator/KeithDavid, and Creator/RichardDysart, the film is the first entry in Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy", the others being ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'' and ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness''.