History Film / TheThing1982

** The climax when [[spoiler: Mac realizes Garry and Nauls are both dead and he's the last man standing...and the Thing is down there with him and it's somewhere in the shadows ahead. A visibly terrified Mac keeps his eyes on said shadows as he slowly primes the detonator, gets up, and prepares to light the dynamite. There's absolutely ''no'' sign or sound of Blair-Thing in the shadows and Carpenter lets the tension build before it lets rip with {{Wormsign}}]].

* RaceAgainstTime: For much of the film once the Thing gets going and the crew tries to hunt it down while it picks them off one by one. But it really kicks into high gear going into the climax when [[spoiler: Blair-Thing sabotages the generator. Without power or heat, Mac and the surviving crew will freeze to death within 6 hours. So, they have to destroy the entire camp and ensure the Thing can't go back into hibernation (and if they're lucky it, kill it) before they freeze to death (and before the Thing inevitiably comes after the last survivors).]]

*** This also plays into the Thing's strategy during the climax when [[spoiler: Mac leads Garry and Nauls down into the generator room to plant explosives. Recognizing how dangerous Mac is, Blair-Thing first takes out his support structure. Garry goes down first (as he's farthest away from the team). It also specifically targets Garry's mouth during the assimilation, silencing him before he can alert the others (and paying close attention to its surroundings just in case). Nauls is next, as the Thing gets his attention (presumably by dragging Garry's body) and lures him away from the nearby Mac and into the shadowy depths of the lower level (wherein he's killed and/or assimilated off-screen). Mac is now isolated -- but even then, Blair-Thing waits to attack until there's no choice (i.e. when Mac lights the dynamite). And when it does, it recognizes the danger of the TNT Detonator and grabs it to prevent Mac from triggering the explosives (though Mac quickly figures out a way around this).]]

* MotiveMisidentification: [[spoiler: Going into the climax, Blair-Thing sabotages the generator. Without power, the camp will plunge to lethal freezing levels. Garry thinks it's trying to kill itself (and them with it), but it's Mac who realizes, no, it's the opposite: It ''wants'' to go back into the ice. It's the only play the Thing has left; it knows it can't escape the camp, so it's trying to hibernate and wait it out until the inevitiable rescue team arrives.]]

* MotiveMisidentification: [[spoiler: Going into the climax, Blair-Thing sabotages the generator. Without power, the camp will plunge to letahl freezing levels. Garry thinks it's trying to kill itself (and them), but it's Mac who realizes, no, it's the opposite: It's ''trying'' to go back into the ice. The Thing knows it can't escape the camp, so it's trying to hibernate and wait it out until a rescue team arrives.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: A BlackComedy example with [[spoiler: Palmer-Thing's reaction to Head-Norris -- or at least if you're going off the intepretation that it ''wasn't'' an act and that Palmer-Thing was genuinely flabbergasted a part of "himself" would be so stupid to try to escape in such an obvious fashion.]]

*** This also plays into the Thing's strategey during the climax when [[spoiler: Mac leads Garry and Nauls down into the generator room to plant explosives. Recognizing how dangerous Mac is, Blair-Thing first takes out his support structure. Garry goes down first (as he's farthest away from the team). It also specifically targets Garry's mouth during the assimilation, silencing him before he can alert the others (and paying close attention to its surroundings just in case). Nauls is next, as the Thing gets his attention (presumably by dragging Garry's body) and lures him away from the nearby Mac and into the shadowy depths of the lower level (wherein he's killed and/or assimilated off-screen). Mac is now isolated -- but even then, Blair-Thing waits to attack until there's no choice (i.e. when Mac lights the dynamite). And when it does, it intentionally grabs the TNT Detonator to prevent Mac from setting off the explosives (though Mac quickly figures a way around this).]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler: Palmer's reaction to Head-Norris

*** [[spoiler: The death of Nauls preceding the above moment. The last we see of him, Nauls goes towards the shadows to investigate something that caught his eye/ear (and it's implied to be Blair-Thing dragging away Garry's body). When Mac (and the audience) looks up moments later, Nauls is gone. There's no sign or sound to indicate what happened to him (and the implication, of course, is the Blair-Thing got him.}}

** The climax when [[spoiler: Mac realizes Garry and Nauls are both dead and he's the last man standing. More, both he and the audience know the Thing is down there with him...and it's somewhere in the shadows ahead. A visibly terrified Mac keeps his eyes on said shadows as he slowly primes the detonator, gets up and lights the dynamite. There's absolutely no sign or sound of Blair-Thing in the shadows and Carpeneter lets the tension build before it lets rip with {{Wormsign}}]].

** When the "lynch mob" breaks down the storeroom door to find Mac holding a flare inches away from a bundle of dynamite.

** Mac in the climax when [[spoiler:he calls for an update on their explosives from Garry and Nauls...and neither respond (to say nothing of Nauls, who was standing mere feet away from him moments earlier, having vanished). Mac ''instantly'' realizes they're both dead, that he's now the last man standing, and the Thing is currently down there with him...

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'' has gone down as 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 exemplary use of ParanoiaFuel, its unique subversion of NothingIsScarier while still retaining every ounce of ParanoiaFuel, and its [[BodyHorror graphic effects]].

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* YouHaveToBelieveMe: The Norwegians land their helicopter near the American base and start shooting at (what looks like) a Siberian Husky. When some of the Americans come out to see what all the fuss is about, instead of dropping their guns and de-escalating things, the Norwegians keep excitedly shouting (in their native tongue) and shooting at the dog. The base commander pops one of them before they can make themselves understood.

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'' has gone down as 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 exemplary use of ParanoiaFuel, its unique subversion of NothingIsScarier while still retaining every ounce of ParanoiaFuel, and its [[BodyHorror graphic effects]].

* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Clark casually shuts the dog-Thing in the enclosure with the sled dogs, without taking time to introduce it to the others or putting the animals on individual leads to keep them apart and prevent them from fighting. Had it been an actual dog, they'd quite possibly have ganged up on the intruding stranger and injured it.

** 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=].''

* 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.]]

* KillEmAll: {{Implied|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Only Childs and Mac are alive in the end, and Childs might be a Thing. Even if he isn't, they'll both freeze to death in the Antarctic winter without shelter.]]