I wonder what parasites/viruses are frozen in the polar caps... oh wait we`ll find out soon...... I'm betting they or humans have never met thus humans have ZERO IMMUNITY to them and NO bases to make any treatments/cures...
I actually saw this film at the movie theater when it was released when I was a teenager. It was scary and awesome. Kurt Russel was fairly new to adult level acting. He was a child actor for Disney. This movie showed him as a bad ass. I recall seeing a comic book called Starlog that depicted the story of The Thing. When the movie came out, I was surprised at how well it followed the comic. The best part about the story is that you don't know who to trust. It's far better than alien because the suspicion keeps you on your toes the entire time.
The Thing came out before I was born (1992), but I saw it at a midnight re-release with my dad. Most vivid memory is seeing the head grow crab legs and yelling "that's not fair!" and my dad laughing his ass off in the theater.
one of the things I noticed about others watching the film with me, the dog trying to pry the wire open with it's teeth was the death most folks had the strongest reaction to....we can watch people die with minimal issues, watch a dog die, not so much.
Fun fact- at the beginning of the movie when the dog is rushing towards the Americans, the Norwegian chopper pilot is yelling, in bad Norwegian, words to the effect of "Get away from it. It's not really a dog. It's just imitating one. "
Even the title reveal was practical. They made a metal cutout of the title, put it in a fish tank full of smoke, back lit it, wrapped it in a black trash bag, then set the bag on fire so it would peel away revealing the title. Took several attempts to get it to work right.
My favorite sci-fi horror film of all time. Fun facts: * The American camp and Norwegian camp are the same set. They filmed the American scenes, blew up the camp, then shot the Norwegian scenes * Kurt Russell threw a live stick of dynamite in the final scene * Rob Bottin, the SFX lead, worked 18 hour days for a year to produce all the amazing practical effects. He was checked into a hospital when the film wrapped. * Whether you love or hate the ending, it's sparked four decades of discussions, arguments, and theories as to which (if either, or both) of the survivors were the thing.
The live stick of dynamite he threw was actually the one from when he blew up the Palmer-Thing during the blood test scene. Kurt Russell wasn’t ready for the explosion and it nearly knocked him off his feet.
@@1987VCRProductions They used new up-to-date dynamite. Old-timey dynamite was not testosterone-sensitive, because of the type of man. New "Dynamite" is testosterone-sensitive, so the armorer should not have put it in Mr. Russell's hands. I blame the armorer.
The Thing is actually a part of an unofficial trilogy that Carpenter dubbed "The Apocalypse Trilogy", with all three films dealing with average humans as they face cosmic horrors. The other two films Carpenter considers to be a part of this trilogy happens to be Prince of Darkness (1987) and In the Mouth of Madness (1994). I definitely recommend them, as well as all of Carpenter's other films.
After seeing their reaction to the dog in the beginning, I realised that it's a such good twist for the dog to be the alien because it's behaviour looks like a worried dog. Upon watching the movie knowing it's A Thing, you realise the "traumatised" or "uncomfortable" way it holds itself in the kennel is cos it doesn't know how to be a dog yet cos this might be the first time it's been near more than one. Every time it's in the room with humans or watching them out windows, it's observing them; seeing how they work so it can imitate them, and to figure out how well they understand the situation before it makes a move. It doesn't wanna break cover until it has to and has a backup in the form of an infected/copied human. That's such a smart move, there's two ways to interpret it's behaviour and first time viewers always assume the dog is good cos of it. You're not the first reactors I've seen to trust the dog, and it makes it more realistic that the group in the movie trust the dog over the gun-crazy scientist at the beginning.
+ Pilot in Norwegian screams that it's not a dog. But yes trying to kill dog , and all that not typical dog behavior. Jed should have got animal Oscar for that role!
As I heard it, early on, while they were still developing the original script, one of the writers asked the others if a thing-copy of a person could be so perfect that the copy actually thought it was a person. They all agreed that, yes, a thing-copy might not know they were a thing, think that they were a person. Sooo paranoia inducing...
That was sadly changed in all after projects like the games and comics where human that are extremely convincing are entirely aware they are a thing and are even willing to kill other things to prove they arnt. The thing at it's very core knows it's a thing and will put up it's best pretend paranoia.
They kept the idea in to an extent. The noticable relief when the tests come back negative. Like they're not even sure if they'd know they were a fake.
Yeah I think that's why they were all giving those weird looks during the test. There's almost this inner fear of, "Well at least I know I'm not the thing.... Right?" Like you wonder what would happen if your blood did fail the test. It's terrifying
I attended the premiere here in Denver. After the movie was over, and everyone staggered out of the theater, in the lobby was John Carpenter and his then wife, Adrienne Barbeau. The news cameras and a small crowd surrounded them, but off the the side was Rob Bottin, and thanks to a popular magazine at the time, Fangoria, they had been running articles covering the film. I thanked him for such an incredible experience.
Weird thing is, back when the film came out, it was a massive bomb. Savaged by critics who thought it was "just another monster flick" and a box office flop that nearly sank John Carpenter's career, with one film magazine running an article that asked the questions "Is this the most hated film of all time?" It wouldn't be appreciated for the masterpiece of paranoia-inducing sci-fi horror that it is until the 90s.
You commented about the fantastic pacing. What a lot of people don't notice about this film is that *there is no B plot.* There's no subplot sucking the tension out of every other scene. They managed to find enough story beats in the A plot to fill out the whole runtime.
I've never seen such an intriguing response to the early stages of this film. Most people find the behavior of the dog to be incredibly suspicious, but it made you sympathetic and completely on the dog's side until the very moment its face split open. And both of you were totally on the same wavelength there. Really fascinating!
@@MikeTheGamer77some people have more attachment to their animals than most people. Like for me, my dog is with me every minute of the day save for my time in the wash room. She goes with me everywhere. So it sucks when I see bad things happen to dogs.
It's a symptom of modern society. People want pets to live and humans to die nowadays. I was screaming at the screen when I saw this...KILL THE DOG. It was so obvious. :)
My dad took me, my brother & sister to see The Thing when it first came out (I was 14). My dad loved the original version as a kid. He wanted this to be our version. We skipped school (never told mom). It's a glorious childhood memory.
40 years ago and it looks this good.... This film is a horror/Sci fi legend!! Masterpiece. For a movie to produce so much suspense, fear, doubt, disbelief, disgust.... That's great art.... Those practical effects are far superior in being terrifying than any computer graphic. This stuff is tangible man, you can touch it.... The sound effects are legitimately disturbing and so clear... This was 1982...crazy good. I was around 13 or 14 when I saw it "The Thing" is truly one of a kind. Ide say one of the best, if not the best horror movie ever made.
They used computer graphics, erasing the practical effects already done, in the Swedish camp remake. And it rightfully bombed. It was terrible, to say the least, even without comparing it to this treasure.
It angers me that y’all aren’t huge. You two are the best reaction duo I’ve seen in awhile y’all are funny as hell. A lot of smaller channels kinda give up after awhile but you have potential do not get tired and give up. With that being said you guys should check out “the mist” or “the hills have eyes remake”
Hey man, that truly means the world to us and we really appreciate that. We're glad you enjoy our videos and we have no plans on giving up anytime soon! So stay tuned 😁 and we've noted your reaction suggestions!
This is now a 40-year-old movie and yet the Practical makeup effects still hold up incredibly well. Rob Bottin and his FX team knocked it out of the park for this movie. It's still one of my favorites for pure, visceral shock and gore. Add John Carpenter's film style and ability to build suspense and you've got a class A cult classic.
I'm 53 and I saw The Thing in '82 here in Sydney when I was yet to turn 14...One of the greatest cinema-going experiences of my life ! I'd also loved The Howling, the brilliant efx of which were created by the same guy who created the titular Thing -- Rob Bottin -- who was my hero back then.
Something of note: None of the characters mentioned anything involving people in they're lives, it was pure interaction between JUST the characters present. Only movie I have seen do that, no my wife or family back home, who sponsored this arctic research base besides just it was American. The thing also gained the weaknesses of what it imitated, such as the heart condition of Norris, who was likely the guy the dog got first. It wasn't Palmer that was first because he shared a joint with Childs, who was cleared with the blood test after that scene. Blair was also human until he was locked alone in the shed (he tried to save the world).
@@martinhansen6466He never touched the Thing with his pencil, it was just really close. And nothing indicates only a small particle is enough to take over an entire complex organism anyways. They just THINK that it might happen and took precautions. Really, if all it took was a small particle, the Thing would simply sneeze or cough on others, put some spit on their utensils or something like that and then just sit back and win. Obviously, it wasn’t that easy.
You guys have such fun energy I totally want to watch a horror movie and get drunk with y’all 🤘🏻 the animal actor that played the dog was a wolf dog named Jed! His wolf side is why he behaved so undoglike and still; apparently he was exactly like that on set and creeped out the cast with his staring and aloofness
L o l thanks so much! Hit us up, let's make it happen 😂 And that's super interesting! This was cut from the video, but I actually pointed out how "good" of an actor the dog is, so that makes a lot of sense!
As an added bonus, a second watch helps unveil multiple things we wouldn't notice on a first viewing. For example, we might notice the doc having a noose in the shelter he was locked in, but after viewing the film we knew he was infected. The noose gives the hint that he knew he got infected and tried to off himself before it took over but was too late. Him asking to come back inside was the thing, and the doc was long gone.
I love the fact that their worried the dog is gonna die. When really, the dog was dead long before it first showed up. Also the “I want the dog to be the main character” comment is kinda true, the thing is the headlining act of this movie
I saw this movie as a kid during a horror marathon on TV during halloween, where they played classic horror movies and then small documentaries in-between about how they movies were made, and I'll never forget watching the mini-documentary about how they did the prosthetic special effects and sound effects for 'Tremors' and then watching The Thing for the first time afterward, and it gave me such an amazing appreciation for this movie's effects because even though I had just watched a video of a guy crunching cabbage to create the sound effect of flesh tearing, I was still so immersed in the movie and couldn't figure out how they created the things they did. One of my favourite parts of the movie is how it's set at a research base so every character is relatively intelligent, their only downfall is how some are ruled by their emotions and can't keep a cool head, but other than that they are all being extremely meticulous and smart about how they deal with the Thing like they talk about always going in groups of 2 at least, and they come up with clever ways to try and detect if someone is infected. It's a game of cat and mouse, with them coming up with idea's and then finding that they have been beaten to the punch (like with the sabotaged blood) and need to come up with another way to find out who's infected. In regards to why everyone was acting so weird when their blood was being tested: because they themselves didn't know if they were infected. What if the alien hides inside you without your knowledge until it is revealed, at which point it takes control of your body for good and gives up on hiding? they didn't know, so each one of them is nervous as hell thinking that maybe they just don't KNOW that they are already infected, and as soon as it's revealed then they will die, either by the group killing them, or the alien erasing their consciousness and taking over their body for good Also I'm glad you guys caught that Blair had decided to kill them all to save humanity, because most reactors don't get that and just think he went crazy, when in fact he was thinking very sanely about what he was doing, even to the point that the remaining group at the end come to the same conclusion: they can't leave, the only way to stop this is if no one survives and reaches civilisation
The thing I love the most about this movie, is how everyone reacts to everyone else. You can see them putting on attitudes and points of view to remove suspicion ect. This is why Carpenter was a KING of films for decades.
Easily my favourite John Carpenter movie. Okay, in a tie with Big Trouble in Little China. I saw both of these in the theatres as new releases and loved both.
John Carpenter and Kurt Russell were an amazing duo. One movie is never seen anymore, Elvis from 1979. Kurt was Elvis in a way that hasn't been replicated yet.
“The THING” is a formless entity, it needs the DNA of the “Host” to both adapt to the environment it’s in and create a body capable of surviving in it. It is the perfect metamorph.
5:24 That "flower" is made out of dog tongues and dog teeth. It probably would have ripped someone's face off if Childs hadn't torched it. 7:55 John Carpenter knows when to use slow burn and when to amp up the mayhem. 8:28 The doc from 'Leviathan' (1989) reached the same conclusion and attempted to do the same thing. 10:15 Notice how the Thing took over two guys no one would have suspected - Palmer and Norris. It even mimicked Palmer's sense of humor! As Norris, it "inherited" his heart condition. 10:51 Ickis was muh fave. Guess he'd be somewhat comparable to a Gremlin. 11:15 Referenced verbatim in part two of the 'It' remake. 12:08 It imitated him so perfectly that it even mimicked his sense of humor! Remember when he was joking with Mac and Childs and aliens and the government (potentially implying that Mac might be a conspiracy theorist in the style of Fox Mulder). That also implies that the Thing absorbs the memories of its victims since it knew exactly how to interact with specific people in specific ways. Skynet only wishes it could build such an effective infiltrator! Not even the T-1000 can absorb memories and whatnot! 12:53 That line was delivered perfectly. 😆 14:09 There's some concept art that expounds upon what's happening there. The three of them fuse together into an "Amalgamate" -style "Biomass" (to borrow terms from Undertale and Metro 2033). Nauls is still self-aware, though, even as he's just a torso jutting out of the writhing mass of flesh. Then he starts gurgling as a tentacle shoves its way up his throat and out his mouth, causing his head to pop off at the jaw with the lower jaw remaining attached as the tentacle slithers and writhes around. 15:46 That ending wasn't "nihilistic" as some critics said back in 1982. It was "ominous." Some people tend to throw around the word "nihilistic" willy-nilly. 16:08 It was back in the '90s when I was a teenager. I especially loved watching it during winter. Reminded me of Doom (by that, I mean '90s Doom) but with a more insidious enemy that used cunning and guile to covertly infiltrate rather than overly assault.
Watched it on VHS when I was 12...............fantastic! Still holds up today. Much like"An American Werewolf in London". Thanks for the great reaction.xx
@@zerpblerd5966 Ha! And beware, nice dudes, not everyone has the same taste in movies, particularly classic movies. So the old saying goes "someone's trash is another one's treasure"!!! Agree to disagree! xxooxx
Something you may not have noticed was at the ending. Childs (Keith David) gives his alibi and takes the drink from Macready (Kurt Russel). That was a test. The creature transmits through dna, saliva being one of them. If Childs was human, he'd have known better than to accept the drink, since for all he knows, Macready could be one of them. The implies that Childs was turned sometime between last seeing him and when he shows up. Of course, you might say Macready could be the creature and gave Childs the drink to turn him, but Macready was just seen fighting the creatures, thus making it more likely for Childs to be one. Conclusion: one of them is the creature.
This movie was way ahead of its time…the effects hold up today …I’m 48 I saw this for the first time in around 1986. …it’s great to see it being respected and enjoyed for the masterpiece that it is……it’s funny watching you guys enjoy it for the first time and watching your reaction ….especially because I know what’s coming and you don’t
Thanks so much for the nice comment, and we’re glad you enjoyed! I agree, it’s incredible how impressive the special effects and story still hold up to this day!
Honestly my dudes seeing your genuine reaction to this is a treat. This movie is practically my all-time favorite John Carpenter flick; if not in my top five movies of all time. You clearly have good taste and watching you eat up everything; ahhhh memories.
Saw this on VHS at a friend's house when it came out in the 80's then had to drive home, in the country, at 2AM, in a Canadian blizzard! Scared the crap outta me!
Great reactions to a fantastic film. I first saw John Carpenter's The Thing when I was 14, after renting it on VHS video, from my local video rental store, back in 1983! I have watched it many, may times over the years, but it still holds up so well, with an amazing script, excellent direction, superb acting and incredible special effects. One of my favourite theories concerning the ending, is that the bottle MacReady hands to Childs is actually one of the molotov cocktail bombs and by drinking it, Childs is revealing himself to be another " Thing! "
Who was the 1st infected ?? looking at the shadow in the room without light distortion it looks like Norris(body size) but allowing for light distortion its more like Palmer, Fuchs 3 people was near him around the time the lights went out 1 was Mac who was the others ?? There are so many rabbit holes you can go down with " who is it " I've never figured it out was around 8 when I 1st watch it lolol :):)
@@kylereese4822 I always thought that the shadow was Norris, but what still bothers me to this day, is whether a " Thing " escaped through the dog compound ceiling?! :)
Interesting and very plausible point... could that be a doppelganger of Mac(torn clothing as a decoy) and the Doc(always carrying his bag what`s in it) ?? Blair was infected at the 2nd autopsy he touch the Thing with his pencil eraser then touched his chin.. Palmer protested about going with windows because he had a visible head injury, you see how Norris looked at the dog as it went under the table scaring Benning's who also had an injury... did Palmer infect Childs when shared the weed ?? could it do a slow or fast infection to avoid detection... and who did the dog like at the beginning..... was it Palmer... ???
Watch this first time when I was 6 or 7 years old, in VHS secretly, taken from my parent's " not for kids movie" collection, watch em secretly when my both parents taking nap, worse mistakes. Later in high school i rewatch again in DVD, became fans since then, and almost rewatch Thing almost every month
Fun fact: Rob Botton the special effects designer worked hard on these creatures that when he was finished he had to go to hospital due to exhaustion and he even slept on set as well
I don't think the movie was quite finished when he had to be hospitalized for a short time after passing out from exhaustion, double pneumonia, and a bleeding ulcer. I seem to remember that one special effects scene was done by someone else because of that, but I can't recall which one.
The first time I heard about this movie was from Dead Meat. James was praising this movie a lot, so I felt like watching it before the kill count video. It was a good thing that I did that, as the surprises hit me on point. Since then it has become one of my favourite movies and my favourite horror movie of all time.
Sat through this movie 2 times when it first came out. It was quickly my favorite horror and sci fi movie of time and still is! Glad you guys enjoyed it! I was 17 I think!
Some cool behind notes to the thing: The Norweigans arent subtitled in the intro, the man shooting at the dog and the Americans with the rifle is screaming "DONT TOUCH IT, ITS A THING" and more lines trying to explain what they just survived at their camp. Notice too he didnt start shooting at the humans until the dog started trying to lick the Americans, because he was worried the thing was contaminating them. Also John Carpenter was actually the norweigan trying to throw the grenade and blew himself up, just a neat little cameo. The dog is supposed to be reacting weirdly from the start, its not behaving like a dog. It seems more like a snake trying to size up its prey in order to eat them. Also everyone had that 70s 80s hair, so Windows, Palmer, and Norris all looked similar. That scene where the dog walks into the room and absorbs its first victim was supposed to confuse you as to who was transformed. If anyone was ever confused about who had the keys and sabotaged the blood supply, Garry gave his keys to Windows to lock up the Thing they just disected. Windows returns to grab Bennings who was in the middle of being transformed and he dropped the keys in a panic. When they all pursue Bennings so he cant escape when you look at everyone who reacts to the alarm, Palmer isnt present. So its presumed that Palmer was hiding nearby after Windows fled, grabbed the keys, and sabotaged the blood supplies while they were burning Bennings. The Thing also realized that this would implicate Garry and Copper knowing the hierarchy from the people it assimilated. The Thing is a sentient creature, and it likes to plot and scheme. If you watch the movie a second time, youll notice all the members who are Things dont want to be in charge once Garry steps down as the leader. Norris and Palmer both turn down the opportunity to take charge to avoid being implicated. Additionally when Norris transforms, Palmer rats out part of it trying to escape to establish hes trustworthy. The ending is the greatest part because its meant to be ambiguous, but based on what John Carpenter has hinted in interviews, if you followed the rules of the movie it makes pretty clear sense how the movie ends. If you put all the information together about the rules the movie fantastically establishes, Childs shows up after the base is destroyed and the Blaire Thing is killed. His demeanor is entirely different, hes far more passive and complacent, its hard to tell if hes wearing his blue jacket but it appears green/brown in the fading flames, McCready being the badass he is, offers Childs a swig from his drink and Childs has no hesitation drinking from the bottle despite knowing the Thing could have turned McCready and is trying to infect him with the bottle. What I like to think, Blaire transformed Childs first since he was alone, Childs ran to safety while the survivors destroyed the base and the Blaire Thing went to fight the humans to ensure that no one would be left alive to hunt down the thing, rectifying the mistake it made with the Norweigans. Childs showing up to McCready was just what the Thing does, it wont transform if it doesnt sense a threat. It was scoping out McCready to see if he was still hunting it or able to kill it. The thing isnt affected by the cold, as it just goes into hibernation, so when Childs is sitting across from McCready it new he was freezing to death, out of ammo, and he no longer posed a threat. The Thing essentially won, because after McCready froze to death, a team would be sent to either relieve the Americans or try and rescue them, but either way it knew more people were coming. The Thing killed all of its witnesses, so when Childs body would be discovered it would take over new hosts and Humanity is effectively doomed.
There's actually a 2003 PC Game "The Thing", a survival horror that picks up exactly from here, where you control the rescue team after the base blew up
@@FrancescoDeBiasi It was also on playstation 2, and I also owned it. The game overpromised, had a ton of problems, and the story is fairly abysmal its not considered cannon. I used to get Game Informer for YEARS and would read up on so many games. When I saw the thing game I was immediately sold and bought it. To my absolute disappointment, blood test kits didnt actually work, the AI was horrendous, and the game sold its self on teammates can randomly become things and trust will be a core mechanic of the game. The devs cut all of that, and it scripted events where people would turn. I Know MacReady shows up to help, and theres some comical set pieces where you have to run from a bundle of dynamite with a giant goofy Villain timer on it. But yeah anything outside the original thing is not considered canon, and John Carpenter loves to keep the debate open. Ugh the fact that the game tried to build on the lore makes me shudder and cringe. xD
Had the pleasure of meeting Thomas Waites, Keith David, Wilford Brimley (R.I.P. ❤🌹🙏🏽🕯) and Dean Cundey (Director of Photography) back in 2017 and I told them how incredible the film still was. I saw it when it first came out and 40 years later, the practical effects are still fresh and bloody as hell. Loved your reaction!
Greatest horror film ever made and one of the greatest in general. Not just because of the great cast, ambience, plot etc but because of the concept. Can you imagine anything more frightening? You're on a desolate continent, you're battling an extremely intelligent creature, that is almost indestructible besides against fire/acid, can imitate all life forms and you won't know the difference without a specific test, you have no idea if it's malicious or simply trying to survive, you're dead if it touches you and if it gets to transportation, water or civilization the whole planet is doomed, not only humans. Only thing worse I can think of is utter atomic annihilation.
Yeah, I have a memory, definitely! My first year at university (Southampton, England, 1983/84) - a bunch of us rented a VHS of this film to watch in the kitchen in the hall of residence. Unfortunately I came back from the bar to watch it and I was quite drunk. Every time there was a jump scare I was snorting and giggling because I wasn't really invested in the experience. It was my most shameful moment as a cinephile, and afterwards I was mortified that I'd not done the film justice. Years later I watched it properly, of course. It's a total classic, and one of my favourites. In fact, when I first got a large TV and a surround system, it was the first film I played.
The old guy actually only passed away last year. He was just older looking in general. I met him in 2019 along with Nauls and windows. Recently met bennings and Clark too
this movie has been disected millions of times by people trying to figure out who is the thing at each moment, many analysis make emphasis on the camera work and how it gives clues, its refreshing and very interesting too see the first impression of someone at some of those scenes, great video!
1. The Norgren slit his own wrists. 2. A kick ass John Carpenter movie that also features "Kurt Russel you will enjoy is "Escape from New York"😎 3. That was a doobie.😎 4. This was before CGI. 5. Many chicks freak out over Mac's hat. Some good, some bad.🙄 6. When you said, "Oh my god" when seeing the Norgren I thought "hang onto your ass fred" 7.. Not murder. Self defense because Clark was attacking him with the scalpel. 8. Even with all the cool stuff the part than unhinges me a little more is when Blair is pulling Garry by the face. 9. They're going to freeze to death. Keep in mind you can't see Childs' breath. He was missing for a while. 10. NOTE: Keith Richards is the guitarist for The Rolling Stones. 11. Sorry it took so long to get this out. I just discovered you earlier today. 11. You need to check out "The Mist"
You guys have a most excellent energy, glad to have found you. I first saw this move 35 Yrs ago on vhs, loved it ever since, it’s in my top 10, great to see your reaction. I would recommend The 5th Element, 12 Monkeys and Brazil.
Watched this when I was about 7 . Periodically I'll suddenly feel a " wanna watch the thing " again vibe ..I can watch this in it's entirety and not get bored or distracted, no fast forward or anything. Just sit and enjoy it. Glad you stuck the landing on the ending . By actually getting it you got my sub..looking forward to your next video and will be doing some back catalogue views on your stuff now.
There is actually two versions of this movie. One that was released in theaters and home movie and one that was made for cable movie channels but not really a director's cut. I'm not talking about the editing for swear words or gore but there were several scenes that were different. First is that there was a scene added that implicated the character Childs being The Thing early because before they first saw the Dog-Thing, Childs was seen throwing away something in the garbage that looked suspicously like the clothes that the cook showed that he had found. Another was that Blair was not only infected but his mind had merged with The Thing because when was assimilating Gary out of sight, he spoke "I told you, no one is getitng out of here". The final scene showed the day after the American Base Camp had finished burning down and another snow dog was running in the snow before looking back at the burn ruins. It was shown only a handful of times but people remember it despite it not being seen on any DVD or Blu-Ray releases.
I love the fact that they give it away in the opening scene but because no one understands Norwegian (neither the character nor the audience) it’s completely missed. “Get the hell away! It’s not a dog! It’s imitating a dog!” Genius.
What I also like about this movie (and older movies in general) is that the characters look like real people with unique recognizable faces, not like a lot of newer movies where all the roles are played by young models who look almost identical, like they rolled off an assembly line.
Killer reaction. I usually don't like horror movies, but the sheer madness of this had me captivated. Speaking of, I wish you would check out another amazing Carpenter horror: The Mouth of Madness!
There is a theory behind the last scene between MacReady and Childs. MacReady gave him a J&B whiskey bottle, but it actually was a cocktail molotov, same as the ones he was using earlier to torch the camp. The Thing wouldn't know the difference between the taste of gasoline and whiskey, that's why MacReady gives that little smirk after Childs drinks from the bottle. John Carpenter himself never disproved it, thought it was a very neat theory and wishes he'd thought of it while writing the script.
The "old" guy is a famous actor, Wilfred Brimley. He's known for a lot of films and advertising. Most recently, some time before his death last year.....Diabetes commercials. His pronouncement "diabetus" is joked about all the time. Wilfred Brimley is a total star.
@@NiceDudeMovieNight Thanks. Anyway, not too long before he died (he wasn't that old, either-in his late 40s when he made The Thing), his mustache made him look like the Monopoly guy on the board game.
Great reaction. Fun Fact: Rob Bottin, the special effects guy for this movie, was a 23 year old nerd who was under an apprenticeship who came up with the blood and gore, including the effects of the alien organism for this movie
I like that you guys got why Blaire destroyed all the comms and chopper. A lot of others assume he went crazy, but I was happy you both understood right away. It was refreshing!
It's blows my mind to this day that this film was considered a flop when it debuted, was ridiculed by many critics (such as from Siskel and Ebert) and nearly destroyed Carpenter's career. Carpenter said in an interview that he was passed over for other movies due to how poorly The Thing was received. The problem was timing as this movie came out only 2 weeks after ET. NOW it's considered a cult classic and among the absolute very best sci-fi horrors ever made, and IT IS! I saw this at a drive-in back in '82, sitting on the roof of my parent's station wagon with my sister. I was 6, she was 8. It's an awesome, awesome movie that's still talked about today, especially the ending. Some speculate Childs had transformed as you can see MacReady's breath but not Childs' at the end scene. Some say Childs' willingness to drink from a bottle handed to him by what could have been the Thing, throwing caution to the wind indicated he wasn't concerned of being infected as he already was. Some say the bottle was filled with gasoline that MacReady had left over from destroying the camp and "chuckled" when Child's drank it without reaction of it being fuel rather than booze, confirming his suspicion. Some say Child's didn't bother to attack MacReady as he knew both would freeze, MacReady to death, while the infected Childs would simply go back into frozen hibernation until a rescue party retrieves them and inadvertently reactivating the Childs Thing. I don't buy any of it but it sure is fun to toss around with friends. I personally like to think the Thing was an intentional biological weapon made by some xenophobic ancient civilization that would "seed" life-supporting planets in inhospitable locations such as the middle of the artic. This trap wouldn't ever be sprung unless the native intelligent species advanced just enough to be able to discover it and thaw it out, whipping out the planet's population, ensuring no civilization will ever achieve the same level of technological sophistication as the xenophobic jerk planet.
Great reaction. Fun Fact: Rob Bottin, the special effects guy for this movie, was a 23 year old geek who was under an apprenticeship who came up with the blood and gore, including the effects of the alien organism
I think you guys got it. This was a revelation, nothing less. I didn't catch it for about a decade, as I didn't credit it, being an 80's "remake". One of the best flicks ever made. Casting is stellar. The characters overflow with underplayed personality. Every scene... The screenplay and script are dynamite.
I love watching people react to this immediately being taken in by the dog. Meanwhile those of us who Know... well, we're just sitting here grinning like idiots waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Old video, so you guys probably won't see this comment, BUT: They left the ending in a questionable way there to seed doubt into the viewers minds on whether or not the Thing survived, but there are a few things people have noticed that may actually prove it. One is how at the end when you see Childs, there's no fog coming off his breath like there is with Macready, which means Childs likely was a surviving chunk of the Thing. The Thing then doesn't kill Macready, because it knows that he's gonna die no matter what, while the Thing is simply just going to go into hibernation again and wait for people to come figure out what the hell happened. Which then leads into the canon game sequel to the original movie, which follows the military arriving and investigating the situation. Only for them to then also be infested by a surviving chunk of the Thing, leading into more suspicion and pandemonium. Except now instead of just watching it unfold like the movie, you are actively in the position of someone trying to figure out who can be trusted. They do it really well as well (to a point of annoyance) because if at any point one of the guys you have with you is separated from you, even for a second, the game will randomize whether or not they got infected while they were gone. It's actually one of the few times a movie game has been good, and aside from a few completely bullshit fights (typical for a game from that age), it holds up pretty well. I highly recommend playing it if you want horrible trust issues.
Blair wasn't infected when he was trashing the control room, just so you know. He was, as you said, just trying to keep the Thing from getting to civilization. Carpenter actually addressed that in an interview. Either Palmer or Norris got to him while he was out in the shed.
I was 5 years old when I first saw this movie back in the 80's. I couldn't sleep soundly for weeks. Now I fondly look back, and enjoy everything about this cult-classic.
I saw it in the theater when it came out. Never saw so many people walk out in the middle of a movie. LOL! It didn't bother me (the gore) because it was SO over-the-top. Unlike ALIEN, which barely let you see the monster, you got great looks at in here, so it didn't scare so much as fascinate you. Nobody had ever seen effects like this up to this point. Rob Bottin and company brought it to life and to me, it's so much more realistic than CGI because these practical effects actually existed outside of a hard drive. That spider head gave many of us nightmares for a long time!
Remember around the same time, E.T. was also in theaters, and that idea of a friendly alien resonated so much better with audiences, hence why The Thing was critically panned when it released, and was a box office bomb (as was Big Trouble in Little China). That's why it's since become a cult film, but it's still a damn shame, coz Carpenter was never really given much creative freedom from studios since. Sure he went on to make other great films, but many consider In the Mouth of Madness to be his very last good movie. I'm still very glad we got this and other of his great films, but he could have been "allowed" to be so much more.
I can't find any comments mentioning it, so i'll say it: The first scene with MacCready foreshadows the ending of the movie, as well as introducing his character. When he realizes he can't win, he just blows everything up!
Since you asked… I saw this in the theater when it came out in Miami, FL. Being a not cold tolerant person, I remember, because of the Antarctic setting, shivering from the opening scene to the end. Kurt Russell was THE badass of our time. The open ending, that they were frozen and possibly infected, and possibly their corpses could be found and retrieved after the spring thaw, was very impactful.
Great stuff Dudes! This was one of my first reactions and it was super similar to you guys. My fav John Carpenter film I watched by far. Prince of Darkness is also really fun if you guys haven’t seen it yet.
I saw it brand new in the theater in the summer of 1982. When I got back to school in the fall, everyone was talking about "ET" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and I was talking about "The Thing"!
This is my childhood's top3 movie(along with Terminator 2 and Back to the future 1). Amazing movie. Simply speechless every time seeing it. Jut a fun fact: one interpretation of the final scene is that McReady gave gasoline in the bottle to the black guy and when he did not spit it out, McReady immediately knew that he was also an alien so he is dead. That is why he smiled.
Have you seen *THE THING*? Any memories you’d like to share? 🤔 Let us know!
His Yosemite Sam hat is absolutely ridiculous 😆
I wonder what parasites/viruses are frozen in the polar caps... oh wait we`ll find out soon...... I'm betting they or humans have never met thus humans have ZERO IMMUNITY to them and NO bases to make any treatments/cures...
I actually saw this film at the movie theater when it was released when I was a teenager. It was scary and awesome. Kurt Russel was fairly new to adult level acting. He was a child actor for Disney. This movie showed him as a bad ass. I recall seeing a comic book called Starlog that depicted the story of The Thing. When the movie came out, I was surprised at how well it followed the comic. The best part about the story is that you don't know who to trust. It's far better than alien because the suspicion keeps you on your toes the entire time.
@@kylereese4822 "you are a thing, pls wear a mask" --- humans in 2021
The Thing came out before I was born (1992), but I saw it at a midnight re-release with my dad. Most vivid memory is seeing the head grow crab legs and yelling "that's not fair!" and my dad laughing his ass off in the theater.
You: “Trust the dog. The dog should be the main character”
Well, you’re right on one of those.
Jed was an incredible actor. What a great dog!
My exact thoughts xD
one of the things I noticed about others watching the film with me, the dog trying to pry the wire open with it's teeth was the death most folks had the strongest reaction to....we can watch people die with minimal issues, watch a dog die, not so much.
Fun fact- at the beginning of the movie when the dog is rushing towards the Americans, the Norwegian chopper pilot is yelling, in bad Norwegian, words to the effect of "Get away from it. It's not really a dog. It's just imitating one. "
the effects look so good because they're 100% practical.
Absolutely crazy what they were able to do! Thanks for watching 👍
Even the title reveal was practical. They made a metal cutout of the title, put it in a fish tank full of smoke, back lit it, wrapped it in a black trash bag, then set the bag on fire so it would peel away revealing the title. Took several attempts to get it to work right.
And the FX maker, Rob Bottin, was only 23 back then...
That is exactly why this movie still holds up today, almost 40 years later 👍🏾
@@theblacksp1derman Indeed. Even today, the effects still gives me chills, that's how awesome they are!!💯
My favorite sci-fi horror film of all time.
Fun facts:
* The American camp and Norwegian camp are the same set. They filmed the American scenes, blew up the camp, then shot the Norwegian scenes
* Kurt Russell threw a live stick of dynamite in the final scene
* Rob Bottin, the SFX lead, worked 18 hour days for a year to produce all the amazing practical effects. He was checked into a hospital when the film wrapped.
* Whether you love or hate the ending, it's sparked four decades of discussions, arguments, and theories as to which (if either, or both) of the survivors were the thing.
Stan Winston took over for Rob when he was too tired to work.
The live stick of dynamite he threw was actually the one from when he blew up the Palmer-Thing during the blood test scene. Kurt Russell wasn’t ready for the explosion and it nearly knocked him off his feet.
@@1987VCRProductions Yup, I read that it actually concussed him to a degree where his hearing was desensitized for a short while
@@1987VCRProductions They used new up-to-date dynamite. Old-timey dynamite was not testosterone-sensitive, because of the type of man. New "Dynamite" is testosterone-sensitive, so the armorer should not have put it in Mr. Russell's hands. I blame the armorer.
The Thing is actually a part of an unofficial trilogy that Carpenter dubbed "The Apocalypse Trilogy", with all three films dealing with average humans as they face cosmic horrors. The other two films Carpenter considers to be a part of this trilogy happens to be Prince of Darkness (1987) and In the Mouth of Madness (1994). I definitely recommend them, as well as all of Carpenter's other films.
In the Mouth of Madness may be my favorite of the three.
@@vapoet I gotta agree, it's such a tribute to Lovecraft
Thanks for the recommendations, im going to watch them!
The thing is a remake of the thing from outer space, though.
Oh man, I have to watch Prince Of Darkness and rewatch In The Mouth Of Madness.
After seeing their reaction to the dog in the beginning, I realised that it's a such good twist for the dog to be the alien because it's behaviour looks like a worried dog. Upon watching the movie knowing it's A Thing, you realise the "traumatised" or "uncomfortable" way it holds itself in the kennel is cos it doesn't know how to be a dog yet cos this might be the first time it's been near more than one. Every time it's in the room with humans or watching them out windows, it's observing them; seeing how they work so it can imitate them, and to figure out how well they understand the situation before it makes a move. It doesn't wanna break cover until it has to and has a backup in the form of an infected/copied human.
That's such a smart move, there's two ways to interpret it's behaviour and first time viewers always assume the dog is good cos of it. You're not the first reactors I've seen to trust the dog, and it makes it more realistic that the group in the movie trust the dog over the gun-crazy scientist at the beginning.
I still don't get how people don't see the dog is sus from the first frame.
+ Pilot in Norwegian screams that it's not a dog. But yes trying to kill dog , and all that not typical dog behavior. Jed should have got animal Oscar for that role!
As I heard it, early on, while they were still developing the original script, one of the writers asked the others if a thing-copy of a person could be so perfect that the copy actually thought it was a person. They all agreed that, yes, a thing-copy might not know they were a thing, think that they were a person. Sooo paranoia inducing...
That was sadly changed in all after projects like the games and comics where human that are extremely convincing are entirely aware they are a thing and are even willing to kill other things to prove they arnt. The thing at it's very core knows it's a thing and will put up it's best pretend paranoia.
@@gageunruh3574 Which explains why Palmer notices the spider-head-Thing and basically narcs it out to the others.
They kept the idea in to an extent. The noticable relief when the tests come back negative. Like they're not even sure if they'd know they were a fake.
Yeah I think that's why they were all giving those weird looks during the test. There's almost this inner fear of, "Well at least I know I'm not the thing.... Right?" Like you wonder what would happen if your blood did fail the test. It's terrifying
But then, would they be a threat? If they think they’re human and believe they are the person they turned into, wouldn’t they not want to hurt anyone?
I attended the premiere here in Denver. After the movie was over, and everyone staggered out of the theater, in the lobby was John Carpenter and his then wife, Adrienne Barbeau. The news cameras and a small crowd surrounded them, but off the the side was Rob Bottin, and thanks to a popular magazine at the time, Fangoria, they had been running articles covering the film.
I thanked him for such an incredible experience.
That's so awesome to hear! Thanks for sharing such a great story!
Interesting side trivia? Mark Kermode, famous UK/BBC film critic, was a regular contributor to Fangoria for a number of years in their heyday.
@@scottlette ... I still have the first 20 issues packed away. Think I might have to check out a few issues. Thanks for the tip.
Fangoria is still around by the by.
Weird thing is, back when the film came out, it was a massive bomb. Savaged by critics who thought it was "just another monster flick" and a box office flop that nearly sank John Carpenter's career, with one film magazine running an article that asked the questions "Is this the most hated film of all time?" It wouldn't be appreciated for the masterpiece of paranoia-inducing sci-fi horror that it is until the 90s.
You commented about the fantastic pacing. What a lot of people don't notice about this film is that *there is no B plot.* There's no subplot sucking the tension out of every other scene. They managed to find enough story beats in the A plot to fill out the whole runtime.
"Let the dog be the protagonist!"
Well, it is from a certain point of view.
L O L nice
I've never seen such an intriguing response to the early stages of this film. Most people find the behavior of the dog to be incredibly suspicious, but it made you sympathetic and completely on the dog's side until the very moment its face split open. And both of you were totally on the same wavelength there. Really fascinating!
Everybody gushes over dogs in movies. I just don't understand. Cujo exists.
@@MikeTheGamer77some people have more attachment to their animals than most people. Like for me, my dog is with me every minute of the day save for my time in the wash room. She goes with me everywhere. So it sucks when I see bad things happen to dogs.
In reality it was a very good wolf dog, wolves are just quiet even when being cuddly, it's odd for us but normal.
It's a symptom of modern society. People want pets to live and humans to die nowadays. I was screaming at the screen when I saw this...KILL THE DOG. It was so obvious. :)
My dad took me, my brother & sister to see The Thing when it first came out (I was 14). My dad loved the original version as a kid. He wanted this to be our version. We skipped school (never told mom). It's a glorious childhood memory.
What a cool dad!
40 years ago and it looks this good....
This film is a horror/Sci fi legend!! Masterpiece.
For a movie to produce so much suspense, fear, doubt, disbelief, disgust.... That's great art....
Those practical effects are far superior in being terrifying than any computer graphic. This stuff is tangible man, you can touch it.... The sound effects are legitimately disturbing and so clear... This was 1982...crazy good. I was around 13 or 14 when I saw it
"The Thing" is truly one of a kind. Ide say one of the best, if not the best horror movie ever made.
I booked off a day of work for the 40th anniversary, just so I could honor this masterpiece of cinema.
They used computer graphics, erasing the practical effects already done, in the Swedish camp remake. And it rightfully bombed. It was terrible, to say the least, even without comparing it to this treasure.
It angers me that y’all aren’t huge. You two are the best reaction duo I’ve seen in awhile y’all are funny as hell. A lot of smaller channels kinda give up after awhile but you have potential do not get tired and give up. With that being said you guys should check out “the mist” or “the hills have eyes remake”
Hey man, that truly means the world to us and we really appreciate that. We're glad you enjoy our videos and we have no plans on giving up anytime soon! So stay tuned 😁 and we've noted your reaction suggestions!
This is now a 40-year-old movie and yet the Practical makeup effects still hold up incredibly well. Rob Bottin and his FX team knocked it out of the park for this movie. It's still one of my favorites for pure, visceral shock and gore. Add John Carpenter's film style and ability to build suspense and you've got a class A cult classic.
I'm 53 and I saw The Thing in '82 here in Sydney when I was yet to turn 14...One of the greatest cinema-going experiences of my life ! I'd also loved The Howling, the brilliant efx of which were created by the same guy who created the titular Thing -- Rob Bottin -- who was my hero back then.
Something of note: None of the characters mentioned anything involving people in they're lives, it was pure interaction between JUST the characters present.
Only movie I have seen do that, no my wife or family back home, who sponsored this arctic research base besides just it was American.
The thing also gained the weaknesses of what it imitated, such as the heart condition of Norris, who was likely the guy the dog got first.
It wasn't Palmer that was first because he shared a joint with Childs, who was cleared with the blood test after that scene.
Blair was also human until he was locked alone in the shed (he tried to save the world).
Blair was infected when he "sucks" on the pencil, he uses to examine the first thing.
@@martinhansen6466 i have waiting for someone else to mention that!
@@martinhansen6466He never touched the Thing with his pencil, it was just really close. And nothing indicates only a small particle is enough to take over an entire complex organism anyways. They just THINK that it might happen and took precautions.
Really, if all it took was a small particle, the Thing would simply sneeze or cough on others, put some spit on their utensils or something like that and then just sit back and win. Obviously, it wasn’t that easy.
You guys have such fun energy I totally want to watch a horror movie and get drunk with y’all 🤘🏻 the animal actor that played the dog was a wolf dog named Jed! His wolf side is why he behaved so undoglike and still; apparently he was exactly like that on set and creeped out the cast with his staring and aloofness
L o l thanks so much! Hit us up, let's make it happen 😂
And that's super interesting! This was cut from the video, but I actually pointed out how "good" of an actor the dog is, so that makes a lot of sense!
As an added bonus, a second watch helps unveil multiple things we wouldn't notice on a first viewing. For example, we might notice the doc having a noose in the shelter he was locked in, but after viewing the film we knew he was infected. The noose gives the hint that he knew he got infected and tried to off himself before it took over but was too late. Him asking to come back inside was the thing, and the doc was long gone.
The paranoia when they are getting tested is so palpable, one of the most tense scenes ever
9:28
That is my favorite bit in the entire movie. Just seeing the noose casually hanging there is top tier visual storytelling.
I love the fact that their worried the dog is gonna die. When really, the dog was dead long before it first showed up. Also the “I want the dog to be the main character” comment is kinda true, the thing is the headlining act of this movie
That is one of the most well trained dogs ever. With how they were able to get ‘em to move unnatural-like.
"Immediately fills the frame with man." Lol.
I saw this movie as a kid during a horror marathon on TV during halloween, where they played classic horror movies and then small documentaries in-between about how they movies were made, and I'll never forget watching the mini-documentary about how they did the prosthetic special effects and sound effects for 'Tremors' and then watching The Thing for the first time afterward, and it gave me such an amazing appreciation for this movie's effects because even though I had just watched a video of a guy crunching cabbage to create the sound effect of flesh tearing, I was still so immersed in the movie and couldn't figure out how they created the things they did.
One of my favourite parts of the movie is how it's set at a research base so every character is relatively intelligent, their only downfall is how some are ruled by their emotions and can't keep a cool head, but other than that they are all being extremely meticulous and smart about how they deal with the Thing like they talk about always going in groups of 2 at least, and they come up with clever ways to try and detect if someone is infected. It's a game of cat and mouse, with them coming up with idea's and then finding that they have been beaten to the punch (like with the sabotaged blood) and need to come up with another way to find out who's infected.
In regards to why everyone was acting so weird when their blood was being tested: because they themselves didn't know if they were infected. What if the alien hides inside you without your knowledge until it is revealed, at which point it takes control of your body for good and gives up on hiding? they didn't know, so each one of them is nervous as hell thinking that maybe they just don't KNOW that they are already infected, and as soon as it's revealed then they will die, either by the group killing them, or the alien erasing their consciousness and taking over their body for good
Also I'm glad you guys caught that Blair had decided to kill them all to save humanity, because most reactors don't get that and just think he went crazy, when in fact he was thinking very sanely about what he was doing, even to the point that the remaining group at the end come to the same conclusion: they can't leave, the only way to stop this is if no one survives and reaches civilisation
The thing I love the most about this movie, is how everyone reacts to everyone else. You can see them putting on attitudes and points of view to remove suspicion ect. This is why Carpenter was a KING of films for decades.
Easily my favourite John Carpenter movie. Okay, in a tie with Big Trouble in Little China. I saw both of these in the theatres as new releases and loved both.
John Carpenter and Kurt Russell were an amazing duo. One movie is never seen anymore, Elvis from 1979. Kurt was Elvis in a way that hasn't been replicated yet.
“The THING” is a formless entity, it needs the DNA of the “Host” to both adapt to the environment it’s in and create a body capable of surviving in it. It is the perfect metamorph.
"It's GONE, MacReady" was a perfect line delivery.
5:24 That "flower" is made out of dog tongues and dog teeth. It probably would have ripped someone's face off if Childs hadn't torched it.
7:55 John Carpenter knows when to use slow burn and when to amp up the mayhem.
8:28 The doc from 'Leviathan' (1989) reached the same conclusion and attempted to do the same thing.
10:15 Notice how the Thing took over two guys no one would have suspected - Palmer and Norris. It even mimicked Palmer's sense of humor! As Norris, it "inherited" his heart condition.
10:51 Ickis was muh fave. Guess he'd be somewhat comparable to a Gremlin.
11:15 Referenced verbatim in part two of the 'It' remake.
12:08 It imitated him so perfectly that it even mimicked his sense of humor! Remember when he was joking with Mac and Childs and aliens and the government (potentially implying that Mac might be a conspiracy theorist in the style of Fox Mulder). That also implies that the Thing absorbs the memories of its victims since it knew exactly how to interact with specific people in specific ways. Skynet only wishes it could build such an effective infiltrator! Not even the T-1000 can absorb memories and whatnot!
12:53 That line was delivered perfectly. 😆
14:09 There's some concept art that expounds upon what's happening there. The three of them fuse together into an "Amalgamate" -style "Biomass" (to borrow terms from Undertale and Metro 2033). Nauls is still self-aware, though, even as he's just a torso jutting out of the writhing mass of flesh. Then he starts gurgling as a tentacle shoves its way up his throat and out his mouth, causing his head to pop off at the jaw with the lower jaw remaining attached as the tentacle slithers and writhes around.
15:46 That ending wasn't "nihilistic" as some critics said back in 1982. It was "ominous." Some people tend to throw around the word "nihilistic" willy-nilly.
16:08 It was back in the '90s when I was a teenager. I especially loved watching it during winter. Reminded me of Doom (by that, I mean '90s Doom) but with a more insidious enemy that used cunning and guile to covertly infiltrate rather than overly assault.
Watched it on VHS when I was 12...............fantastic! Still holds up today. Much like"An American Werewolf in London". Thanks for the great reaction.xx
Yessss we still need to see An American Werewolf in London! Thanks for the comment!
@@zerpblerd5966 Ha! And beware, nice dudes, not everyone has the same taste in movies, particularly classic movies. So the old saying goes "someone's trash is another one's treasure"!!! Agree to disagree! xxooxx
Something you may not have noticed was at the ending. Childs (Keith David) gives his alibi and takes the drink from Macready (Kurt Russel). That was a test. The creature transmits through dna, saliva being one of them. If Childs was human, he'd have known better than to accept the drink, since for all he knows, Macready could be one of them. The implies that Childs was turned sometime between last seeing him and when he shows up. Of course, you might say Macready could be the creature and gave Childs the drink to turn him, but Macready was just seen fighting the creatures, thus making it more likely for Childs to be one. Conclusion: one of them is the creature.
This movie was way ahead of its time…the effects hold up today …I’m 48 I saw this for the first time in around 1986. …it’s great to see it being respected and enjoyed for the masterpiece that it is……it’s funny watching you guys enjoy it for the first time and watching your reaction ….especially because I know what’s coming and you don’t
Thanks so much for the nice comment, and we’re glad you enjoyed! I agree, it’s incredible how impressive the special effects and story still hold up to this day!
John Carpenter is a genius. The effects in The Thing are downright terrifying to this day.
Honestly my dudes seeing your genuine reaction to this is a treat. This movie is practically my all-time favorite John Carpenter flick; if not in my top five movies of all time. You clearly have good taste and watching you eat up everything; ahhhh memories.
Saw this on VHS at a friend's house when it came out in the 80's then had to drive home, in the country, at 2AM, in a Canadian blizzard! Scared the crap outta me!
Great reactions to a fantastic film.
I first saw John Carpenter's The Thing when I was 14, after renting it on VHS video, from my local video rental store, back in 1983!
I have watched it many, may times over the years, but it still holds up so well, with an amazing script, excellent direction, superb acting and incredible special effects.
One of my favourite theories concerning the ending, is that the bottle MacReady hands to Childs is actually one of the molotov cocktail bombs and by drinking it, Childs is revealing himself to be another " Thing! "
Woah we didn't think about that. We haven't seen that many Carpenter movies but definitely plan on playing catch up after watching this one!
Who was the 1st infected ?? looking at the shadow in the room without light distortion it looks like Norris(body size) but allowing for light distortion its more like Palmer, Fuchs 3 people was near him around the time the lights went out 1 was Mac who was the others ??
There are so many rabbit holes you can go down with " who is it " I've never figured it out was around 8 when I 1st watch it lolol :):)
@@kylereese4822 I always thought that the shadow was Norris, but what still bothers me to this day, is whether a " Thing " escaped through the dog compound ceiling?! :)
Interesting and very plausible point... could that be a doppelganger of Mac(torn clothing as a decoy) and the Doc(always carrying his bag what`s in it) ?? Blair was infected at the 2nd autopsy he touch the Thing with his pencil eraser then touched his chin.. Palmer protested about going with windows because he had a visible head injury, you see how Norris looked at the dog as it went under the table scaring Benning's who also had an injury... did Palmer infect Childs when shared the weed ?? could it do a slow or fast infection to avoid detection... and who did the dog like at the beginning..... was it Palmer... ???
@@kylereese4822 Apparently the shadow was a member of the film crew, deliberately chosen so as not to give away who was infected first,
I love how you both were worried about the dog dying, not yet aware that the dog isn't a dog at all
This movie is truly a cinematic masterpiece!
Watch this first time when I was 6 or 7 years old, in VHS secretly, taken from my parent's " not for kids movie" collection, watch em secretly when my both parents taking nap, worse mistakes.
Later in high school i rewatch again in DVD, became fans since then, and almost rewatch Thing almost every month
Fun fact: Rob Botton the special effects designer worked hard on these creatures that when he was finished he had to go to hospital due to exhaustion and he even slept on set as well
He was also 22 when he did this movie. Some people just got it.
I don't think the movie was quite finished when he had to be hospitalized for a short time after passing out from exhaustion, double pneumonia, and a bleeding ulcer. I seem to remember that one special effects scene was done by someone else because of that, but I can't recall which one.
The first time I heard about this movie was from Dead Meat. James was praising this movie a lot, so I felt like watching it before the kill count video. It was a good thing that I did that, as the surprises hit me on point. Since then it has become one of my favourite movies and my favourite horror movie of all time.
Sat through this movie 2 times when it first came out. It was quickly my favorite horror and sci fi movie of time and still is! Glad you guys enjoyed it! I was 17 I think!
This is a favorite. I have a tradition whereby on the first major snow of the year I turn out the lights, open the blinds, and watch The Thing.
You know, I love how wrong they can be around characters in films. It really adds to the enjoyment factor.
Great job guys.
This is one of the great John Carpenter films, this and Halloween are some of the most enduring horror pictures ever made.
Interestingly, in the Haloween movie, the 1951 original film of The Thing (from another World) is playing on a TV in the background of a scene
Some cool behind notes to the thing:
The Norweigans arent subtitled in the intro, the man shooting at the dog and the Americans with the rifle is screaming "DONT TOUCH IT, ITS A THING" and more lines trying to explain what they just survived at their camp. Notice too he didnt start shooting at the humans until the dog started trying to lick the Americans, because he was worried the thing was contaminating them. Also John Carpenter was actually the norweigan trying to throw the grenade and blew himself up, just a neat little cameo.
The dog is supposed to be reacting weirdly from the start, its not behaving like a dog. It seems more like a snake trying to size up its prey in order to eat them. Also everyone had that 70s 80s hair, so Windows, Palmer, and Norris all looked similar. That scene where the dog walks into the room and absorbs its first victim was supposed to confuse you as to who was transformed.
If anyone was ever confused about who had the keys and sabotaged the blood supply, Garry gave his keys to Windows to lock up the Thing they just disected. Windows returns to grab Bennings who was in the middle of being transformed and he dropped the keys in a panic. When they all pursue Bennings so he cant escape when you look at everyone who reacts to the alarm, Palmer isnt present. So its presumed that Palmer was hiding nearby after Windows fled, grabbed the keys, and sabotaged the blood supplies while they were burning Bennings. The Thing also realized that this would implicate Garry and Copper knowing the hierarchy from the people it assimilated.
The Thing is a sentient creature, and it likes to plot and scheme. If you watch the movie a second time, youll notice all the members who are Things dont want to be in charge once Garry steps down as the leader. Norris and Palmer both turn down the opportunity to take charge to avoid being implicated. Additionally when Norris transforms, Palmer rats out part of it trying to escape to establish hes trustworthy.
The ending is the greatest part because its meant to be ambiguous, but based on what John Carpenter has hinted in interviews, if you followed the rules of the movie it makes pretty clear sense how the movie ends. If you put all the information together about the rules the movie fantastically establishes, Childs shows up after the base is destroyed and the Blaire Thing is killed. His demeanor is entirely different, hes far more passive and complacent, its hard to tell if hes wearing his blue jacket but it appears green/brown in the fading flames, McCready being the badass he is, offers Childs a swig from his drink and Childs has no hesitation drinking from the bottle despite knowing the Thing could have turned McCready and is trying to infect him with the bottle.
What I like to think, Blaire transformed Childs first since he was alone, Childs ran to safety while the survivors destroyed the base and the Blaire Thing went to fight the humans to ensure that no one would be left alive to hunt down the thing, rectifying the mistake it made with the Norweigans. Childs showing up to McCready was just what the Thing does, it wont transform if it doesnt sense a threat. It was scoping out McCready to see if he was still hunting it or able to kill it. The thing isnt affected by the cold, as it just goes into hibernation, so when Childs is sitting across from McCready it new he was freezing to death, out of ammo, and he no longer posed a threat. The Thing essentially won, because after McCready froze to death, a team would be sent to either relieve the Americans or try and rescue them, but either way it knew more people were coming. The Thing killed all of its witnesses, so when Childs body would be discovered it would take over new hosts and Humanity is effectively doomed.
There's actually a 2003 PC Game "The Thing", a survival horror that picks up exactly from here, where you control the rescue team after the base blew up
@@FrancescoDeBiasi It was also on playstation 2, and I also owned it.
The game overpromised, had a ton of problems, and the story is fairly abysmal its not considered cannon.
I used to get Game Informer for YEARS and would read up on so many games. When I saw the thing game I was immediately sold and bought it. To my absolute disappointment, blood test kits didnt actually work, the AI was horrendous, and the game sold its self on teammates can randomly become things and trust will be a core mechanic of the game. The devs cut all of that, and it scripted events where people would turn.
I Know MacReady shows up to help, and theres some comical set pieces where you have to run from a bundle of dynamite with a giant goofy Villain timer on it.
But yeah anything outside the original thing is not considered canon, and John Carpenter loves to keep the debate open.
Ugh the fact that the game tried to build on the lore makes me shudder and cringe. xD
2:15 "Let the dog be the main protagonist" - oh bestie, it definitely is, literally the titular character. Can't wait for the revelation.
"Kurt Russell shows up and fills the screen with man"
I feel like that needs to be a meme 😂
I love watching them talk so much about the dog at the beginning, not knowing what’s coming for them.
Had the pleasure of meeting Thomas Waites, Keith David, Wilford Brimley (R.I.P. ❤🌹🙏🏽🕯) and Dean Cundey (Director of Photography) back in 2017 and I told them how incredible the film still was. I saw it when it first came out and 40 years later, the practical effects are still fresh and bloody as hell. Loved your reaction!
Greatest horror film ever made and one of the greatest in general. Not just because of the great cast, ambience, plot etc but because of the concept. Can you imagine anything more frightening? You're on a desolate continent, you're battling an extremely intelligent creature, that is almost indestructible besides against fire/acid, can imitate all life forms and you won't know the difference without a specific test, you have no idea if it's malicious or simply trying to survive, you're dead if it touches you and if it gets to transportation, water or civilization the whole planet is doomed, not only humans. Only thing worse I can think of is utter atomic annihilation.
Yeah, I have a memory, definitely! My first year at university (Southampton, England, 1983/84) - a bunch of us rented a VHS of this film to watch in the kitchen in the hall of residence. Unfortunately I came back from the bar to watch it and I was quite drunk. Every time there was a jump scare I was snorting and giggling because I wasn't really invested in the experience. It was my most shameful moment as a cinephile, and afterwards I was mortified that I'd not done the film justice. Years later I watched it properly, of course. It's a total classic, and one of my favourites. In fact, when I first got a large TV and a surround system, it was the first film I played.
The old guy actually only passed away last year. He was just older looking in general. I met him in 2019 along with Nauls and windows. Recently met bennings and Clark too
What was Richard Mazur like? Guy's a character actor's character actor.
@@MrRezRising very soft spoken. We actually talked a lot about the film Nightmares that he was in.
this movie has been disected millions of times by people trying to figure out who is the thing at each moment, many analysis make emphasis on the camera work and how it gives clues, its refreshing and very interesting too see the first impression of someone at some of those scenes, great video!
"There are movies, and then there are MOVIES and this is a movie!"
you're damn fuckin right
I love how easy it is to miss that in the last scene, only one of them has the frost coming from their breath.
1. The Norgren slit his own wrists.
2. A kick ass John Carpenter movie that also features "Kurt Russel you will enjoy is "Escape from New York"😎
3. That was a doobie.😎
4. This was before CGI.
5. Many chicks freak out over Mac's hat. Some good, some bad.🙄
6. When you said, "Oh my god" when seeing the Norgren I thought "hang onto your ass fred"
7.. Not murder. Self defense because Clark was attacking him with the scalpel.
8. Even with all the cool stuff the part than unhinges me a little more is when Blair is pulling Garry by the face.
9. They're going to freeze to death. Keep in mind you can't see Childs' breath. He was missing for a while.
10. NOTE: Keith Richards is the guitarist for The Rolling Stones.
11. Sorry it took so long to get this out. I just discovered you earlier today.
11. You need to check out "The Mist"
14:40 "Fucking" awesome synchronicity! Hahaha
You guys have a most excellent energy, glad to have found you. I first saw this move 35 Yrs ago on vhs, loved it ever since, it’s in my top 10, great to see your reaction. I would recommend The 5th Element, 12 Monkeys and Brazil.
Thanks so much! Those are cool recommendations too, we appreciate it a ton!
I will always love this film. John Carpenter is a genius!!! Score is also very atmospherical.
“Just fills up the frame with man” 😆👏🏻
Lots of fun watching your reaction!
Thanks a lot!!
Watched this when I was about 7 . Periodically I'll suddenly feel a " wanna watch the thing " again vibe ..I can watch this in it's entirety and not get bored or distracted, no fast forward or anything. Just sit and enjoy it.
Glad you stuck the landing on the ending . By actually getting it you got my sub..looking forward to your next video and will be doing some back catalogue views on your stuff now.
This is a film where you just have to spot the details. And you dudes sure did! Spot-on observations!
We were glued to the screen, it was hard not to find details! 😂 Thanks for watching!
There is actually two versions of this movie. One that was released in theaters and home movie and one that was made for cable movie channels but not really a director's cut. I'm not talking about the editing for swear words or gore but there were several scenes that were different. First is that there was a scene added that implicated the character Childs being The Thing early because before they first saw the Dog-Thing, Childs was seen throwing away something in the garbage that looked suspicously like the clothes that the cook showed that he had found. Another was that Blair was not only infected but his mind had merged with The Thing because when was assimilating Gary out of sight, he spoke "I told you, no one is getitng out of here". The final scene showed the day after the American Base Camp had finished burning down and another snow dog was running in the snow before looking back at the burn ruins. It was shown only a handful of times but people remember it despite it not being seen on any DVD or Blu-Ray releases.
As a child, first VHS tape I rent and brought back home. My mom was shocked. I was in heaven.
I love the fact that they give it away in the opening scene but because no one understands Norwegian (neither the character nor the audience) it’s completely missed.
“Get the hell away! It’s not a dog! It’s imitating a dog!”
Genius.
What I also like about this movie (and older movies in general) is that the characters look like real people with unique recognizable faces, not like a lot of newer movies where all the roles are played by young models who look almost identical, like they rolled off an assembly line.
"Trust the Dog" Yep you both woulda been dead first xD love this movie so much.
Killer reaction. I usually don't like horror movies, but the sheer madness of this had me captivated. Speaking of, I wish you would check out another amazing Carpenter horror: The Mouth of Madness!
There is a theory behind the last scene between MacReady and Childs. MacReady gave him a J&B whiskey bottle, but it actually was a cocktail molotov, same as the ones he was using earlier to torch the camp. The Thing wouldn't know the difference between the taste of gasoline and whiskey, that's why MacReady gives that little smirk after Childs drinks from the bottle. John Carpenter himself never disproved it, thought it was a very neat theory and wishes he'd thought of it while writing the script.
The "old" guy is a famous actor, Wilfred Brimley. He's known for a lot of films and advertising. Most recently, some time before his death last year.....Diabetes commercials. His pronouncement "diabetus" is joked about all the time. Wilfred Brimley is a total star.
Ohhhh, I've seen those commercials actually. He was great in this film as well. It's a shame he passed. Thanks for sharing!
@@NiceDudeMovieNight Thanks. Anyway, not too long before he died (he wasn't that old, either-in his late 40s when he made The Thing), his mustache made him look like the Monopoly guy on the board game.
Great reaction. Fun Fact: Rob Bottin, the special effects guy for this movie, was a 23 year old nerd who was under an apprenticeship who came up with the blood and gore, including the effects of the alien organism for this movie
I like that you guys got why Blaire destroyed all the comms and chopper. A lot of others assume he went crazy, but I was happy you both understood right away. It was refreshing!
It's blows my mind to this day that this film was considered a flop when it debuted, was ridiculed by many critics (such as from Siskel and Ebert) and nearly destroyed Carpenter's career. Carpenter said in an interview that he was passed over for other movies due to how poorly The Thing was received. The problem was timing as this movie came out only 2 weeks after ET.
NOW it's considered a cult classic and among the absolute very best sci-fi horrors ever made, and IT IS!
I saw this at a drive-in back in '82, sitting on the roof of my parent's station wagon with my sister. I was 6, she was 8. It's an awesome, awesome movie that's still talked about today, especially the ending. Some speculate Childs had transformed as you can see MacReady's breath but not Childs' at the end scene. Some say Childs' willingness to drink from a bottle handed to him by what could have been the Thing, throwing caution to the wind indicated he wasn't concerned of being infected as he already was. Some say the bottle was filled with gasoline that MacReady had left over from destroying the camp and "chuckled" when Child's drank it without reaction of it being fuel rather than booze, confirming his suspicion. Some say Child's didn't bother to attack MacReady as he knew both would freeze, MacReady to death, while the infected Childs would simply go back into frozen hibernation until a rescue party retrieves them and inadvertently reactivating the Childs Thing. I don't buy any of it but it sure is fun to toss around with friends.
I personally like to think the Thing was an intentional biological weapon made by some xenophobic ancient civilization that would "seed" life-supporting planets in inhospitable locations such as the middle of the artic. This trap wouldn't ever be sprung unless the native intelligent species advanced just enough to be able to discover it and thaw it out, whipping out the planet's population, ensuring no civilization will ever achieve the same level of technological sophistication as the xenophobic jerk planet.
Great reaction. Fun Fact: Rob Bottin, the special effects guy for this movie, was a 23 year old geek who was under an apprenticeship who came up with the blood and gore, including the effects of the alien organism
I love how you guys just start the review
I think you guys got it. This was a revelation, nothing less. I didn't catch it for about a decade, as I didn't credit it, being an 80's "remake". One of the best flicks ever made. Casting is stellar. The characters overflow with underplayed personality. Every scene...
The screenplay and script are dynamite.
I love watching people react to this immediately being taken in by the dog.
Meanwhile those of us who Know... well, we're just sitting here grinning like idiots waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Technically it's a Carpenter movie, but really it's a Rob Bottin SPFX bonanza movie.
Yeah it seems so! Thanks for watching.
thats a very simple view
Two masters coming together to make something one could not do without the other.
One of my favorite movies ever. Truly a masterpiece
This has got to be my absolute favorite scifi/horror movie of all time. And definitely in the top 5 of all all time favorites.
Old video, so you guys probably won't see this comment, BUT:
They left the ending in a questionable way there to seed doubt into the viewers minds on whether or not the Thing survived, but there are a few things people have noticed that may actually prove it. One is how at the end when you see Childs, there's no fog coming off his breath like there is with Macready, which means Childs likely was a surviving chunk of the Thing. The Thing then doesn't kill Macready, because it knows that he's gonna die no matter what, while the Thing is simply just going to go into hibernation again and wait for people to come figure out what the hell happened.
Which then leads into the canon game sequel to the original movie, which follows the military arriving and investigating the situation. Only for them to then also be infested by a surviving chunk of the Thing, leading into more suspicion and pandemonium. Except now instead of just watching it unfold like the movie, you are actively in the position of someone trying to figure out who can be trusted. They do it really well as well (to a point of annoyance) because if at any point one of the guys you have with you is separated from you, even for a second, the game will randomize whether or not they got infected while they were gone.
It's actually one of the few times a movie game has been good, and aside from a few completely bullshit fights (typical for a game from that age), it holds up pretty well. I highly recommend playing it if you want horrible trust issues.
Hey guys. Your movie reactions are so fun! Love your enthusiasm.
Thank you for giving Mac’s arctic sombrero some love.
Carpenter is a true visionary.
Kind of wild that so many of his movies didn't work for audiences at the time but were appreciated much later. He really stood the test of time!
Blair wasn't infected when he was trashing the control room, just so you know. He was, as you said, just trying to keep the Thing from getting to civilization. Carpenter actually addressed that in an interview. Either Palmer or Norris got to him while he was out in the shed.
I was 5 years old when I first saw this movie back in the 80's. I couldn't sleep soundly for weeks.
Now I fondly look back, and enjoy everything about this cult-classic.
I saw this probably 30 yrs ago... a true classic
I saw it in the theater when it came out. Never saw so many people walk out in the middle of a movie. LOL! It didn't bother me (the gore) because it was SO over-the-top. Unlike ALIEN, which barely let you see the monster, you got great looks at in here, so it didn't scare so much as fascinate you. Nobody had ever seen effects like this up to this point. Rob Bottin and company brought it to life and to me, it's so much more realistic than CGI because these practical effects actually existed outside of a hard drive. That spider head gave many of us nightmares for a long time!
Remember around the same time, E.T. was also in theaters, and that idea of a friendly alien resonated so much better with audiences, hence why The Thing was critically panned when it released, and was a box office bomb (as was Big Trouble in Little China). That's why it's since become a cult film, but it's still a damn shame, coz Carpenter was never really given much creative freedom from studios since. Sure he went on to make other great films, but many consider In the Mouth of Madness to be his very last good movie. I'm still very glad we got this and other of his great films, but he could have been "allowed" to be so much more.
I saw this more times that summer than I've seen E.T. in 40 years! I can actually count on 1 hand how many times I've seen E.T!!
I can't find any comments mentioning it, so i'll say it:
The first scene with MacCready foreshadows the ending of the movie, as well as introducing his character. When he realizes he can't win, he just blows everything up!
I still maintain that this is the greatest horror/suspense movie ever made.
Another master work of a movie, one of my favorites.
Since you asked…
I saw this in the theater when it came out in Miami, FL. Being a not cold tolerant person, I remember, because of the Antarctic setting, shivering from the opening scene to the end.
Kurt Russell was THE badass of our time.
The open ending, that they were frozen and possibly infected, and possibly their corpses could be found and retrieved after the spring thaw, was very impactful.
Great stuff Dudes! This was one of my first reactions and it was super similar to you guys. My fav John Carpenter film I watched by far. Prince of Darkness is also really fun if you guys haven’t seen it yet.
We realized that many people were doing reaction videos on it and now we know why 😂. Thanks for watching!
@@NiceDudeMovieNight Prince of Darkness is a must-watch!
"I don't know what's in there, but it's weird and pissed off!"
I saw it brand new in the theater in the summer of 1982. When I got back to school in the fall, everyone was talking about "ET" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and I was talking about "The Thing"!
This is my childhood's top3 movie(along with Terminator 2 and Back to the future 1).
Amazing movie. Simply speechless every time seeing it.
Jut a fun fact: one interpretation of the final scene is that McReady gave gasoline in the bottle to the black guy and when he did not spit it out, McReady immediately knew that he was also an alien so he is dead. That is why he smiled.