# Let's talk about "The Thing" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [February 15, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840 "2023-02-15T18:03:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/21 "2023-02-15T18:51:54Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > The co-feature was “Cat People.” If you haven’t seen the 1942 original, directed by Jacques Tourneur, I recommend it. It is generally held up as the acme of subtle, unseen but vividly-imagined horror. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/22 "2023-02-15T18:59:37Z")
Actually, that was a typo. Meant to say “such”. The film holds up to repeat viewing. Watched it recently and noticed that when Nauls comes back and say he cut MacReady loose because he thought he was a Thing that Palmer and Norris, who are both Things by that time, give each other puzzled looks like: “I didn’t do it, did you do it?” ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/23 "2023-02-15T21:01:57Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > How about the comic adaptation from 1976? I have those comics as well. I find it amazing that Rob Bottin, the guy who did the special effects was only 22 when he started on the project. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/24 "2023-02-15T21:41:47Z")
Not long before the 1982 film came out, I cribbed the Starstream comic to write a radio play of “Who Goes There?” for college radio (Filterable Virus Theater on KUCI FM). I went to the Carpenter film expecting a remake of the Howard Hawks film and was thrilled to discover it was much closer to the original source. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/25 "2023-02-15T21:59:33Z")
Threads from just this decade: > [@The Thing movie question: Spoilers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403): > > As I recall it, they > [@The Thread about The Thing (1982)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thread-about-the-thing-1982/951421): > > My 15 year old daughter’s best friend was over this weekend and they wanted to watch a scary movie. They were perusing our various streaming services and finding a bunch of dumb slasher movies, and I said they should watch The Thing, so we all watched it together. They doubted me. What was this 40-year-old movie starring a guy with a beard? No CGI? What the… They LOVED it. Loved it. They talked about it all the next day. They’re smart kids, and I was impressed with how they talked in ter… ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/26 "2023-02-15T22:08:21Z")
I love the '82 _Thing_ but realize just now that I haven’t seen it in ages. I gotta fix that quickly. I don’t think I saw this up-thread, but Peter Watts (my favorite sci-fi author, wrote _Blindspot_ and _Echopraxia_ both of which I totally recommend) wrote a short story from the perspective of the Thing. [The Things](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/) (full short story for free) > The events of The Thing as well as other happenings are told from the perspective of the alien, a shape-shifting sentient biomass that can absorb and imitate other lifeforms. The alien thinks of itself as an “explorer, an ambassador, a missionary” of the biomass it consists of, the primary instinct of which is to “commune”, i.e. absorb and matriculate on a cellular level with other biologies. Confused, damaged, and unfamiliar with earthly fauna, the alien eventually learns the horrifying secret of man: I’m not going to spoil it ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/27 "2023-02-15T23:01:46Z")
Just read The Things- I recommend it as highly as Carpenter’s film. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/28 "2023-02-16T00:02:33Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > When the upside-down head sprouts legs and skitters. The screeching blood is what always freaks me out. Even when I know it’s coming! ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/29 "2023-02-16T00:03:08Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > When the upside-down head sprouts legs and skitters. :shudder: I think one of the dudes says something like, “You gotta be fucking kidding me” when he sees it skittering out the room and it just cracked me up. It’s just amazing to me that _The Thing_ bombed and to listen to Roger Ebert talk smack about the movie. I seriously consider this to be a near perfect movie in that I really can’t think of many things that need to be improved. The acting is excellent, the characters are believeable, the monster is horrendous, and the story is just fantastic. I could talk about _The Thing_ all day. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/30 "2023-02-16T00:41:08Z")
The Carpenter/Russell commentary on the DVD/Blu-ray is one of the best around. They’re obviously good friends who enjoy getting together to talk about the movie and their other projects. Kurt in particular is having a great time, he busts out into fits of laughter during the most intense SFX scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/31 "2023-02-16T00:53:52Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I think one of the dudes says something like, “You gotta be fucking kidding me” when he sees it skittering out the room and it just cracked me up. And he’s a Thing too, which is even funnier. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/32 "2023-02-16T01:05:16Z")
Speak of the devil and who appears? [[Album] Another Infestation In The Kitchen! ![](https://i.imgur.com/n9F71lv.jpeg?fb "Another Infestation In The Kitchen!") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/leEVyCe) Now, I’m off to buy traps and post in a thread about busty, leatherclad ex nuns. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/33 "2023-02-16T01:18:02Z")
Why wasn’t this well received, initially? _Alien_ was in '79 and that has such a similar vibe. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/34 "2023-02-16T01:20:56Z")
I don’t know and was surpised to hear it. I only escaped the uterine gulag in 75. You’ll need an older Doper to tell you what things were like in 79. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/35 "2023-02-16T02:18:21Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Why wasn’t this well received, initially? _Alien_ was in '79 and that has such a similar vibe. That may be why. Without the paranoia, it _is_ just an _Alien_ knockoff. That element may take longer than the length of the movie to sink in for some people. People watching it for the first time now are aware of its reputation and are looking for something beyond the visuals. Most people back then weren’t doing the mafia game style calculations that we do on repeated viewings. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/36 "2023-02-16T02:52:43Z")
My favorite line from that movie: “I don’t know, but it’s weird and it’s pissed off!” ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/37 "2023-02-16T03:58:32Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Why wasn’t this well received, initially? _Alien_ was in '79 and that has such a similar vibe. 1982 was also the year E.T. was released. According to Wikipedia, they tried to market it like Alien with the tagline “The ultimate in alien terror.” Originally it was supposed to be “Man is the warmest place to hide.” Test audiences didn’t seem all that thrilled with it either though. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/38 "2023-02-16T04:09:55Z")
I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I’d rather not spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH! ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/39 "2023-02-16T04:39:07Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > It’s just amazing to me that _The Thing_ bombed and to listen to Roger Ebert talk smack about the movie. IIRC, the grotesque horror effects were pretty controversial and disturbing for the time. I think that was a problem for some folks, including Ebert. Funny how they’re much more acceptable now. Their ahead-of-their-time designs and concepts might be, in part, why it’s still so watchable today. I’ve thought it was a great movie since I saw it on HBO shortly after its release. Of course, I was a teenage boy and the effects were just my speed. Just an INCREDIBLE monster/alien - I don’t think it’s been equaled. Somewhere around here I have an old indie comic from the late 80’s/early 90’s that is all about the effects, drawings and creature concepts lifted directly from their pre-production notebooks. I wish I could find it - I can’t even find a picture of it online. A real gem for fans of the film. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840/40 "2023-02-16T04:59:45Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > > [@Odesio](#): > > > > I think one of the dudes says something like, “You gotta be fucking kidding me” when he sees it skittering out the room and it just cracked me up. > > And he’s a Thing too, which is even funnier. Hehehe, maybe he’s talking to the other thing, basically saying “That will never work, you idiot!” But really, that’s the thing about this movie that is brilliant, it’s so ambiguous, and so well executed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-thing/979840.md?page=3)