# The Thing (John Carpenter) appreciation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486 "2020-05-09T18:38:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/1 "2020-05-09T18:38:45Z")
If you like Carpenter’s **The Thing** , you might enjoy this. It was mentioned in the SDMB several years ago, which is how I learned about it. I’m posting because I just re-read it last night and had forgotten how good it is. SciFi writer Peter Watts gives us a look at the story from the alien’s point of view. > **[Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction & Fantasy](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/)** > > Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast. This page: The Things by Peter Watts ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/2 "2020-05-09T18:51:59Z")
Nice. This movie terrified me for years as a child. For boardgamers, a [2nd Edition version of _Who Goes There_](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/certifiablegames/who-goes-there-2nd-edition?ref=user_menu) (based on the source novel) was recently campaigned on Kickstarter. The campaign is over but the game is still available for preorder. I don’t have any association with Certifiable Studios other than being a KS backer to the game. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/3 "2020-05-10T00:35:51Z")
It’s my absolute favorite movie. Thanks for the link! ---
**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:** [May 10, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/4 "2020-05-10T00:44:35Z")
It is a great film. Carpenter’s best. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/5 "2020-05-10T02:52:37Z")
The scenes with the dog I could watch over and over. Just rewatched a day or two ago. One of the best science-fiction horror movies! As for the story, very well done! Read it several times, and it weaves with the movie almost seamlessly. Off to read it again! ---
**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:** [May 10, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/6 "2020-05-10T15:40:40Z")
Learned during my first viewing years ago to NOT watch movies like that after midnight. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/7 "2020-05-10T16:13:26Z")
Great movie and it ends on such a down note. I didn’t realize for a while till watching fan theories about the ending how Kurt Russell’s character Macready may have given Childs a jug of gasoline instead of alcohol to see if he was the creature, like he says there’s not much he can do about it anyway, the creature can just go back to sleep and wait… ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/8 "2020-05-10T16:27:06Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Great movie and it ends on such a down note. I didn’t realize for a while till watching fan theories about the ending how Kurt Russell’s character Macready may have given Childs a jug of gasoline instead of alcohol to see if he was the creature, like he says there’s not much he can do about it anyway, the creature can just go back to sleep and wait… Childs also doesn’t produce condensation when he exhales until he sees macready doing it. However irl identifying things should be easy. Just make everyone get piercings that you can’t do yourself at home. Anyone who lacks one gets tested. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/9 "2020-05-10T16:54:44Z")
My favorite scene is where the head detaches itself, flops on the floor, sprouts legs, skitters away and the guy says “You gotta be fucking kidding…” ---
**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:** [May 10, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/10 "2020-05-10T20:51:53Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > My favorite scene is where the head detaches itself, flops on the floor, sprouts legs, skitters away and the guy says “You gotta be fucking kidding…” Made even more ironic when it turns out the guy making the comment is a Thing himself. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/11 "2020-05-10T21:42:33Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > My favorite scene is where the head detaches itself, flops on the floor, sprouts legs, skitters away and the guy says “You gotta be fucking kidding…” If I remember correctly from the DVD commentary track, that’s also Kurt Russell’s favorite moment. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/12 "2020-05-12T01:08:56Z")
Apparently it was an influence on Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. There was also a little homage to the head scene in It:Chapter 2. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/13 "2020-05-12T02:56:12Z")
“You gotta be fucking kidding…” was referenced in “It Chapter Two.” Wonderful line. Whenever I visit my best friend or vice versa, we always watch “The Thing.” At Scott-Amundsen Station at the South Pole, the first night of winter - before they’re trapped there in the dark for six months - they watch “The Thing.” ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/14 "2020-05-12T04:17:24Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Made even more ironic when it turns out the guy making the comment is a Thing himself. It took me a lot of viewings before I realized that Windows freaked out over the discussion of who last had the keys because _he_ was the one who last had the keys, and he dropped em when he saw bennings getting enThingulated. I see something new everytime I watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/15 "2020-05-17T00:35:31Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Learned during my first viewing years ago to NOT watch movies like that after midnight. I learned after my first viewing that a person may find it difficult to go to bed and cuddle with a significant other afterwards. Good thing it was a several-dates-later and not first date movie as was originally planned. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/16 "2020-05-17T01:51:03Z")
Inspired by this thread, I got the Blu-ray and just finished watching it with the commentary track. Russell and Carpenter are great together, it’s clear that they are good pals. I especially enjoyed Kurt’s uninhibited guffaws at the most tense moments, he obviously had a blast revisiting the movie. Now I want to get Escape From New York so I can listen to that commentary track. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/17 "2020-05-17T05:04:18Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Inspired by this thread, I got the Blu-ray and just finished watching it with the commentary track. Russell and Carpenter are great together, it’s clear that they are good pals. I especially enjoyed Kurt’s uninhibited guffaws at the most tense moments, he obviously had a blast revisiting the movie. Now I want to get Escape From New York so I can listen to that commentary track. Be warned- the DVD/BR Carpenter-Russell commentary track for **Big Trouble In Little China** (my favorite Carpenter film) is a disappointment. As I remember it they just aren’t really into it and even start talking about their kids at one point. They obviously enjoy each other’s company but it just isn’t very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/18 "2020-05-17T23:08:12Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Be warned- the DVD/BR Carpenter-Russell commentary track for **Big Trouble In Little China** (my favorite Carpenter film) is a disappointment That’s a shame, it’s such a good film. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/19 "2020-05-18T19:37:03Z")
I recall Roger Ebert calling this movie “the barf bag movie of the summer.” I saw it at a drive-in, and it did kinda put me off my buttered popcorn. Some years later, I found a hardback book in a used book store titled “It Came from Hollywood,” which contains the original stores on which many Hollywood sci-fi classics were based, including “Who Goes There,” the basis of “The Thing.” The original story is extremely well-written and descriptive, and Carpenter’s movie follows the story very closely. I’ve read it several times, as recently as a month ago, and always find it a gripping tale. The movie’s ending is a bit more downbeat, though. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-john-carpenter-appreciation/853486/20 "2020-05-18T21:38:22Z")
Such a great movie for our current times: The whole suspicion over who is “infected” and who isn’t, leading to the breakdown of their little civilized world. The one line from MacReady “…everyone prepare your own food…”, Blair’s primitive computer simulation of the spread to the world, etc.