# The Thing movie question: Spoilers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 17, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403 "2022-06-17T20:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/21 "2022-06-18T16:10:07Z")
I always felt like The Thing worked like zombification in some zombie stories, where you can’t turn into a zombie unless you die first. Every single time we see an attempt in progress of transformation it’s an incredibly violent process. If The Thing could just slip something into your water to turn you I feel it would have done that from the start. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/22 "2022-06-18T16:12:44Z")
I just looked it up for giggles and Nauls was supposed to be Thinged in the basement but they felt it didn’t look great and Carpenter liked the mystery. In the book he kills himself before it can Thing him. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/23 "2022-06-18T16:15:20Z")
That makes sense. I’ve always thought Nauls just walking out of the movie was its weakest moment, and suspected it was just that the scene was bad and they edited out after the chance to reshoot it. You already have Fuchs choosing suicide earlier. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/24 "2022-06-18T16:27:14Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > > > The implication is that it is some kind of vehicle to fly or travel over snow to McMurdo and from there transfer to other populations. > > That’s kind of what I assumed, but then we don’t know for sure, nor can we know it can’t go into space. The Thing’s technical capabilities are not known to us. Who knows if it can go into space or not—all it needs to do is transport The Thing someplace else: > [@](#): > > INT. BLAIR’S SHACK > > Empty. A few of the floorboards are loosened. They pull > them up. They stare down into a large hole beneath the > planking. Something is down there. They pull up more > boards. > > The hole is some fifteen feet deep. Its dimensions are > the same as the shack. Its space is almost completely > taken up by some strange metallic object. > > Crudely fashioned, a patchwork job, but streamlined. > Sheets of corrugated steel are visible; but cut apart and > welded into the desired shapes. The object appears to be > unfinished. > > ``` > NAULS > What is it? > > MACREADY > Everything that's been missing. > > CHILDS > Spaceship of some kind. > > MACREADY > Smart S.O.B. He put it together > piece by piece. > > NAULS > Where was he trying to go? > > MACREADY > Anyplace but here. > > ``` > > MacReady pulls out a dozen tightly wrapped sticks of > dynamite. > > ``` > MACREADY > But he ain't going to make it. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/25 "2022-06-18T16:39:08Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > For some time into the movie, remember, Blair takes actions clearly motivated towards STOPPING the Thing; he smashes the comms equipment and destroys the helicopter, so that the Thing can’t get away from Outpost 31. To borrow from Mafia terminology, taking pro-Town actions doesn’t prove you’re not Scum. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/26 "2022-06-18T17:00:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To borrow from Mafia terminology, taking pro-Town actions doesn’t prove you’re not Scum. Which leads to the question - is MacReady’s blood test a trick? Does it actually work? Or is it a bluff to convince the humans that MacReady is one of them? Mac, heavily under suspicion as an infected after someone finds his bloodied and shredded long Johns, proposes the test to prove he’s human. But what if he’s infected, knows that the test is worthless, but has enough control/communication to have the infected blood sample react? The Thing sacrifices one pawn that’s tied to the couch, but now has a perfectly trusted agent inside the group. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/27 "2022-06-18T17:01:09Z")
The intelligence of the Thing is never established either-it may have been aping someone else in building the “spaceship.” ---
**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:** [June 18, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/28 "2022-06-18T18:00:49Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > In the book he kills himself before it can Thing him. What book? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/29 "2022-06-18T18:03:20Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > What book? More of a short story. [“Who Goes There?” by John Campbell](https://wp.nyu.edu/darknessspeaks/wp-content/uploads/sites/3674/2016/09/who_goes_there.pdf) ---
**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:** [June 18, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/30 "2022-06-18T18:48:33Z")
Sorry, I meant [the novelization of the movie](https://www.amazon.com/Thing-Novel-Alan-Dean-Foster/dp/0553204777). I haven’t read it, though. I just got that part from [TvTropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/TheThing1982), to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/31 "2022-06-18T19:08:55Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Which leads to the question - is MacReady’s blood test a trick? Does it actually work? Or is it a bluff to convince the humans that MacReady is one of them? Mac, heavily under suspicion as an infected after someone finds his bloodied and shredded long Johns, proposes the test to prove he’s human. But what if he’s infected, knows that the test is worthless, but has enough control/communication to have the infected blood sample react? The Thing sacrifices one pawn that’s tied to the couch, but now has a perfectly trusted agent inside the group. While that’s possible, it clearly does freak out at least one Thing. Movie wise, MacReady’s speech where he clearly states what he has figured out - that every Thing’s tissue is a Thing, as opposed to humans, who are individual units - is presented to the audience as the revelation of a fact, not someone lying for gain. > [@DPRK](#): > > Who knows if it can go into space or not—all it needs to do is transport The Thing someplace else: That dialogue isn’t quote how the movie goes, it must be an older draft. In the movie, Childs isn’t there at all. It’s just MacReady, Nauls, and Barry. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/32 "2022-06-18T19:10:56Z")
I don’t think Things cooperated. If they did the blood extracted for the tests would just sit there and take the heat. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/33 "2022-06-18T19:45:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That dialogue isn’t quote how the movie goes, it must be an older draft. In the movie, Childs isn’t there at all. It’s just MacReady, Nauls, and Barry. I had not noticed when I did the search, but you are right: it is labelled “Second draft, March 4, 1981.” ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/34 "2022-06-18T21:00:44Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I don’t think Things cooperated. If they did the blood extracted for the tests would just sit there and take the heat. There are a _lot_ of theories, but the most common one is that they are colony creatures of sorts, so the smaller the mass, the lower the net intellect. So a human-ish mass would be smart enough to fake things, but once separated, a few mL of blood can only act instinctively. In the greater world of the franchise (games and comics) there are confirmations that, yes, smaller creatures don’t have sapience/intelligence, and may not even retain a personal ego from prior, sentient iterations. Although then you get into what you consider canon and the Fan-wars begin. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/35 "2022-06-18T21:26:52Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Although then you get into what you consider canon and the Fan-wars begin. There really isn’t any canon to speak of; Carpenter left the motivations and capabilities of the ‘Thing’ as ambiguous for the audience as they are to the characters to produce the immersive experience of being isolated, alone and afraid. The editing, somewhat confusing progression and timeline, minimalist dialogue, and ambiguity in the ending are all quite deliberate. The studio objected to the downer ending and Universal exec Sid Sheinberg—the guy who later made it his mission to ruin Terry Gilliam’s _Brazil_ with the abysmal “Love Conquers All” cut—wanted an ending with the creature dying in flame set to an orchestral crescendo, which makes you wonder if he watched any part of the actual film. Carpenter was actually approached repeatedly over the years to make a sequel that would explain more about the Thing and its motivations, the prospect of which makes even less sense than the inane _Jurassic Park_ series, and had the good sense to refuse. (One wishes he’d done the same with _Escape from L.A._ but he apparently needed both the money and some credibility with studios after both _Memoirs of the Invisible Man_ and his remake of _The Village of the Damned_ tanked at the box office). The 2011 remake-in-guise-of prequel actually gives no credit to Carpenter even though it clearly references the story of the earlier film and has several scenes that are virtually shot-for-shot copies. Presumably Carpenter saw a working print and asked to not be credited because there is no way that he doesn’t at least merit a “Story by” credit. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/36 "2022-06-18T21:32:35Z")
In terms of canon, it isn’t limited to only Carpenter’s vision - fans often select information from the original short story (substantially different in terms of the alien for those who haven’t clicked the links earlier), the video games, the comics, and even the short story from the alien’s POV linked earlier. But as I said, that way lies wars in terms of what is ‘true’ or not. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/37 "2022-06-18T21:42:13Z")
I’ve wondered for years about Windows taking blood samples with a knife that he “cleaned” by wiping it on the leg of his pants. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/38 "2022-06-18T22:05:42Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > More of a short story. > > [“Who Goes There?” by John Campbell](https://wp.nyu.edu/darknessspeaks/wp-content/uploads/sites/3674/2016/09/who_goes_there.pdf) Not “the book” he means. (I read WGT ages ago.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/39 "2022-06-18T22:28:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > While that’s possible, it clearly does freak out at least one Thing. Sure - that’s the sacrificial pawn. If Mac does the test, and nobody fails, then they don’t know if the test worked or not. If Mac does the test, and one person fails, then they think they have a method of proving who is and is not safe. If the creature is a genuine gestalt intelligence, giving up the instance on the couch isn’t a loss, no more than a lizard shedding its tail to escape a predator. > [@](#): > > Movie wise, MacReady’s speech where he clearly states what he has figured out - that every Thing’s tissue is a Thing, as opposed to humans, who are individual units - is presented to the audience as the revelation of a fact, not someone lying for gain. Given the film’s themes of suspicion and things not being what they appear, I wouldn’t put much stock in what ideas the film’s narrative appears to endorse. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The studio objected to the downer ending and Universal exec Sid Sheinberg—the guy who later made it his mission to ruin Terry Gilliam’s _Brazil_ with the abysmal “Love Conquers All” cut… Sheinberg also penned the famous memo to Robert Zemeckis suggesting that _Back to the Future_ be renamed “Space Man from Pluto.” [![](https://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2015/10/CR5a7joU8AAULqD.jpg?w=980&q=75) ](https://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2015/10/CR5a7joU8AAULqD.jpg?w=980&q=75) ---
**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:** [June 18, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403/40 "2022-06-18T22:42:25Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Sheinberg also penned the famous memo to Robert Zemeckis suggesting that _Back to the Future_ be renamed “Space Man from Pluto.” He was also the exec that insisted on hiring Eric Stoltz to play Marty McFly when Zemeckis’ and the producers’ first choice of Michael J. Fox was not available for the shooting schedule to meet the studios’ release date. Stoltz turned out to be so bad at the role, and argued so much with the director and other cast members about the basic premise of the film (which he felt should be a tragedy in which Marty is aliened by the changed world that he returns to) that he was fired after weeks of filming and Fox was brought in as a last minute replacement with all filming being shot around his availability, literally being just driven back and forth between the movie set and the studio where _Family Ties_ was filmed for days on end. Sid Sheinberg may be the worst of all studio executives in history, including the guy who insisted on putting spiders in every movie including _The Wild Wild West_. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thing-movie-question-spoilers/966403.md?page=3)