Well, that was gruesome. Perhaps I shouldn’t have chosen a dark rainy day when I was sick and alone in the house to watch it. What I need now is some nice wholesome hockey with fistfighting.
Well done on the paranoia aspect. In my mind, The Thing is Alien is JC’s The Thing, as the same basic reliable haunted house theme is reworked and improved upon. I really thought it was the dog guy Clark who was going to burst out as the next alien manifestation - they got me good. Wilford Brimley made a good possible suspect, as well. I can’t pinpoint when he got infected, though - probably when he was isolated in that shed, I suppose.
I saw it when it first came out, and I was disappointed with it. I sort of recall the dogs in the cages, and it didn’t freak me out, but then I was disappointed that it seemed such a departure from the original (1951). I don’t even recall if I finished watching it. The original definitely made an impression on me; I never forgot it, and I bought it as soon as it came out on VHS. I prefer a horror movie that grabs me at the outset and then slowly tweaks out the “horror” with suspense and intelligent reasoning by the characters, leading up to a surprising and a relatively horrifying but happy ending. Blood and guts just don’t do it for me. I’m not squeamish; I just like decent dialogue, acting, and suspense. (Although I think that the “mad doctor” in the original was a little over the top.)
I caught it on one of the late late night showings on TV once (mid-80’s). Scared and creeped the bejeezus out of me. I didn’t get much sleep that night.
The original is more of a departure from the book than the remake is.