Anytime. Anywhere. Anyone.
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
HorrorMysteryScience Fictionspacecrafthelicopterspace marinecoldbased on novel or bookisolationmutationparanoiahalloweensnowstormresearch stationalien life-form
- Body horror
- Bleak ending
- Graphic violence
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Where do you stand?
Three questions people argue about. Answer first, then see how your circle and the community split.
Is this John Carpenter's best work?
Sign in to answer12 curators have answered. Answer to see the split.
Is it the best horror film of its decade?
Sign in to answer13 curators have answered. Answer to see the split.
Would The Thing hit harder if it came out today rather than in 1982?
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Ask the title a question
Answered from the reviews and content notes on file, never made up. If nothing on file settles it, it says so.
Character
Earnest, bleak, intimate and classical in form.
- earnestironic
- warmbleak
- intimateepic
- classical in formformally daring
- gravecomic
Who loves it, who doesn't
56 profiled raters. Loved most by The Provocateurs; disliked most by The Genre Devotees.
Reviews
We read them all: the case for is viktor_v's, funniest is ruthless_ruth's. Marked below.
- ruthless_ruthFunniestThe Provocateur★★★★½
Paranoia as a physical substance. Nobody trusts anybody and the film agrees with them. The blood test scene is a perfect short film.
- viktor_vThe case forThe Provocateur★★★★★
The best practical effects ever put on film, and they are not the point. The point is the room, and who is looking at whom. Carpenter's masterpiece.
Cast
- Kurt RussellMacReady
- Wilford BrimleyBlair
- T.K. CarterNauls
- David ClennonPalmer
- Keith DavidChilds
- Richard DysartDr. Copper
- Charles HallahanNorris
- Peter MaloneyBennings
- Richard MasurClark
- Donald MoffatGarry
Crew
- John CarpenterDirector
- Bill LancasterScreenplay
- John W. Campbell Jr.Novel
- Dean CundeyDirector of Photography
- Ennio MorriconeOriginal Music Composer
- John CarpenterOriginal Music Composer
- Alan HowarthOriginal Music Composer
- Todd C. RamsayEditor
- David FosterProducer
- Lawrence TurmanProducer
Where to watch
| Stream | |
|---|---|
| Free | |
| Rent | |
| Buy |
US availability, powered by JustWatch via TMDB. Other regions
Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Curator Co. Other media included when they land close.
The Others 200178% alikeBoth earnest, grave, intimate.
Night of the Living Dead 196877% alikeBoth earnest, bleak, grave.
Gretel & Hansel 202075% alikeBoth earnest, grave, bleak.
Alien 197974% alikeBoth earnest, bleak, grave.
Rebecca 194073% alikeBoth earnest, grave, classical in form.
Deliverance 197272% alikeBoth earnest, bleak, classical in form.
Shutter Island 201072% alikeBoth earnest, grave, bleak.
Bunny Lake Is Missing 196571% alikeBoth earnest, grave, bleak.
Kamaitachi no Yoru 199477% alikeGame · Both earnest, grave, bleak.
Amnesia: Rebirth 202068% alikeGame · Both earnest, bleak, grave.
Often watched with
Recommendations from TMDB. Opening one adds it to Curator Co.
