Premise - A twelve man, American scientific research unit in the Antarctic are stunned when a Norwegian helicopter enters their camp chasing a dog and wildly firing a gun. After investigating the Norwegian camp they find no survivors, but evidence that they were excavating something near their camp. What did they dig out of the ice and what killed all of the Norwegians, could it be in their camp? Released in 1982 and cruelly overlooked by moviegoers in favour of another alien themed movie, albeit a slightly friendlier one that just wanted to go home. It wasn't until the video boom of the mid 80's that John Carpenter's The Thing found an audience and something of a following. It's a pity The Thing (I'm going to drop the 'John Carpenter's' bit form now on) didn't find a larger audience upon it's initial release as I could see this being an excellent film to experience on the big screen. The feeling of paranoia and tension would be heightened in a darkened auditorium, at home you can pause the disc, go and make a coffee. In the theatre its constant, non stop, a terror rollercoaster. And that's what The Thing is, a terror rollercoaster. It perfectly combines, terror, tension and paranoia to drag the audience through one hell of a ride. Twenty years old this year, The Thing still holds up today. Carpenter (who shortly after making this film embarked on his legendary downward spiral that saw 'In The Mouth Of Madness' the only film of his that is worth watching from his recent output) expertly weaves gross-out horror, suspense and a good old whodunit storyline in to a cracking bit of modern horror. From the opening shots of a helicopter chasing a lone dog over a barren frozen landscape, Carpenter turns the screw tension wise never allowing the audience time for breath right up to the tour de force 'testing' scene. The tension boils over as MacReady (Kurt Russell) has the entire compliment of the station tied up and tests each blood sample one by one for traces of the thing. Classic moment and a scene that has been ripped off countless times since. Carpenter truly was the master of suspense and the mind boggles as to what happened to this once great director. Can the man who churned out pap like 'Escape From LA', 'Ghost Of Mars' and 'Vampires' possibly be the same man that made this movie, 'Halloween', 'The Fog', 'Escape From New York' and 'Assault On Precinct Thirteen'? Perhaps Carpenter himself has been replaced by a thing? As well as being a cracking bit of suspense cinema, The Thing is an excellent example of gross-out horror. The make up effects by Rob Bottin are amongst the best ever committed to celluloid and are just as impressive today as they were back in 1982. The creature is a shapeshifting devourer and as such never has the same appearance in any two scenes. In one scene it may have the attributes of a dog, in another a man, in another a dog crossed with a man. The creature is slimy, bloody and generally icky. Parts of it can break of and grow into another creature, it's a nasty piece of work. Bottin brings it to life marvellously. Using completely practical methods he worked wonders to bring to life a creature that is more affecting than a dozen CGI creations from any number of modern horror flicks. Boasting an all male cast (outside of the female voice of a computer chess game) whom are all excellent. From the loose cannon Childs (Keith David) to the quiet Norris (Charles Hallahan) to the uptight Palmer (David Clennon) all aspects of the male spectrum are accounted for and each actor brings something different to the plate. Stand out though is Kurt Russell as R.J. MacReady. Russell had worked with Carpenter before (and would again) and this is for me the best work that they did together. Sure, everybody remembers Snake Pliskin from the 'Escape' movies, but MacReady was always my favourite. Russell has played may anti-heroes in his career (Pliskin being another), but MacReady was the ultimate anti-hero. Willing to do anything, absolutely anything to conserve his own being. In this respect he is no different from the thing, but by the end of the film he is willing to sacrifice his own life to prevent the thing from reaching civilisation. Also, MacReady's pay off to the creature is one of the best in film history, it's not cheesy like something Ahnuld would come away with, it's just something that you or I might say, classic. The Thing is easily one of the finest horror movies ever made, it combines the best aspects of the suspense genre, but blends them seamlessly with elements of gross-out horror. A highly recommended paranoid classic.

8/10 for John Carpenter's The Thing. Poster Quote - This is the thing.