Rated: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Year: 1982
Boobs: Zero
One Sentence: A look at one of the classics.
Sometimes at The Reviewer we are going to take a look back at an older movie. At The Alamo Drafthouse this weekend, they were showing The Thing. I have never seen The Thing, and they were showing it with a new 35mm print, so it was time to check it out. I was all about the classic horror sci-fi cult classic and I was there early and ready and waiting for the movie excited!
The movie was great, it was scary, gross, well put together, and not only delt with an outside foe, but the internal foe of man. Or sort of man, but it had more than this one level of fear. We were afraid not only of the gross spider head monster thing and whatever else came crawling around the Antarctic base but the other humans no one could trust anyone else and this is where this movie shines. I might be the only one here that has not seen this movie, but I was amazed and I think that is why even now, it is being shown on new 35mm prints, with the audience clapping when the movie ended.
Another thing I loved about this movie that I do miss, and I think any fan of the original Star Wars movies knows what I am talking about. The loss of puppets and real tangible things to create monsters and characters. I think that most of the stuff in The Thing looked amazing. It looked real, plausible, and really really gross, there were things you can do with a real vat of red dye and astroglide, that you can't do with CG still. Some things you are limited with puppets, but when it is done right it looks so much more real, and The Thing is a great example of it. This movie is an excellent collaboration of makeup, special effects old school style, and good old fashion horror. If you have never seen The Thing I would pick it up as a rental for sure.
