Film Challenge Week 20: A film CinemaJoe has rated 5 stars

Film: The Thing (1982)

Genre: Horror/Sci-fi

Watched on: Peacock

CinemaJoe was one of the first film reviewers I followed on TikTok who gave reliable, trustworthy reviews. I like his rapid monthly wrap-ups, and the new movie releases keep me in the loop of what's coming out each month.

I was curious to see what films were rated 5 stars, to which I was not disappointed. As of December 3rd, Joe has rated 163 films 5 stars. Using Letterboxd's amazing filters, I was able to see that out of 163 films, 70 of those were watched by me (including The Thing). I love Letterboxd so much.

I'm woefully behind on these reviews, so this prompt happened back on Halloween Eve, which means I was in the mood for a horror film. John Carpenter is best known as a horror auteur for his work on The Thing and Halloween. It felt fitting to finally watch The Thing after seeing it on many to-watch lists over the years.

The Thing follows a group of American scientists in Antarctica, who encountered some Norwegian scientists shooting at a Husky one day. They shot at them and asked questions later. They soon come to find out that the dog is an alien entity that can morph into any living being, devouring its victims in the most gruesome ways.

Although The Thing has some impressive body horror scenes a la Alien (1979), what really spooked me was the psychological turmoil that the scientists had to endure. Any one of them could be infected by the alien or the alien itself disguised as one of them. The setting of a base camp in the middle of nowhere is deeply unsettling because there's nowhere else to go.

They're trapped on this base camp with an alien that's on a mission to eat them.

There's a sense of claustrophobia to this film that was an underlying tension alongside the lack of trust between the crew members. With nowhere to escape and no one to trust, there is only one way out – kill or be killed.

I was also amazed by the special effects that served as a reminder of how filmmaking is truly an art form. The alien was grotesque, unnerving, and downright horrifying. As not to spoil anything for those who have yet to watch this, I decided against adding any stills of the alien.

I appreciate the visceral quality of the special effects used, which I read on Wikipedia consisted of various materials, such as creamed corn, microwaved bubble gum, and even K-Y Jelly. Special effects artist Rob Bottin suggested that the alien should be able to morph into anything and not be a singular creature, which I believe is what made this film truly iconic.

A companion piece to pair with The Thing is Slither. Both feature aliens, body horror, and the zombie element of being potentially infected. When the credits rolled, my main reaction was "Of course, James Gunn directed Slither!" The humor and absurdity were very on brand. After watching both of these films, I realized that I do enjoy alien films a lot. I still think about Alien: Romulus from time to time, which reminds me that I should watch Alien: Earth.

I rated The Thing 4.5 stars.