120+ movies: The Thing

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120+ Movies of 2011, Annual Movie Challenge

The ThingThe Thing (29/10/11)

Scientists in the Antarctic are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people who it kills.

With the remake coming out fairly soon, I figured I need to educate myself on the original. And I’m glad I did.

Excellent horror/sci-fi film. It’s all about the paranoia. The scene where Mac’s testing the blood samples had me on the edge of my sofa. Loved it. Nothing in it was really all that predictable. The Thing itself was the most original and grotesque thing I’ve seen in a film. Seriously, it was just disgusting. But in the best kind of disgusting way.

The score from Ennio Morricone was fantastic. Built the tension beautifully. Without it, it wouldn’t have been nearly as tense.

Looking forward to seeing the remake and seeing how it’ll compare to this.
Rating: 4/5

Read on to see the entire list of movies seen this year so far:

87 Movies so far this Year

  1. The Horse Whisperer 3/5 (01/01/11)
  2. The Informant! 3/5 (09/01/11)
  3. The Fighter 4/5 (11/01/11)
  4. 127 Hours 5/5 (14/01/11)
  5. The Wolfman 3/5 (15/01/11)
  6. Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story 4/5 (16/01/11)
  7. The King’s Speech 5/5 (19/01/11)
  8. The Town 4/5 (20/01/11)
  9. Ninja Assassin 2/5 (24/01/11)
  10. He’s Just Not That Into You 1/5 (25/01/11)
  11. Imagine That 1/5 (27/01/11)
  12. Gentlemen Broncos 2/5 (04/02/11)
  13. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale 4/5 (06/02/11)
  14. Daybreakers 3/5 (12/02/11)
  15. The Book of Eli 2/5 (13/02/11)
  16. True Grit 4/5 (15/02/11)
  17. Red 1/5 (19/02/11)
  18. Invictus 3/5 (20/02/11)
  19. Coraline 2/5 (28/02/11)
  20. Juno 3/5 (02/03/11)
  21. Monsters vs. Aliens 1/5 (06/03/11)
  22. Jennifer’s Body 2/5 (06/03/11)
  23. Rango 4/5 (09/03/11)
  24. The Crazies 4/5 (11/03/11)
  25. Lakeview Terrace 1/5 (12/03/11)
  26. Battle: Los Angeles 3/5 (13/03/11)
  27. Submarine 4/5 (14/03/11)
  28. The Adjustment Bureau 2/5 (16/03/11)
  29. Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief 2/5 (18/03/11)
  30. The Happening 1/5 (19/03/11)
  31. Sucker Punch 2/5 (02/04/11)
  32. Carriers 1/5 (03/04/11)
  33. Source Code 4/5 (06/04/11)
  34. 3:10 to Yuma 3/5 (09/04/11)
  35. Walking Tall 1/5 (12/04/11)
  36. Your Highness 3/5 (13/04/11)
  37. El Mariachi 3/5 (14/03/11)
  38. From Paris With Love 3/5 (15/04/11)
  39. Scream 4 3/5 (16/04/11)
  40. Hot Tub Time Machine 2/5 (17/04/11)
  41. Attack the Block 4/5 (20/04/11)
  42. The International 2/5 (23/04/11)
  43. Thor 5/5 (25/04/11)
  44. Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist 5/5 (28/04/11)
  45. A Beautiful Mind 4/5 (06/05/11)
  46. Extract 2/5 (05/05/11)
  47. Hanna 4/5 (06/05/11)
  48. Catfish 3/5 (07/05/11)
  49. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 2/5 (20/05/11)
  50. The Hangover Part II 3/5 (27/05/11)
  51. How to Train Your Dragon 4/5 (28/05/11)
  52. Zodiac 4/5 (28/05/11)
  53. Up in the Air 5/5 (30/05/11)
  54. X-Men: First Class 4/5 (01/06/11)
  55. Electra Luxx 3/5 (04/06/11)
  56. The Usual Suspects 5/5 (05/06/11)
  57. Senna 5/5 (10/06/11)
  58. The Human Centipede 1/5 (10/06/11)
  59. Green Lantern 2/5 (17/06/11)
  60. Paul 3/5 (18/06/11)
  61. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 4/5 (29/06/11)
  62. Predators 2/5 (30/07/11)
  63. Captain America: The First Avenger 3/5 (31/07/11)
  64. Super 8 5/5 (11/08/11)
  65. The Secret in Their Eyes 5/5 (13/08/11)
  66. [Rec] 2 3/5 (14/08/11)
  67. Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4/5 (16/08/11)
  68. Cowboys & Aliens 4/5 (18/08/11)
  69. Final Destination 5 4/5 (19/08/11)
  70. Micmacs 3/5 (21/08/11)
  71. Conan the Barbarian 3/5 (27/08/11)
  72. Legion 1/5 (27/08/11)
  73. Limitless 3/5 (29/08/11)
  74. Apollo 18 1/5 (02/09/11)
  75. The Warriors 4/5 (04/09/11)
  76. Ondine 3/5 (07/09/11)
  77. TrollHunter 5/5 (09/09/11)
  78. Burke & Hare 2/5 (16/09/11)
  79. Jackass 3 3/5 (16/09/11)
  80. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 5/5 (23/09/11)
  81. Drive 4/5 (28/09/11)
  82. Don’t be Afraid of the Dark 4/5 (12/10/11)
  83. Paranormal Activity 3 3/5 (21/10/11)
  84. I Am Number Four 3/5 (23/10/11)
  85. Contagion 3/5 (25/10/11)
  86. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn 4/5 (27/10/11)
  87. The Thing 4/5 (29/10/11)

4 Comments

  1. ‘The Thing’ is easily my favorite horror film. I think the effects stand up incredibly well for a film that is now 29 years old. You’re right, the paranoia in this movie is palpable. Being confined to a relatively small area and not knowing which of your team members is ‘the thing’ at any given time is a brilliant concept. I suspect the new version will be very creepy with proper CGI morphing and more modern camerawork.

    • It holds up amazingly. So few films do from that era and I was really worried that I was going to just watch and cringe at how dated it looked.

      From the opening scene of the husky being chased across the snow by the helicopter, I knew that wasn’t going to be the case at all!

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