Who Goes There? Why The Thing Is More Relevant Than Ever!

"I'm gonna hide this tape when I'm finished. If none of us make it, at least there'll be some kind of record....We still have nothing to go on... nobody trusts anybody now... and we're all very tired."

"I'm gonna hide this tape when I'm finished. If none of us make it, at least there'll be some kind of record... We still have nothing to go on... nobody trusts anybody now... and we're all very tired."

The above line comes about midway through John Carpenter's seminal 1982 shocker, The Thing; but you'd be forgiven for thinking it could have come from almost any Twitter user in the US or UK over the past year...

The tale of US Antarctic researchers begins with a site as bizarre as any we've seen in 2020, a Norwegian helicopter chasing and shooting at a lone dog as it runs towards them. With one wounded and the Norwegians blowing themselves up, there is little to indicate the horrors that lie ahead.

Over the next 90 minutes the team are torn apart literally (and figuratively) not only by a Thing from Outer Space...but the paranoia that builds as a result of meeting a foe that can take us over from just a simple or airborne contact.

Sounds familiar right?



Before we get there, however, we need to go back to the summer of 1982 when John Carpenter's much anticipated first big-budget picture was released. Based on John W. Campbell's novella "Who Goes There?" and a remake of the Howard Hawks movie which fuelled his love of horror, Carpenter's love letter was derailed by a much more family-friendly alien. Many viewers decided to see Steven Speilberg's E.T rather than the innovative, tension-filled gore-fest that Carpenter, Rob Bottin and the cast delivered. With his big-budget debut deemed "a flop", Carpenter's career took a major hit which it never recovered from.

It was on home video where the movie found its audience and a true appreciation of what had actually been achieved. For Bottin, who had found his feet on both The Howling and Carpenter's The Fog it was a chance to use a big budget to realise his ghoulish fantasies as this creature could look like us, a dog or anything else it had ever come into contact with.

Those who saw the movie did not get a man in a rubber suit, nor the cuddly type alien Star Wars had given them but a series of nightmarish shapes, creatures and transformations which left people stunned, appalled and thrilled in equal measure.

The special feature documentary "Terror Takes Shape" included with DVD and Blu Ray releases shows how endless latex, condoms, KY Jelly and even a small person were used to create nightmarish images that really came alive on the small screen.

As impressive as the effects were, they were matched by the stellar performances of character actors including Richard Masur as the quiet and brooding dog handler Clark; Richard Dysart as the camp Doctor, former Warrior Thomas G. Waites as radio operator "Windows"; Donald Moffatt as the uptight Commander Gary and Wilford A. Brimley in one of his early yet pivotal roles as Blair. Arguably the find of the cast was Keith David who had yet to have a major movie appearance but beat out future Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson at the last minute to play Childs the crucial second lead who cannot stand our hero.

Star of the show of course is Kurt Russell, a long-time Carpenter collaborator as R.J. MacReady, a cynical, misanthropic helicopter pilot who slowly assumes leadership of the group. Not through popular choice but by showing intelligence, guile and a strong aversion to being left out in the cold.

The rest of the crew, while not named here are no less important. The entire cast spent time finding their dynamic which is reflected in their performances and the story. Charles Hallahan as Norris is the one tapped as most liked and to lead yet least well equipped to do so. Some grieve for their comrades while others burn bodies with no emotion.

As the crew find first the Norwegian camp and later the spaceship The Thing came in, it's only a matter of time until things go crazy... when they do? Boy, do they ever!

The gore is impressive and well done, but it's the ratcheting tension that makes The Thing arguably the greatest mix of gore and psychological horror in history. As people grasp the situation, paranoia becomes rife; a set of ripped boxer shorts, missing keys and lights all raise the distrust levels. Bluffs are called, errors are made and people get hurt by the teams mutual distrust of each other and at the heart of it is the simple reality that one microbe of The Thing can lead to it taking you completely.

It really does sound familiar, doesn't it?

2020 has done what Carpenter and Hollywood have yet to do... Create a terrifying sequel to The Thing.

Whether it be COVID19, political ideology, racism or the direction of entire nations intense paranoia and violent, bloody scenes have swept The West just as sure as The Thing would do if they got home.

Brexit v Remain, Trumpism v Antifa, Black Lives Matter v All Lives Matter, Mask v Anti-Mask???

Choose a side...who goes there?

That's before you decide which bubble you choose to live with or whether to visit the pub, shake hands or even to wash your shopping to reduce your chances of contracting the virus that now rules our lives just as sure as The Thing would do.

Partnered with Carpenter's later classic They Live, you'd be forgiven for thinking things look pretty bleak out there watching that double bill.

However, much we feel 2020 has taken from us so far, we DO still have music, movies and art; just not always in a theatre, concert hall or museum

The biggest reason to see this film in 2020, whether an old fan or a first-timer is that not only is it indeed a work of art and a study of human nature but it offers that rare *ahem* thing of a satisfactory conclusion that leaves scope to interpret the film as you wish. There are endless fan theories and studies into aspects of how things went down, who becomes taken over when of course who if anyone survives as a human.

Next time you're locked down or serving some self-isolation time...you could do far worse than give this a watch and then Zoom your friends and talk about those theories!

A prequel was made in 2011, telling things from the Norwegian side and it's kind of OK. but watch this one first or you WILL miss out. Will we ever get a sequel? To be honest, I think once this year and indeed pandemic is done with, the LAST thing anyone will want to see is a sequel to The Thing... and I am absolutely fine with this slice of perfection.