Masters of Horror – The Damned Thing

Is oil scary? Well, unless you were a sea creature in the path of the Exxon Valdez, no… but once you can get past the concept that a monster made of Texas crude is stalking the residents of a rural town, The Damned Thing is pretty creepy — and undoubtedly gory. (Actually, when I first heard the title of this story several months ago, I was hoping it was an adaptation of the freaky, funny Robert McCammon story, The Thang, from the Hot Blood book series… but this story is loosely based upon a classic bit of literature by Ambrose Bierce. It's adapted by R.C. Matheson. You can read the original story here.)

The film opens in the past, showing would-be Sheriff Reddle (Sean Patrick Flanery) as a young boy, experiencing the devastating deaths of his parents on the night of his father's thirty-somethingth birthday. Flash forward to Reddle's own thirties, and his approaching birthday. He, too, has a son. Will horrible history repeat itself? This is a Tobe Hooper terror tale, so you bet it will!

The black, oozing monster returns for revenge (for being disturbed from its resting place decades ago), wreaking its retribution all over Cloverdale. Its minions, which are dribbling oil blobs, herald the horror to come… as townspeople are possessed by the slick spirit, they turn deadly-violent. This madness affects them in unpredictable ways, which make for some truly chilling and shocking death scenes.

The acting in The Damned Thing is flawless across the board, and the appearance of Ted Raimi (as a priest!) is more than welcome. Brendan Fletcher plays a likable, if dim-witted, deputy who dreams of being a famous cartoonist. Flanery is his usual stoic, solid self (even when devolving into insanity), and Marisa Coughlan and Georgia Craig round out the supporting cast of female characters ably.

I had a few problems with the script. I've liked some of R.C. Matheson's past work — especially Dean R. Koontz's Sole Survivor — but he usually leaves plot-holes in his wake, and in this case it would have been nice to see him have some fun with the oil monster (for instance, a car runs out of gas at one point… wouldn't it have been neater to have its oil boil and disable the vehicle that way?). Also, the basic story itself is a bit hoary… It's basically The Blob meets (more Koontz) Phantoms.

Fortunately, Hooper was able to rise above the basic material and make The Damned Thing pretty damned intense. My very favorite Hooper movies are still pretty far in the past (Salem's Lot, The Funhouse, Lifeforce), but I was heartened by The Toolbox Murders in 2004 and am equally as impressed by The Damned Thing — consequently, I am eager to see what he comes up with next.

= = =

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson