The Thing: Collector’s Edition (DVD)

Although it was not terribly well-received in 1982, John Carpenter’s titular remake of 1951’s Thing From Another World has aged nicely and is widely considered one of the director’s best films in his now noteworthy body of work. The Thing had a lot of competition that summer: E.T. was released two weeks before, and Poltergeist, Star Trek II, Blade Runner and Conan the Barbarian were also vying for the box office dollars.

I saw The Thing when it first came out and it appealed to my bloodthirsty teen sensibilities. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it since then, but this version on DVD is the first time in at least a decade I have sat and watched it from beginning to end. And I was riveted from beginning to end. Certainly my CGI-jaded eyes are sharpened to the schlock of some of the special effects, but I have seen a lot worse from that era (I recently re-watched 1981’s Ghost Story, and realized I’d blocked the bad f/x from my mind for all these years). Actually, The Thing’s visual effects hold up remarkably well – there was obvious talent behind the goo (Rob Bottin and Stan Winston) and for the time they were state-of-the-art.

But I digress. In case you’re not familiar with the setup, it’s based upon a science fiction short story by John W. Campbell, Jr., and was made into a now-seminal film in 1951 by Howard Hawks, starring James Arness as “The Thing”. Carpenter chose to follow the paranoid spirit of the short story rather than simply remake the first movie. A group of scientists toughing out the winter in an isolated research camp deep in Antarctica become the unfortunate targets of a cell-sucking, shape-shifting alien life-form who can hide inside anything – even a dog. In fact, it’s a particularly pretty pooch who’s the harbinger of doom (played by a hybrid wolf-dog named Jed, who is an uncannily good actor). Once the dog-bod is discarded, the alien starts looking for a nice, warm human host to hide in. But who is it? Since the creepy creature is such a good mimic, it’s nearly impossible to tell. Now, everyone is suspect and the unit starts unravel when all of their communication is cut off and their transportation is disabled.

The ensemble cast – which includes Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Dysart and Richard Masur – work amazingly well together, and the bleak, stark atmosphere is perfect for conjuring up a tangible sense of helpless isolation (the movie was filmed in actual winter conditions, in British Columbia). The score (by Ennio Morricone, whose music recently factored largely in Kill Bill Vols 1 and 2) and the cinematography (by Carpenter fave, Dean Cundy) are both superb and complimentary.

The DVD presents The Thing in its original theatrical aspect ratio, showing off the great expanses of the snowy tundra and tightly framed claustrophobic indoor scenes. There is a 1995 audio commentary from Carpenter and Russell, during which they banter and joke around while still managing to inform and educate. While the commentary is several years old, it’s still particularly interesting because it’s got a 13-year perspective on the movie; they talk about how The Thing was ill-received and some of the strange criticisms it got (no women in the cast, for one thing).

Terror Takes Shape is a fairly new featurette, lasting almost an hour and a half. Interview subjects include actors Russell, Masur, Charles Hallahan, Joel Polis; effects artists Rob Bottin, Stan Winston, Peter Kuran, Albert Whitlock, Susan Turner; producer David Foster; screenwriter Bill Lancaster; cinematographer Dean Cundey; editor Todd Ramsay, production designer John Lloyd; and Carpenter. They are interesting and informative, but only diehard fans will last throughout the entire running time of mostly talking heads.

Other feauturettes on this whopping disk include:

Cast and Filmmakers

Cast Production Photographs

Location Design

Original Theatrical Trailer

Outtakes

Post Production

Production Archives

Production Art and Storyboards

Production Background Archives

Production Notes

The Blairmonster

The Saucer

This new special edition of The Thing is part of what I call “Universal’s triple threat for Halloween” – which includes an unrated version of 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, and the debut of Van Helsing (both of which are reviewed here on the site).

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson