The Thing
Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
“Somebody in this camp ain’t what he appears to be. Right now that may be one or two of us. By spring, it could be all of us.”
R.J. MacReady, The Thing
Genre master John Carpenter (Halloween, Assault on Precinct 13) has been justly celebrated recently with career retrospectives in both London and New York. This December HOME are offering the chance to catch one of his very best films – and one of the very best films of the 1980s – with a screening of sci-fi classic, The Thing.
This snow-bound cracker sees a group of Arctic scientists stumble across a deadly alien who can take the form of any organism it touches. Carpenter’s essential film trades in creeping paranoia, punctuated by grotesque moments of horror, as the scientists – unsure who is human and who has been replicated – slowly turn upon one another. Coolly photographed in icy blue, The Thing also boasts the talents of Carpenter-regular Kurt Russell (Escape From New York) in the lead role and legendary composer Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly), who provides the score.
