063 The Thing (1982)

Retro Grade Podcast

“IT’LL FIGHT IF IT HAS TO, BUT IT’S VULNERABLE OUT IN THE OPEN.“

On this Halloween episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we cover one of the best movies from one of the best horror filmmakers of all time, 1982’s The Thing, directed by John Carpenter. Although the film is referred to as a remake of the 1951 RKO Pictures production, The Thing from Another World, the film is actually more of a reinterpretation of the original novella from 1938, Who Goes There. If it’s hard to believe that this movie has just celebrated it’s 40th anniversary, it may be even harder to believe that it was a box office bomb and despised by critics of the time. However, the film has lasted the test of time, being remade, turned into a video game, and then inspiring the popular pandemic game, Among Us!

On our episode, we talk about how the film also doubles as a “whodunit” and a graphic body horror film. We talk about how the film tricks you in your first viewing, and inspires multiple viewings, each one giving you a new thing to appreciate about it. We discuss our theories on the timelines, trying to track down when The Thing assimilates and imitates the doomed US Outpost 31 Team, with the help of the John Carpenter approved fansite. When do the crew members get infected, or rather, why did it imitate who it imitates? We have a lot of fun exchanging theories on this section of the episode.

We talk about the nihilistic themes of the movie, and how innate it is in human nature to distrust each other, especially when you are on a job with people you might not necessarily like. The film’s characters were (unfairly) criticized for being ‘stereotypes,’ but we talk about how realistic they actually are, and their significance to the story and theme.

We talk about the amazing special effects done by a then 21 year old Rob Buttin, working with the highest budget Universal had ever spent on creature effects. We talk about the score from the legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone, and how the early versions of the score were used in a more recent western film. And yet, despite the amount of talent from the actors, (especially the arguably best dog actor in a film ever,) Carpenter’s vision, Morricone’s score, Buttin’s effects, Dean Cundey’s cinematography, the film was disregarded as “instant trash.“ We get into why we think the summer audience of 1982 might not have appreciated the film, but why we do now.

We hope you enjoy this episode, and have a Happy Halloween!

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o