Horror Patch’s HALLOWEEN MONSTER MASH – Day 29: The Thing!

In this holiday feature, we will showcase the best monster movies ever made during each day of the month, leading up to Halloween.

DAY 29

THE THING (1982)

In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. When they take in the dog, it brutally attacks both human beings and canines in the camp and they discover that the beast can assume the shape of its victims. A resourceful helicopter pilot (Kurt Russell) and the camp doctor (Richard Dysart) lead the camp crew in a desperate, gory battle against the vicious creature before it picks them all off, one by one.

This film did horribly at the box office when released in 1982. Critics panned the film unmercifully. One reviewer even went so far as to say it was the worst film ever made. Needless to say, the film has grown in appreciation since that time. Now the film is a true cult classic and touted as one of the best horror films of its type.

The creature effects by Rob Bottin are in a class by itself. The film was pre-CGI all the effects were done practically. The creature effects are of a level that I believe will never be equaled in film again.

The Thing is directed by filmmaking legend John Carpenter. The all-male cast is led by frequent Carpenter collaborator Kurt Russell, along with Wilford Brimley, T. K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur.