The Thing

Based on the book 'Who Goes There' by John Campbell Jr. and a remake of Howard Hawks' The Thing from Another World,  The Thing stands as both a seminal work in the career of John Carpenter, a perfect exercise in psychological terror and one of the rarest of rare things, a remake superior to the original. Perhaps calling it a remake is a little bit of a stretch as although they are based on the same source material, the two films are very different. Hawks' version only takes the barest of elements from the book and turns it into a film reflecting Cold War paranoia and the battle between scientists and the military. Carpenter's is completely different, a faithful adaptation of Campbell Jr.'s novel which had the alien life form as a shapeshifter leading to a group of men turning on one another, due to mistrust and fear.
 
The Thing is set at the other end of the world from Hawks' version, with events taking place in the Antarctic rather than the Arctic. At United States National Science Institute Station 4, a helicopter flies around with the co-pilot taking shots at a husky and throwing dynamite at the dog. When the chopper lands and the man follows the dog into the American base, he is shot dead by Dr. Copper. The men wonder what possessed the Norwegians to do such a thing and their helicopter pilot, Mac (Kurt Russell), flies an expedition to the Norwegian base to find the rest of the men and see what was going on there.
 

All they find is the Norwegian station destroyed, a pile of burnt bodies and evidence pointing to the discovery of a UFO buried in the snow and ice. A huge block of ice appears to contain a frozen creature of some sort so it is taken back to their base so they can study it further, melting the ice and trying to figure out what the Norwegians had excavated.  When they find their own huskies dead and some bloody clothes but with no sign of a victim and no one missing from the team, it's clear something is not right. Establishing that the creature from the ice is some sort of shapeshifter that takes on the appearance of any biological organism that it comes into contact with, the question isn't where The Thing is, but who it is. 
 
One by one, the Thing takes more victims and takes their form causing the men turn on each other, unsure of who is really human and, if you were taken over, would you know?
 
For a film that relies on paranoia and psychological terror, John Carpenter uses the same techniques that he employed in Assault on Precinct 13 with little characterisation to begin with, only bare bones development is necessary, and makes this a siege film but with the enemy on the inside. Carpenter keeps the film tight, the tension high and doesn't wimp out when it comes to the ending - a lesser director would have gone for a 'Love Conquers All' happy resolution but thankfully Carpenter sticks with the downbeat tone right until the final credits.  He also cast well, with Kurt Russell on top form and ably supported by the likes of Keith David, Wilford Brimley and Richard Dysart.  There isn't a great deal of characterisation at the beginning but, as the numbers shrink, the characters become more fleshed out and developed, helped by some fine acting.
 
I had very high hopes for this disc as it was one of the Blu-rays that I had anticipated the most and, given my love and appreciation for the film, would have been extremely disappointed had it been a below-par release.

The Disc

 
Extra Features
The commentary by Kurt Russell and John Carpenter is one of those rare tracks that doesn't turn into a backslapping love in as the two friends talk and joke through the film, providing plenty of information and interesting reminisces as they go.
 
 The Thing: Terror Takes Shape is a comprehensive 80 minute making of, made some 16 years after the film and featuring contributions from most of the cast and crew including John Carpenter, Bill Lancaster, Rob Bottin, Dean Cundey and Kurt Russell.  They talk at length about the shoot and how they became involved with Bottin providing plenty of information about the exhaustive process to create the special effects make-up.  This documentary is also available as a PiP option where sections appear during the film at the corresponding times.
 
The rest of the extras largely comprise photographs, drawings and interviews about the creature effects, characters and locations.  Some of these features include clippings from the original screenplay which really adds to your understanding of the characters.
 
Just about everything here has been brought straight over from the DVD so there is nothing new and it is all in SD.  It is still a fantastic and watchable set which will keep you going for hours.
 
The Picture
There has been some debate online about the amount of DNR that has been employed on the Blu-ray compared to the HD DVD release. Having only seen screenshots and not the actual disc, it appears that this is certainly much less noisy and the picture is smoother but I don't think Universal have gone over the top. There is some graining and any 'waxy' look is very hard to spot - it's not immediately evident and the film certainly doesn't look wrong in any way. Compared to the letterboxed transfer on the previous UK DVD releases, this picture is quite stunning.
 
One of the reasons why The Thing is so highly regarded amongst horror fans and is not something for the squeamish are the effects by Rob Bottin, who worked closely with the late, great Stan Winston. When you first see the eviscerated dog, you realise how special these effects are, made without any computer technology and relying entirely on materials and great imagination. They may look a little dated by today's standards and I'm sure that if it was made now, the effects would look more realistic but they are still powerful and frightening and that's all you can ask. Along with Rick Baker's work on An American Werewolf in London the year before, this is one of the most influential films in the field of special effects make-up. 
 
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is excellent, well balanced and deeply atmospheric with Ennio Morriconne's uncharacteristically dark and moody score perfectly suiting the tone of the film and escalating the tension. The dialogue is clear and well presented and, when it needs to be loud, it is with the jumps using the surrounds extremely well and the soundstage one of unremitting tension.
 
There are numerous other language options across the audio and subtitles making this suitable for many other localities than the UK.
 
Final Thoughts
There are many excellent Blu-ray Discs in my collection and, whilst The Thing will never be used as a demo disc, it is still a mightily impressive release with an AV package and selection of extra features that do the film justice and make up for the disappointing DVD releases that, up until now, have been available in the UK. This is something that is worth a place on any horror fan's shelf, whether they were an early adopter or are just getting into Blu-ray.