PHOTO PROVIDED Kurt Russell stars as R.J. MacReady in John Carpenter’s “The Thing.”

For this week’s edition of Throwback Thursday, I decided to take a darker turn and cover the cult classic horror film, John Carpenter’s “The Thing.”

Released in 1982 amid a slew of other successful science fiction films, “The Thing” was mainly disregarded as a nihilistic mess, with critics bombing the movie for its bleak outlook on life and excessive violence.

The film also wasn’t helped by the release of “E.T.”, a more upbeat take on aliens visiting Earth, which appealed at the time to an audience going through a rough recession and looking for a break from their day to day lives. Eventually though, “The Thing” was given a second chance with its release to television and video, and critics saw the movie in a different light.

The movie is now praised as John Carpenter’s magnum opus and one of the greatest horror flicks of all time.

The film begins with overhead shots of a desolate Antarctic landscape, providing an apt expectation for the rest of the film. A sledding dog is seen running through the snow and a helicopter in pursuit of the animal. It all feels very strange and surreal, with the monochromatic color palette casting an otherworldly glow to the cinematography. We then switch over to an American research base going about their day to day life. The men are playing ping pong, chess, listening to music, completely unaware of the danger at their doorstep.

It’s here we meet our protagonist, R.J. MacReady. Kurt Russell gives a great performance as the easygoing helicopter pilot of the base, who serves as an unofficial leader around the facility.

The rest of the ensemble cast consists of biologists Blair and Fuchs, cook Nauls, mechanics Palmer and Childs, physician Copper, geologist Norris, meteorologist George, dog handler Clark, commander Garry and radio operator Windows.

The atmosphere on the base is quite friendly among the men and you can tell that they feel camaraderie with their fellow researchers.

The dog then arrives at the research base, along with the two men from the chopper on foot. They begin to fire at the dog, causing the Americans to think they are under attack. A quick firefight leaves the two pursuers dead and the newly arrived dog in the care of the researchers.

The men from the chopper are recognized as Norwegian researchers from a nearby base by the group. Confused by the unwarranted aggression, MacReady and Dr. Copper decide to visit the Norwegian Base, finding the crew massacred and an abomination of a corpse inside.

The alien body is the first demonstration of makeup artist Rob Bottin’s masterful effects. A glistening mass of human flesh and bone with two faces twisted together into an eternal shriek is juxtaposed with normal human organs inside the belly of the beast.

These practical effects were groundbreaking for the time and still hold up incredibly well today. I loved how uneasy the creature’s various forms made me with their mimicry of human life. Rob Bottin did a spectacular job at creating such horrible abominations while also maintaining their connection to the human form.

Shortly after, the dog from the Norwegian’s base is put into a kennel with their other animals and the nature of the alien is revealed. The titular “thing” has the ability to perfectly mimic other beings by assimilating their bodies and making a copy of them. This horrifying reveal comes about with the dog’s face ripping open into a lotus blossom of blood and sinew with a gaping maw of teeth in the center. Tendrils whip out from its body and grab ahold of the other animals, assimilating them. The crew members walk in on this grisly site and open fire, but only flame is enough to put the entity down.

Paranoia sets in as they realize any one of them could have been taken by the alien while it freely wandered the base.This chilling realization is the crux of much of what happens throughout the rest of the film. Transportation is broken down, communications are sabotaged, and each person on the base is isolated as they can’t be sure who their friends and enemies are.

“The Thing” shines in its ability to accurately portray how intelligent and logical individuals can break down when nobody around them can be trusted. Each of them wants to cooperate with each other to get out alive. But how can they when they don’t even know if they are a part of the alien? These interactions are incredibly down to earth and realistic, making the audience feel genuine suspense and terror for the sake of the characters.

I won’t spoil the rest of the movie because I highly recommend you watch it yourself. The visually stimulating practical effects and tension packed atmosphere create an unparalleled watching experience and one that will forever be remembered as a classic within the genre.

“The Thing” is rated R and can be viewed on Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play and YouTube Movies.

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Cale Blakely is a summer intern in the Editorial Department for The Express.