General The Thing (1982) theories

[NotBanjaxo]

I've heard a couple of theories about the ending of The Thing, regarding whether Childs iinfected. One saying that he doesn't have visible breath, whilst Mac does, which shows that Childs is a thing. The other is the theory that the bottle Mac hands to Childs is full of gasoline rather than whisky, and that Childs doesn't react because as a thing he has no knowledge of what whisky should taste like.

I was bored (big surprise at the moment eh?), so I went looking on Youtube. I found a guy who has done a series of videos about The Thing theories, and he does a good job of debunking both theories IMO:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30OW_EUX33I



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP74Ic1k_bk


There was also another theory regarding whether people's eyes gleamed or not, based on an interview where one of the crew mentioned a shot being deliberately set up so an infected character's eyes didn't gleam:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EW0ygt4DGQ


So, do you guys have any good theories? Or can you poke holes in this guy's debunking videos, showing why one of those theories is actually true?

P.S. Kurt Russell actually chimed in, appearing to shoot down the gasoline theory in an interview in 2016 :

HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media

 

[SongExotic2]

Gonna watch this tomorrow under a microscope and report back. Love this movie.

Check out total recall and American psycho too. Lots of good theories about them, I have total recall sussed

 

[Rambo John J]

I've heard a couple of theories about the ending of The Thing, regarding whether Childs iinfected. One saying that he doesn't have visible breath, whilst Mac does, which shows that Childs is a thing. The other is the theory that the bottle Mac hands to Childs is full of gasoline rather than whisky, and that Childs doesn't react because as a thing he has no knowledge of what whisky should taste like.

I was bored (big surprise at the moment eh?), so I went looking on Youtube. I found a guy who has done a series of videos about The Thing theories, and he does a good job of debunking both theories IMO:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30OW_EUX33I



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP74Ic1k_bk


There was also another theory regarding whether people's eyes gleamed or not, based on an interview where one of the crew mentioned a shot being deliberately set up so an infected character's eyes didn't gleam:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EW0ygt4DGQ


So, do you guys have any good theories? Or can you poke holes in this guy's debunking videos, showing why one of those theories is actually true?

P.S. Kurt Russell actually chimed in, appearing to shoot down the gasoline theory in an interview in 2016 :

HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media

love that movie
the blood and guts parts are gross but the overall vibe is amazing and the actors are perfect
Kurt russell wears the coolest gear in that flick

 

[SongExotic2]

love that movie
the blood and guts parts are gross but the overall vibe is amazing and the actors are perfect
Kurt russell wears the coolest gear in that flick

It's fucken awesome. I have two or 3 episodes of something to watch, but then it's next on the list.

I can already see the dog running in the snow.

 

[Rambo John J]

It's fucken awesome. I have two or 3 episodes of something to watch, but then it's next on the list.

I can already see the dog running in the snow.

what an opening scene
viewer is like WTF is going on

 

[NotBanjaxo]

Another cool video, this one examining the question: who sabotaged the blood bank?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psxFyMoqbJ8

 

[NotBanjaxo]

Also, is this the greatest practical effects horror movie ever made?

I think so.

 

[SongExotic2]

love that movie
the blood and guts parts are gross but the overall vibe is amazing and the actors are perfect
Kurt russell wears the coolest gear in that flick

Speaking of the blood and guys, have you ever watched event horizon?

Basically Morpheus is on a spaceship, and then some hellraiser shit goes down.

Good flick too

 

[Rambo John J]

Speaking of the blood and guys, have you ever watched event horizon?

Basically Morpheus is on a spaceship, and then some hellraiser shit goes down.

Good flick too

scary shit

 

[NotBanjaxo]

Speaking of the blood and guys, have you ever watched event horizon?

Basically Morpheus is on a spaceship, and then some hellraiser shit goes down.

Good flick too

Yep, cool film.

 

[NotBanjaxo]

Ooh!

I've been further down the rabbit hole on this guy's The Thing theories.

I found two unlisted Youtube videos from back in 2011, dealing with the question of whether Childs is infected. They are fascinating, and deal primarily with the theory that continuity (or lack thereof) in the various characters' clothing is an indicator of whether they are infected or not:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SppG-I_Dhxw



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgRWMbGSUec


There is then a more recent video in which he revises his opinion somewhat, but i still think much of his original two videos stands up to scrutiny:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u84EQVI8C0A


It surprised me to find out that the film was a commercial failure, and wasn't lauded by critics at the time of it's release. It is, to me, a lock for top 10 horror films of all time, and as I said previously it is in my opinion the best practical effects horror film ever made.

 

[ShatsBassoon]

Also, is this the greatest practical effects horror movie ever made?

I think so.

The scene with Norris and his exposed chest wtf!

 

[Suicidalforlife]

Nobody does fx like carpenter, I love that film



If I remember correctly the guy who plays the doctor in this scene is an amputee, part of why it looks so good.

Edit, looked it up I am wrong

 

[NotBanjaxo]

Nobody does fx like carpenter, I love that film



If I remember correctly the guy who plays the doctor in this scene is an amputee, part of why it looks so good.

Edit, looked it up I am wrong

The actor was Richard Dysart, and i can't see any mention of being an amputee on his wiki page.

That just strengthens my assertion that the practical special effects were awesome

 

[Suicidalforlife]

Haven't watched The thing in ages, Hivju is in a remake, anybody watch it?

I can't take him seriously after they turned Thormund into a clown show on thrones.

Interesting quote I found Bottin, the FX artist on the Thing, he put the grind in.

"Special effects creator Rob Bottin and his work on The Thing, who created effects so palpably gut-wrenching that they make audiences shudder to this day.The 23-year-old artist endured painstaking hours; working 7 days a week for 56 weeks. After the film’s completion he checked himself into the hospital for exhaustion. The result of his tireless work was an innovative alien horror that matched director John Carpenter’s eccentric taste for the grotesque"

 

[NotBanjaxo]

By the way I was 12 years old when I saw The Thing on video, and it scared the living shit out of me!

 

[Suicidalforlife]

The actor was Richard Dysart, and i can't see any mention of being an amputee on his wiki page.

That just strengthens my assertion that the practical special effects were awesome

Yeah, I was wrong, I was told about it before but must have it mixed up with something else, or it was just bullshit, maybe the double, I can't remember now.

 

[Suicidalforlife]

By the way I was 12 years old when I saw The Thing on video, and it scared the living shit out of me!

I watched it as a kid as well, fucking loved it, horrors were my favourite then, can't find one that isn't an unintentional comedy these days.

Check out the lighthouse if you haven't yet, some good scenes in it, although it is a comedy.

 

[NotBanjaxo]

Haven't watched The thing in ages, Hivju is in a remake, anybody watch it?

I can't take him seriously after they turned Thormund into a clown show on thrones.

Interesting quote I found Bottin, the FX artist on the Thing, he put the grind in.

"Special effects creator Rob Bottin and his work on The Thing, who created effects so palpably gut-wrenching that they make audiences shudder to this day.The 23-year-old artist endured painstaking hours; working 7 days a week for 56 weeks. After the film’s completion he checked himself into the hospital for exhaustion. The result of his tireless work was an innovative alien horror that matched director John Carpenter’s eccentric taste for the grotesque"

The 2011 film was a prequel, showing the events that led to the Norwegians desperately chasing the dog to the American camp in the first film. It was panned by critics, I haven't seen it. Apparently they went full bore on practical effects, but then some twonk decided that it would look better with CGI and what ended up hitting the screens was a travesty.

I found a Reddit thread that was about trying to get a cut of the film released with just the practical effects:


View: https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/5agcmv/there_was_a_practical_effects_cut_of_the_thing/

 

[Suicidalforlife]

The 2011 film was a prequel, showing the events that led to the Norwegians desperately chasing the dog to the American camp in the first film. It was panned by critics, I haven't seen it. Apparently they went full bore on practical effects, but then some twonk decided that it would look better with CGI and what ended up hitting the screens was a travesty.

I found a Reddit thread that was about trying to get a cut of the film released with just the practical effects:


View: https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/5agcmv/there_was_a_practical_effects_cut_of_the_thing/

Ahh, shit yeah, I remember now its a prequel, I scanned past it on shitflix and didn't even read the synopsis or watch the trailer, even though they ram every trailer down your neck on that shit.

I saw Hijvus head and thought fuck that.

 

[Deleted member 1]

. The other is the theory that the bottle Mac hands to Childs is full of gasoline rather than whisky, and that Childs doesn't react because as a thing he has no knowledge of what whisky should taste like.

This is an unfortunate debunking because that makes the ending so good. Who is the thing? Oh shit he is. Oh shit. You're left with the dread and fear of sitting there with the thing needing to not let it know you know.

 

[NotBanjaxo]

This is an unfortunate debunking because that makes the ending so good. Who is the thing? Oh shit he is. Oh shit. You're left with the dread and fear of sitting there with the thing needing to not let it know you know.

The ending still leaves the possibility of it being either of them though

 

[Soup]

The 2011 film was a prequel, showing the events that led to the Norwegians desperately chasing the dog to the American camp in the first film. It was panned by critics, I haven't seen it. Apparently they went full bore on practical effects, but then some twonk decided that it would look better with CGI and what ended up hitting the screens was a travesty.

I found a Reddit thread that was about trying to get a cut of the film released with just the practical effects:


View: https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/5agcmv/there_was_a_practical_effects_cut_of_the_thing/

This would be epic. I like the prequel despite the CGI.

 

[SongExotic2]

Nobody does fx like carpenter, I love that film



If I remember correctly the guy who plays the doctor in this scene is an amputee, part of why it looks so good.

Edit, looked it up I am wrong

I did a week in York at this army base as a casualty actor. Basically they had a hospital on base and all the military docs and nurses would practice. They hired an fx crew to paint us up with battle injuries and then we would get rushed into the hospital. they had a bunch of amputees too so they could simulate arms/legs being blown off. The make up was very convincing, I wish I had pictures but we were banned from taking them

 

[Jehannum]

I watched it as a kid as well, fucking loved it, horrors were my favourite then, can't find one that isn't an unintentional comedy these days.

Check out the lighthouse if you haven't yet, some good scenes in it, although it is a comedy.

Seen "The Conjuring" 1 & 2 ?