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form that assimilates, then imitates, other organisms. The group is overcome
by paranoia and conflict as they learn that they can no longer trust each
other and that any of them could be the Thing. The film stars Kurt Russell as
the team's helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady , with A. Wilford Brimley , T. K.
Carter , David Clennon , Keith David , Richard Dysart , Charles Hallahan ,
Peter Maloney , Richard Masur , Donald Moffat , Joel Polis , and Thomas G.
Waites in supporting roles. Production began in the mid-1970s as a faithful
adaptation of the novella, following 1951's The Thing from Another World . The
Thing went through several directors and writers, each with different ideas on
how to approach the story. Filming lasted roughly twelve weeks, beginning in
August 1981, and took place on refrigerated sets in Los Angeles as well as in
Juneau, Alaska , and Stewart, British Columbia . Of the film's $15 million
budget, $1.5 million was spent on Rob Bottin 's creature effects, a mixture of
chemicals, food products, rubber, and mechanical parts turned by his large
team into an alien capable of taking on any form. The Thing was released in
1982 to negative reviews that described it as "instant junk" and "a wretched
excess". Critics both praised the special effects achievements and criticized
their visual repulsiveness, while others found the characterization poorly
realized. The film grossed $19.6 million during its theatrical run. Many
reasons have been cited for its failure to impress audiences: competition from
films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , which offered an optimistic take on
alien visitation; a summer that had been filled with successful science
fiction and fantasy films; and an audience living through a recession ,
diametrically opposed to The Thing ' s nihilistic and bleak tone. The film
found an audience when released on home video and television. In the
subsequent years, it has been reappraised as one of the best science fiction
and horror films ever made and has gained a cult following . Filmmakers have
noted its influence on their work, and it has been referred to in other media
such as television and video games. The Thing has spawned a variety of
merchandise – including a 1982 novelization, "haunted house" attractions,
board games – and sequels in comic books, a video game of the same title , and
a 2011 prequel film of the same title . Plot [ edit ] In Antarctica , a
Norwegian helicopter pursues a sled dog to an American research station. The
Americans witness the passenger accidentally blow up the helicopter and
himself. The pilot fires a rifle and shouts at the Americans, but they cannot
understand him and he is shot dead in self-defense by station commander Garry.
The American helicopter pilot, R.J. MacReady , and Dr. Copper leave to
investigate the Norwegian base. Among the charred ruins and frozen corpses,
they find the burnt corpse of a malformed humanoid, which they transfer to the
American station. Their biologist, Blair, autopsies the remains and finds a
normal set of human organs. Clark kennels the sled dog, and it soon
metamorphoses and absorbs several of the station dogs. This disturbance alerts
the team, and Childs uses a flamethrower to incinerate the creature. Blair
autopsies the Dog-Thing and surmises it is an organism that can perfectly
imitate other life-forms. Data recovered from the Norwegian base leads the
Americans to a large excavation site containing a partially buried alien
spacecraft, which Norris estimates has been buried for over a hundred thousand
years, and a smaller, human-sized dig site. Blair grows paranoid after running
a computer simulation that indicates the creature could assimilate all life on
Earth in a matter of years. The group implements controls to reduce the risk
of assimilation. The remains of the malformed humanoid assimilate an isolated
Bennings, but Windows interrupts the process and MacReady burns the Bennings-
Thing. The team also imprisons Blair in a tool shed after he sabotages all the
vehicles, kills the remaining sled dogs, and destroys the radio to prevent
escape. Copper suggests testing for infection by comparing the crew's blood
against uncontaminated blood held in storage, but after learning the blood
stores have been destroyed, the men lose faith in Garry's leadership, and
MacReady takes command. He, Windows, and Nauls find Fuchs's burnt corpse and
surmise he committed suicide to avoid assimilation. Windows returns to base
while MacReady and Nauls investigate MacReady's shack. During their return,
Nauls abandons MacReady in a snowstorm, believing he has been assimilated
after finding his torn clothes in the shack. The team debates whether to allow
MacReady inside, but he breaks in and holds the group at bay with dynamite.
During the encounter, Norris appears to suffer a heart attack. As Copper
attempts to defibrillate Norris, his chest transforms into a large mouth and
bites off Copper's arms, killing him. MacReady incinerates the Norris-Thing,
but its head detaches and attempts to escape before also being burnt. MacReady
hypothesizes that the Norris-Thing demonstrated that every part of the Thing
is an individual life-form with its own survival instinct. He proposes testing
blood samples from each survivor with a heated piece of wire and has each man
restrained, but is forced to kill Clark after he lunges at MacReady with a
scalpel. Everyone passes the test except Palmer, whose blood recoils from the
heat. Exposed, the Palmer-Thing transforms, breaks free of its bonds, and
infects Windows, forcing MacReady to incinerate them both. Childs is left on
guard while the others go to test Blair, but they find that he has escaped,
and has been using vehicle components to assemble a small flying saucer ,
which they destroy. Upon their return, Childs is missing, and the power
generator is destroyed, leaving the men without heat. MacReady speculates
that, with no escape left, the Thing intends to return to hibernation until a
rescue team arrives. MacReady, Garry, and Nauls agree that the Thing cannot be
allowed to escape and set explosives to destroy the station, but the Blair-
Thing kills Garry, and Nauls disappears. The Blair-Thing transforms into an
enormous creature and breaks the detonator, but MacReady triggers the
explosives with a stick of dynamite, destroying the station. While MacReady
sits by the burning remnants, Childs returns, claiming he got lost in the
storm while pursuing Blair. Exhausted and slowly freezing to death, they
acknowledge the futility of their distrust and share a bottle of Scotch whisky
. Cast [ edit ] Kurt Russell (left, pictured in 2016) and Keith David (2015)
Kurt Russell as R.J. MacReady , the helicopter pilot [1] A. Wilford Brimley as
Blair, the senior biologist [2] [3] [4] T. K. Carter as Nauls, the cook [5]
[4] David Clennon as Palmer, the assistant mechanic [6] Keith David as Childs,
the chief mechanic [3] [4] [6] Richard Dysart as Dr. Copper, the physician [3]
[6] Charles Hallahan as Norris, the geologist [6] Peter Maloney as George
Bennings, the meteorologist [7] [8] Richard Masur as Clark, the dog handler
[4] Joel Polis as Fuchs, the assistant biologist [6] Donald Moffat as Garry,
the station commander [6] Thomas Waites as Windows, the radio operator [6] The
Thing also features Norbert Weisser as one of the Norwegians, [9] and an
uncredited dog, Jed , as the Dog-Thing. [10] The only female presence in the
film is the voice of MacReady's chess computer, voiced by Carpenter's then-
wife, Adrienne Barbeau . [11] [12] Producer David Foster, associate producer