There was a time in Hollywood that filmmakers KNEW HOW to remake a movie, an that is long past, but here is an excellent example of what can be done when a film is made with actual care about what the source material is.
John Carpenter has a huge love for the original The Thing from 1951 and he decided to remake it and it sticks very close to the original story by John Campbell entitled "Who Goes There?". In the Arctic a group of scientists anf military men fight for survival against a bizarre creature that has been thawed from the ice.
This creature can assume any shape it wishes be it man or animal. The movie opens with a dog being chased by a helicopter with two men who are trying to kill it. They fail an are themselves killed by the US base members when they land and start firing at the dog with guns and explosives.
The effects of this film have never been topped and never will be. Rob Bottin pulls off some amazing and gross effects when the Thing changes shape and one scene in particular is when a head sprouts spider legs and tries to crawl away. It is an image I will never forget.
The cast is very good and Kurt Russell is the ONLY person who could have played MacReady, the leader of the base with an "I don't give a damn attitude". Wilford Brimley is a scientist who concludes that if the alien gets out of the Antarctic it will destroy our world in less than four years. Keith David is Childes and the absence of any females doesn't hurt the story at all.
One of the best films ever made, in my opinion and one that should be seen if you haven't seen it already. The disc includes some interesting scenes that were cut from the release print..including a cool stop motion monster effect.
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