The question remains, who is assimilated first? And who, if anyone, is human by the end?Īt the beginning of the film, we are introduced to the 12-strong American team based at Outpost 31 in Antarctica. A setup ripe for repeat viewings and multiple, overlapping and often contradictory fan theories, Carpenter, to his credit, has kept his own counsel on the truth behind the many claims that have surfaced down the years, and that’s only helped enhance the lore of the film itself. The Thing invited viewers to share in the fear and suspicion of its characters while also trying to ascertain whether everyone is who they say they are. Fundamental to the film’s success, however, is Bill Lancaster’s script, a meditation on division and distrust as relevant today as it was back in ‘82, carrying with it a terrifyingly simple conceit: who is The Thing?Ī nightmarish riff on the whodunnit formula, in place of a murderer the film instead centered on a shape-shifting alien capable of assimilating and imitating its human hosts-more than several at a time.
