“The Thing” (1982) — Oli Lyttelton
I don’t entirely remember when I first saw John Carpenter‘s “The Thing.” I’m pretty sure that, due to having my head almost continuously in film-related magazines and books from the age of about eight onwards, I’d had some of the film’s more horrific images revealed for me long before I ever saw them in context. But whenever it was that I finally saw John Carpenter’s masterpiece—probably my single favorite horror film, and one of my favorite films period—the previous illicit glimpses didn’t stop me from being entirely freaked out by the whole. The rare worth-a-damn remake (of Howard Hawks‘ worthwhile, but somewhat dated 1951 film “The Thing From Another World,” based on the novella “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell), it’s scary on the level of the original, “Body Snatchers“-derived film—the idea that anyone could be one of Them, and about to turn on you at any minute. But then it piles on a remote, desolate Antarctic setting, which of all the places in the world, is the one I’d least like to die in. And then, it layers in Rob Bottin‘s still-astonishing visual effects, in which human (and animal) bodies are melded, distorted and shown to contain horrifying secrets. With Kurt Russell leading a cast of grizzled character actor favorites, and John Carpenter at the very peak of his game, it’s something I return to annually, despite it putting the willies up me every single time.
So, no judgments here, it’s your turn. What’s been your scariest movie experience (aside from the “Bratz” movie which I think we can all agree is a touchstone of terror that may never be equaled)? Blow the cobwebs out of our comments section below, and a very scary Halloween to you all. And here’s a treat: 163 horror movies in 2 1/2 minutes.