Watch: 84-Minute Doc 'The Thing: Terror Takes Shape' About John Carpenter's Classic Horror

Halloween is upon us and there’s no shortage of cinematic offerings to choose from (might I suggest one of the titles on our 30 Best Horror Films Of The 1990s). Personally, I’ll be going to see John Carpenter‘s restored "Halloween" on the big screen tonight. The master of making your skin crawl has more than one classic title in his catalog, and if you have yet to see "The Thing," make some room for it this weekend.

5 Things You Might Not Know About John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’

Boing Boing recently posted a nice remembrance the 1982 chiller, with Richard Kaufman recalling how the picture arrived completely out of the blue, and only over time grew into its well deserved cult status. Here’s an excerpt from Kaufman’s essay:

….it was a failure at the box office and attacked by the critics. Much like ‘Blade Runner’ (ironically released on the same day), time has been kind to ‘The Thing’ and it is now recognized for the morbid masterpiece of wretched existential horror that it is.

It is the anti-‘E.T.’

Nothing to feel good about here, folks.

And the greatest thing of all is that no one expected it. The trailers gave little away in advance and it showed us things which no one had seen before. There was genuine terror in the theater that night. Social media, YouTube, and bit torrent sites have robbed us of the overwhelming terror of the unexpected.

Whether you’re watching the film for the first time or know it frame by frame, I’ve got a little treat below — the 84-minute documentary, "The Thing: Terror Takes Shape." Featuring Carpenter, the cast, and more, it tells you pretty much everything you’d ever want to know about the movie. So add it to your Halloween viewing pile this weekend and check it out below.