John Carpenter's cult classic about Antarctic scientists led by Kurt Russell battling a space-shifting alien which is able to take on the appearance of the people it kills. Typical monster-that-would-not-die shtick in the tradition of Ridley Scott's "Alien" of 1979 as we have a whole host of character actors (led by Wilford Brimley, Keith David, and Donald Moffat, among others) trying to survive seemingly insurmountable odds. Jolts of energy come only sporadically with long mixtures of would-be suspense and unfortunately boredom as well. Good for a few campy laughs and mild shock values, "The Thing" in the end does little to separate itself from literally dozens of other films of the kind. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
