Shudder is bringing the ultimate sci-fi horror remake masterpiece to streaming
From Robert Scucci
| Published
Every now and then a classic horror film like John Carpenter’s The thing is making its rounds on streaming, reminding us how ahead of its time it was by elevating such a simple storyline with next-level creature effects. Now this The thing is streaming on Shudder in all its violent and nihilistic glory, you can see for yourself how tense and sickening it is for you.
From the remote Antarctic wilderness to the looming and ever-increasing sense of paranoia that emanates from every single sequence, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a sci-fi horror film that will make you want to see the blood of everyone in your life Country living, put the house to the test before you go to bed, just to be sure. Or, if you’re like me, your next viewing of The thing on Shudder may or may not get you reading Amazon Flamethrower Reviews.
Why it works
Although The thing older than Predator At five years old, both films have one thing in common that makes them superior to their contemporaries: it’s the sense of routine and camaraderie of an experienced crew, disrupted by outside influences Foreigner Forces. Kurt Russell’s RJ “Mac” MacReady has a good rapport with the rest of the research team, effortlessly showing the audience before the events that take place in how these guys generally trust each other and get along in any other situation The thingNow Streaming on Shudder.
When an American team’s Antarctic research station is attacked by a Norwegian helicopter (they’re not Swedes, Mac!), Mac and Dr. Copper (Richard Dysart) to fly to the attacker’s station to see exactly what triggered it. They initially assume that the Norwegians were suffering from cabin fever caused by isolation and, for unknown reasons, wanted to capture one of the many sled dogs that lived on the American base. It doesn’t take long before Mac and Dr. Copper finds a badly burned corpse, apparently a human in a floating state of mutation, after being burned by the Norwegian crew.
Looking for a logical explanation, Mac and Dr. Copper takes the body back to their base of operations, along with all the research the Norwegians have put together before things go wrong. Lead biologist Blair (A. Wilford Brimley) confirms that the corpse is human despite its deformities, but changes her mind when one of the station dogs violently mutates in the kennel. The crew now knows that they are dealing with some kind of “thing” that takes the form of its host in order to assimilate and eliminate any living creature that can harbor its DNA, and they shudder at the implications.
While there are initial doubts that it is an alien life form, everyone finds it difficult to ignore the buried alien spacecraft that the Norwegians discovered before their rampage.
An exercise in futility
The thing presents a moral dilemma that must be addressed immediately. Blair grows in his paranoia and makes the executive decision that the Thing’s contamination and assimilation efforts must remain isolated after predicting that whatever life form they are dealing with can conquer the entire planet in just a few years if it is unleashed on the whole world. He destroys the radios and sleds and kills the remaining dogs to ensure no one can escape.
Armed with flamethrowers and enough explosives to blow up the research station, the crew is all but certain they won’t survive the winter. When Bennings (Peter Maloney) and Norris (Charles Hallahan) become infected, the surviving crew’s paranoia overcomes them because they can’t really know who else is infected by the thing. Although Mac and Childs (Keith David) have more than enough reasons not to trust each other at this point in the ordeal, they really have no choice but to put their heads together in their efforts to survive.
Next level creature effects
Aside from emotional and existential turmoil, The thing When it was released in 1982, it shocked everyone because it was ahead of its time with its creature design and stop-motion movements that still hold up today when streamed on Shudder. Special effects designer Rob Bottin required a budget of $1.5 million (a tenth of that). The thing is the entire production budget) and used a mixture of chemicals, food, rubber and mechanical parts to bring the eponymous thing to life in its various grotesque permutations. If you see that somehow John Carpenter Being shown for the first time in 2025 as a classic, you might not think you’re watching a 43-year-old film because the practical effects are so well implemented.
A certified cult classic
The thing is one of those creature features that actually benefits from showing its monster on screen, and there’s no shortage of blood, ectoplasm, saliva and bones to make that point. The more intense each mutation becomes, the more intense the feeling becomes real The main cast’s fear is made all the more compelling by the freezing temperatures on set, which in all likelihood kept adrenaline levels high during production and gave the film an aura of authenticity that I haven’t seen quite like it since.
You can stream The thing at the moment on Shudderand I highly recommend you do this next time you want to watch the world burn. And if you want to explore it The thing further, the GenreVision The podcast offers an excellent breakdown that you won’t want to miss.
