The Thing (1982)

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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The Thing (1982)

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

The Thing is my favorite movie. I watched it over the weekend. Still great.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about its reception when it first came out:
The film received negative reviews upon release.[29] The film's makeup special effects were simultaneously lauded and lambasted for being technically brilliant but visually repulsive and excessive. Film critic Roger Ebert called the film "disappointing", though said he found it scary and that it was "a great barf-bag movie." However, he criticized what he felt were poor characterizations and illogical plot elements, ultimately giving the film 2½ stars out of 4.[30] In his review for The New York Times, Vincent Canby called it "a foolish, depressing, overproduced movie that mixes horror with science fiction to make something that is fun as neither one thing or the other. Sometimes it looks as if it aspired to be the quintessential moron movie of the 80s."[31] Time magazine's Richard Schickel wrote, "Designer Rob Bottin's work is novel and unforgettable, but since it exists in a near vacuum emotionally, it becomes too domineering dramatically and something of an exercise in abstract art."[32]

In his review for The Washington Post, Gary Arnold called the film "a wretched excess."[33] Jay Scott, in his review for the Globe and Mail, called the film "a hell of an antidote to E.T."[34] In his review for Newsweek, David Ansen wrote, "Astonishingly, Carpenter blows it. There's a big difference between shock effects and suspense, and in sacrificing everything at the altar of gore, Carpenter sabotages the drama. The Thing is so single-mindedly determined to keep you awake that it almost puts you to sleep."[35] David Denby of New York magazine wrote that the original story may have influenced Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Alien, but a new adaptation seems derivative.[36] In his book Science Fiction (1984), Phil Hardy described the film as a "surprising failure" and "Carpenter's most unsatisfying film to date."[37] The review noted that the narrative "seems little more than an excuse for the various set-pieces of special effects and Russell's hero is no more than a cypher compared to Kenneth Tobey's rounded character in Howard Hawks' The Thing".[37]
Imagine being so fucking bad at your job that you panned The Thing. "Surprising failure." "Disappointing." What a bunch of fucking no-taste morons.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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Flack
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Re: The Thing (1982)

Post by Flack »

When Roger Ebert learned The Thing was nominated for both Best Horror Film and Best Special Effects, his jaw dropped.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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