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John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ Turns 35 Today!

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The Thing Anniversary

Can one write enough articles about John Carpenter’s masterpiece of a remake, The Thing? The correct answer is no. The Thing turns 35 today, so let’s celebrate (as if you needed another reason to pop this bad boy in the Blu-Ray player).

The Thing opened on June 25, 1982, the same day as Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and just two weeks after the release of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Because of this (Carpenter believed that audiences wanted a more positive outlook at alien life), the film was a critical and commercial flop. It was greeted with negative reviews upon its release and earned just $3.1 million on its opening weekend, placing it at the number eight spot at the box office.

The Thing went on to gross $19.6 million against its $15 million budget, which doesn’t account for marketing and advertising costs. Of course, the film was eventually reappraised by critics and is now considered one of Carpenter’s best films, if not one of the best films ever made, horror or otherwise.

In fact, the film has had a rather significant impact on pop culture over the last 35 years. It seems that any film or television show includes a reference to the 1982 classic (okay, that’s an exaggeration, but just look at this list!), so here are some of the more memorable references to the film over the past 35 years.


Tomb Raider III: The Adventures of Lara Croft

Not only does much of the climax of this video game take place in an Antarctic research base where the human researchers have been turned into mutants by an alien that crash landed on earth, but the final boss is a giant spider creature with a human head! They should have just called this Tomb Raider III: The Thing.

Tomb Raider 3


The Faculty

This one probably needs to explanation, but screenwriter Kevin Williamson pays homage (Or rips off? Your call.) to the infamous blood testing scene in The Thing with a slight tweak (ha ha) on the formula. The students in this alien invasion thriller learn that the aliens are susceptible to a homemade drug made by Zeke (Josh Hartnett) so they all take turns snorting it to figure out if any of them have been infected. Spoiler alert: it’s Delilah (Jordana Brewster).


Ghosts of Mars

I couldn’t find a clip of this, but John Carpenter references one of his best films in one of his worst films. Pam Grier’s character asks the question “Who goes there?”, which is the name of the novella that Carpenter’s film (and the original) is based on. She probably shouldn’t have asked, because this is what happens to her later:

Ghosts of Mars


Resident Evil 4

The Resident Evil franchise is known for its eclectic set of monsters for your character to fight against, but the dogs in Resident Evil 4 dog transformationfrequently have tentacles from the Las Plagas parasite emerge from their spines. This is a direct homage to the in The Thing.

Resident Evil 4 Tentacle Dog


Slither

Attentive viewers will see that the funeral home is in James Gunn’s 2006 film Slither is owned by none other than R.J. MacReady, the name of Kurt Russell’s character in The Thing. Maybe he did make it out of Antarctica after all?

Slither


The Mist

The opening scene of Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novella features quite a few Easter Eggs for horror fans, the most high profile of which is some Dark Tower artwork and a poster of The Thing hung up on a wall.

The Mist


Monsters Vs. Aliens

In the 2009 film Monsters Vs. Aliens, the Missing Link (Will Arnett) escapes from a block of ice much like the titular baddie in Carpenter’s 1982 film.

Monsters Vs. Aliens


Futurama: “Murder on the Planet Express”

The 24th episode of the seventh season of Futurama is a full-on parody of The Thing. The episode sees the core cast of characters thrust into a team-building trust exercise in which an alien slowly begins shape-shifting into them and eating the other characters.


Celebrity Deathmatch: “Deathbowl ’98”

In this episode of the hilariously inappropriate MTV series, Charles Manson bites a chunk of flesh out of Marilyn Manson’s shoulder and spits it out. After a brief moment, the chunk of flesh grows legs and walks away, much like Norris’s (Charles Hallahan) head in The Thing.


The X-Files: “Ice”

The eighth episode of the first season of The X-Files took a lot of inspiration from The Thing in that it put Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) in an Alaskan outpost where an alien parasite has begun taking over the team of geophysicists who are stationed there. Before they know it, they are turning against everyone on their team, which includes Desperate Housewives‘ Felicity Huffman, as they try to figure out who is infected and who isn’t.


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: “Buried Secrets”

April O’Neil’s mother returns to her in the third episode of the third season of Nickelodeon’s hit cartoon series, but she is actually a Kraang creature posing as her to get intel from the Turtles. The tentacles that emerge from her are highly reminiscent of the creature in The Thing.

TMNT


The Hateful Eight

Not only does Quentin Tarantino’s latest film feature a group of people locked in an icy setting as they try to figure out who among them is working against them, but it also features an Academy Award-winning score by Ennio Morricone, the same man who composed the score for The Thing!


Stranger Things

Any science fictions television set in the 80s has to mention The Thing, right? There is a poster for the film in Mike’s house and footage from the film can be seen on science teacher Mr. Clarke’s TV screen in the seventh episode of the series.

There are a lot more references to The Thing out there in popular culture, and I’m sure I’ve missed most of them. What are some of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below and help celebrate The Thing‘s 35th anniversary!

A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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