John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi/horror remake The Thing is not only one of the greatest horror remakes of all time, it’s up there as one of the best horror movies period. There are few people who will speak ill of The Thing and it’s understandable why. It has great characters, a solid script, timeless practical FX, and an unsettling score, all of which combine into an experience that, while unappreciated upon release, has become one of the pinnacles of cinema.
It’s a movie that has drawn a lot of investigation and critique. Some find it to be a feminist film where the virus itself is a female entity. Others look into the philosophy of the situation and the challenges it presents. While these theories can be fascinating and add depth and layers to the film previously unthought of, everyone has the right to view the film from their own angle and through their own lens.
One such fascinating approach comes from author Peter Watts, who wrote a brilliant short story titled “The Things“, which follows the story we’ve seen but this time it’s from the point of view of the virus itself. Not content with just retelling the film and its events, Watts creates an entire backstory, something deep and rich about this alien biological threat and how it moves and grows. Fascinatingly, he also gives the virus a wide range of emotions, taking the time to discuss its fears and its concerns, not just with the humans it’s facing at the Antarctic base but also from its own knowledge of the universe. According to the story, this is a being that has colonized and overtaken countless planets. So why, it ponders, has no one come to save it when it was trapped in ice for those thousands of years? How can it preserve itself and ensure its survival?
The story – which has the following accolades: 2011 Hugo Award Nominee, 2010 BSFA Award Finalist, 2010 Shirley Jackson Award Winner, 2011 Finalist: The Locus Award for Best Short Story, 2011 Theodore Sturgeon Award Nominee – is magnificently crafted because, at least for me, it elicited a strange sense of sympathy for “The Thing”. It is desperate to survive and its intentions are pure but it clearly has no concept of humanity and what makes us so, well…human. As the virus moves throughout the characters of the film, it begins to realize that humans are like nothing it’s ever encountered before and it begins to realize the magnitude of the situation.
What makes this story so fascinating is how detailed and intricately its written. It really does feel like we’re in the point of view of something inhuman, something alien. Every sentence demands that we exit the safety of our own experiences and try to empathize with something whose sole purpose is to take us over and erase us entirely. Obviously, I highly recommend that you give it a read when you have a chance. if you want an audio version, you can listen right here.
Alright, now that I’m done here, what are some stories that you love? Are there any that have fundamentally changed how you viewed a movie/game/comic/whatever?