Kurt Russell discusses the ambiguous ending of ‘The Thing’
In 1982 The Thing was released, unleashing the nightmarish and nihilistic imagination of John Carpenter upon unsuspecting audiences. Whilst its cult status was not earned until some years later, there was one element of the film that stood out for audiences from the moment the first screening finished: the ending.
Sitting amidst the blazing ruins of the Antarctica research base, helicopter pilot R.J. MacRready (played by Kurt Russell) and chief mechanic Childs (Keith David) cautiously probe each other about the events that took place and the fate of the horrific “Thing”. Through pure insinuation alone, the two men challenge each other’s identity, and literal humanity, all whilst slowly succumbing to exhaustion and inevitable frozen death. As Childs asks, “what do we do?”, MacReady cynically replies: “Why don’t we just wait here for a while… and see what happens”. Understanding that their suspicion ultimately places them at a stalemate, the two men share a bottle of scotch and stare at each other.
For some, the ambiguity and refusal to give us any more clues or answers proved interminably frustrating. For others, the open-ended nature of the film cements a powerful theme of uncertainty and paranoia that runs deep throughout The Thing. As the parasitic alien runs rampant through the camp, it doesn’t just transform their physical bodies but erodes their very sense of individuality and self. However, the ending itself went through various transformations, testing against various audiences and studio screenings before an agreement was made.
Russell explains: “John Carpenter and I worked on the ending of that movie together a long time”. The filmmakers ultimately agreed on restoring the original scripted ending, which gives us the iconic last moments that fans love today. Russell continues: “We were both bringing the audience right back to square one. At the end of the day, that was the position these people were in. They just didn’t know anything.”
From Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs to It Follows by David Robert Mitchell, the legacy of The Thing and its ending has influenced countless other films in countless genres. As Russell puts it, “Over the years, that movie has gotten its due because people were able to see what the movie was about, which was paranoia.”
