‘The Thing’ explained: Did the alien win?
John Carpenter has contributed many films to the horror world that remain at the forefront of our minds, with gnarly scenes and practical effects that linger in our memories and continue to keep us awake at night. From his ingenious scoring of Halloween, with a sparse and unnerving repeated melody that slowly drives you crazy to his long-lasting collaborative relationship with Kurt Russell, the director became the face of the independent horror and pioneer of the slasher genre as we know it, forever changing our perception of how fear is created and the possibilities of the medium, even with a small budget.
After the success of Halloween, the director continued to work within the realm of fear, creating terrifying and innovative stories like Escape From New York, The Fog and They Live, expanding on the techniques created in his early work and inspiring future horror directors like Jordan Peele and the Scream franchise.
But while Halloween might be the film that kicked off his career, the one that truly sent it to new heights was his 1982 film The Thing, which is still discussed and debated today as people wonder over the cryptically unnerving ending and lack of finite truth in the conclusion to his masterful and icy horror.
The Thing follows a group of 12 scientists who are conducting research at a remote base in Antarctica, discovering an alien that has been frozen in the snow for thousands of years and soon wreaks havoc as it takes on the form of each person it kills, slowly becoming one of them.
From the revolutionary practical effects and paranoia as the characters begin to turn on each other, the Carpenter pushed the genre into a new direction through his locked-door murder mystery style horror as the characters turn into the threat after the monster adopts their form, leading to an anxiety-inducing and truly terrifying ride as everyone doubts whether each person is still human.
However, while many moments are forever burned into our memories, whether it be the score composed by Ennio Morricone or the graphic scenes as the alien consumes its victims, the film is still a topic of discussion due to its ambiguous ending.
So, what happens at the end of The Thing?
The movie relies heavily on the mood that pervades the score, ensemble and set. The creeping unknowing is incredibly unnerving for an audience, as we are left endlessly trying to figure out exactly who the alien host is. Such a dramatic picture needs a showpiece ending, and Carpenter didn’t disappoint.
The film ends on a strange note. The true identity of the monster is left unknown, and only Carpenter knows the answer, sparking endless theories about who it truly is. While Russell himself has proposed the theory that MacReady is the alien, many others believe it to be Childs.
The film ends with the research station burning to the ground, with only MacReady and Childs left alive and leaving fans guessing as to who is now the carrier of the alien. It provides an eternal debate for those who deeply adore the movie.
…and who is The Thing?
Many have dismissed the idea that Russell’s character could be ‘the thing’ given that we follow him for the majority of the movie and he is portrayed as the hero, but perhaps this would make him the perfect choice to embody the threat, with audiences not suspecting that the person we’re rooting for might actually be deadly.
This then leaves Childs as the lead suspect, with people theorising that he is the monster, and he mysteriously leaves MacReady alone while the building is burning. When he returns, you cannot see his breath in the air despite sub-zero temperatures.
The cinematographer of the film, David Cundey, also suspects that the alien is Childs, but believes this is because of the way the end scene is lit, with light being seen in MacReady’s eyes but not in Childs, implying that there is no life because he is the monster. Ultimately, the only person who knows the truth is Carpenter himself.
He confirmed as much when he spoke with Comic Book: “Yes, I know. I know who’s the Thing and who’s not in the very end.” Would he care to share? “Nope. Cannot tell you. Sorry.” Given that one of the most entertaining aspects of the film is its unresolved ending, and the endless puzzle it leaves the audience with, maybe that’s a good thing.
