As I sit here working on a model, I've just finished watching John Carpenter's "The Thing" for about the hundredth time, and I wonder at the end of the film if either of the remaining characters (MacReady or Childs), could have been infected. Your thoughts? Also, wouldn't you like to see a sequel to this film?

Would LOVE to see a sequel to the JC version, yes! Much closer to the novel than the '50's version w/James Arness as "The Thing".

Dark Horse Comics did a "sequel" to the 1982 movie in the mid-to-late '90's. IIRC, MacReady was clean, but Childs was infected. They were both picked up by an Argentenian rescue helo, I think, and then went to some island on the southern end of South America. My memory's a bit fuzzy from there, but I think it was left as a cliffhanger, just like the movie. ;)

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Jeffrey Griffin
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I always had the impression that Mac and Childs were clean at the end.

It's been a while since I read the short story. Didn't it end differently than the film? It was amazing to me after reading it how closely Carpenter stuck to it. The 1950's "The Thing" is a great film, but resembles the original story in only the most superficial ways.

I always had the impression that Mac and Childs were clean at the end.

It's been a while since I read the short story. Didn't it end differently than the film? It was amazing to me after reading it how closely Carpenter stuck to it. The 1950's "The Thing" is a great film, but resembles the original story in only the most superficial ways.
I feel that way about both versions. Both are good, but both are different from the story, although Carpenter's version is closer to the original story, it's still quite different.

The Thing wasn't a shape shifter in the story, it imitated it's victim, but it couldn't pick and chose the physical features, it was what it consumed. Although I think that it could go back to it's original form.

David.

I don't think either one of the movies came close to the original novellette. They were good, but the original story literally had my stomach churning.

I don't know if Childs was clean or not. Personal preference, he was. Question: does it matter?

Carpenter says this was one of his three end-of-the-world movies. Makes sense to me. Every last molecule of this thing is alive, capable of infection, and able to withstand being frozen. So what do they do? Blow it up! That's it, guys, scatter chunks of it all over the camp!

You know pieces of it are going to be found, thawed out, put into play by the rescue party that shows up to investigate why the camp lost contact.

Do Mac and Childs survive? The film suggests strongly that they won't, but I imagine they know how to constuct an igloo, and there must be a few undamaged supplies to be salvaged. But once they're rescued, they'red going to be locked up as possibly deranged ppsychopaths for the slaughter of the camp. If they open their mouths about what happened...well, all the worse for them. Not just killers, but delusional killers.

By the time anyone believes them, or disovers what the frozen smaples really are, it's too late for the mainland, and thus the world.

At the end of that movie, you're lookin' at two guys who know in their hearts that they've only forestalled the end of the human race by a few weeks.

That's the movie as it stands alone sans sequel as I see it, and judging by his somments I expect Carpenter feels the same way. 'Course, he'll alter that view if he ever makes a sequel, simply to meet the needs of a sequel...but, ya know, there's been talk about sequels to this and a number of Carpenter films for years, and they never happen. The Fog 2 (once planned as a telemovie), Snake Plissken 3, Big Trouble in Little China 2, The Thing 2...the man needs a hit. He is rumored to be burnt out (hopefully not permanently), and it's been a few years since he's worked on anything.

well considering the movie was a dog at the box office (no matter how much its acclaimed afterward, its still a loser monetetarily) dont expect any sequel to get greenlighted soon.

personally i loved the film. i like the ambiguity of the end. the characters seem pretty sure they wont survive, and the film isnt obliged to tell us for sure. since we (the audience) are with mac almost the entire time, i think we can be sure he's clean. but childs? who knows.

SciFi channel is co-financing a four hour miniseries version of "The Thing".

Every time I read "The Thing", instead of the movie, I think of the old Phil Harris song... I'm too warped for even this place, I guess.

There *was* a SF story based on the song... a team of hoboes going around looking for anything that seemed repulsive to them, for different reasons. One hobo would see the alien Thing as soap, IIRC...

Every time I read "The Thing", instead of the movie, I think of the old Phil Harris song... I'm too warped for even this place, I guess.

There *was* a SF story based on the song... a team of hoboes going around looking for anything that seemed repulsive to them, for different reasons. One hobo would see the alien Thing as soap, IIRC...
The movie came out right after the very popular Phil Harris song, so buttons were issued to the peoplle on the movie that said "I am not Phil Harris's the Thing". :lol:

David.

I think that they're both clean.
But because uf the lighting it (sort of) appears that Childs has no misty breath and is thus a cold vegatable creature!

Jim

Get outta here with that ( bum-bum-bum ) and don't come back no more!

- GJS :wave:

the "making of" the thing is a facinating story. if you can, pick up the back issue of cfq on it. my favorite part of it is that, in a stunning move of practicality (at least for hollywood), is that the alaskan camp "set" was (excuse the redundancy) practical, built not only to be the filming set, but the actual quarters for the cast and crew while the movie was being made. and then on the final day of location filming, they blew it up for real!