Did the ending of John Carpenter's The Thing sit right with you?

Theocratic Sedition

It bothers me, was it Childs or MacReady? Was it either? Anybody remember when it was at theaters, did the ending generate conversation?

Glander

I am a big fan of "The Thing". Both the original and the remake were excellent horror movies. It's similar to comparing the original and remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".

I liked the ending of the remake. It left it to your imagination as to who was the alien.

My preference is the original. I saw it when I was about 11 yrs old. At the end the reporter is posting his dispatch "...watch the skies..."

chilling.

I havent watched the remake yet, but I saw the original as a kid too. Scared the daylights out of me. Lately I've been thinking about the ending and how ambiguous it was. John Carpenter did the same with The Fog. Still I wonder what happened to the creature? Was it Childs, cuz he didnt have a problem drinking from the bottle Kurt Russell handed to him. I would have said hell no I'm not drinking from that. Great film though.

yadda yadda 2

Lol, random older classic movie obscure nuances thread. Were you high or drunk when you typed this dude?

smiddy

I loved the older movie ,though outdated by todays standards , and I loved the remake ,i thought the music score was classic chasing the dog.

smiddy

Glander

Lol, random older classic movie obscure nuances thread. Were you high or drunk when you typed this dude?

LOL. you go first.

Mickey mouse

I love the original, I haven't seen the remake yet. I'm not a fan of modern horror but I loved John Carpenter's early stuff. I think The Thing is one of those rare movies where the ambiguous ending is good. Interesting fan commentary here on whether Childs was infected http://blastr.com/2011/08/was-childs-the-thing-one.php

ziddina

Aaaaarrrrrgggghhh....

My main issue with fiction/horror is that, since it IS fiction, they can throw any B.S. ending at you and leave you scratching your head for hours... Or days... Or weeks... Or months...

Or even years.

I'm just glad that it WAS fiction.

Dealing with dragons is enuf for me. I don't want to have to think about 'alien thingeys' in the arctic - er, Antarctic? - in addition to dragons...

And I so do NOT believe in "dragons"!!!

Well, except maybe for these:

Vidiot

Loved it.

Interesting point, according to Dark Horse comics' sequel, Childs was infected. Carpenter loved the comic and all but endorsed it as canon; in fact, he stated that if he ever helmed a sequel, he'd simply adapt the comic.

BTW, when you guys refer to the "remake", are you talking about the 1982 film, or the 2011 prequel?

Did the ending of John Carpenter's The Thing sit right with you?

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