Favorite Film #70, 1982: The Thing. Directed By John Carpenter

I want to give a shout out to The Thing’s radio advertisements, because they were absolutely ingenious! It starts out just playing a normal song like Stevie Wonder’s Superstition, tricking the audience into thinking they’re either listening to music or an advertisement for the local radio station. Until suddenly, the song breaks into static, and a voice starts to break through screaming that they need help! And that’s when Ennio Morricone’s music sting hits, and the dramatic trailer voice says the title of the movie! That is one of the coolest ways to advertise a film I’ve ever seen! Going for the War of the World’s route of momentarily tricking the audience into believing your lies, before hooking them on the title of the movie playing in just a week! The Thing failed financially for many reasons, but the marketing was certainly not one of them. And The Thing itself is an absolute masterpiece. Easily John Carpenter’s magnum opus, and the greatest remake of all time. This is one of the tensest, and most nerve-wracking experiences in cinema. Where it’s still absolutely terrifying even without Rob Bottin’s horrifically nasty effects work; thanks to the absolutely suffocating paranoia, Ennio Morricone’s chillingly stripped back score, and Carpenter’s typically brilliant pacing. Which all-together, brilliantly updates one of the most famous Cold War parables of the 1950’s, to reflect the cynicism and dread of the Reagan era. And Dean Cundey’s cinematography of the arctic landscape, plus the incredibly unique color scheme, creates a sense of freezing so bare you start to feel it yourself. The Thing just might be the coldest movie ever made. You can pause at any frame, and all of the actors look like they’re dying of hypothermia!