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Monday, December 06, 2004

The Thing (1982)

I just got done watching John Carpenter's The Thing (checked it out from the library) and it wasn't a bad little horror flick. It had some genuinely good scares in it (which is always a pleasant surprise--I always feel like I've become so jaded by horror films that nothing really scares me all that much anymore) and really good special effects for the early 80s. Watching films like that reminds me of how "lazy" a lot of filmmakers have become by relying on CGI special effects so much. I'm not so stupid to thing that a movie like Lord of the Rings could have ever been made without the miracle of CG technology, but it's always heartening to see good use of makeup and foam latex and other such things.

The movie was good--I did grow a bit weary of the whole "which one of the guys can be the most macho?" thing that seemed to persist throughout. It was also really a dark movie--the contrasts between black weren't all that profound so it was hard to watch and tell what exactly was going on sometimes. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I was watching it on my computer because I don't want Anna watching this kind of stuff until she's older and can make conscious decisions about it.

And for just about everything you ever wanted to know about the move (spoilers as well, so be warned) go to this unofficial The Thing site which is pretty comprehensive and cool.

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