THE THING is Underrated – Cinemassacre Review
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THE THING is an underrated classic. Oh, did you think I meant John Carpenter’s The Thing from 1982?? No, I mean the Howard Hawks original film from 1951 called The Thing from Another World, which usually has been referred to as just “The Thing”. It’s an American black-and-white science fiction-horror film based on the 1938 novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell. In the movie, a U.S. Air Force crew and scientists find a crashed flying saucer and a humanoid body frozen in the Arctic ice. Returning to their remote research outpost with the body still in a block of ice, they are forced to defend themselves against the still alive and malevolent plant-based alien when it is accidentally defrosted.
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@JamesNintendoNerd
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
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@codyhilton1750
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
Great minds think alike. I first saw The Thing in the theater in 51 and it scared the Hell out of me. To this day it is my favorite sci-fi horror movie, and I never get tired of watching it. You forgot to mention the really great music. And a few unknown actors that did such a great job. Black and white only.
@Lisa-zw4nu
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
I actually hated that "watch the sky" closing line, it just felt like propaganda, given the time this movie came out 😅
@briant6483
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
James reporting that Roswell was a weather balloon is as much as travesty as people thinking The Thing '82 was the original.
@BlotRorschach
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
Missed an opportunity to address that there's a Fuchs in this movie.
@bb21again.67
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
The Thing is not underrated.
@sludgewave4786
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
Don't worry James, some young people still love black and white movies. Thanks for the recommandations.
@IronMan3582
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
The look on The Thing's face when the door opens 9:32
A blink and you miss it of "WTF" for both parties, not expecting either to be on either side of the door
@paulvalentine1483
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
Hawks' by far!
@TheSaltydog07
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
Watched again last night. Always wonderful. Great cast. ❤❤❤❤
@mralapenosarespicy
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
I’m sorry but movies from the fifties were fucking terrible. They are meant to be scary but they are practically comedy today. They just didn’t age well
@robertpreston6443
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
James is bringing the 50's version back into relevance both are classics
@matthewmiller4695
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
I happen to see the original version first and loved it. I was also a James Arness fan from Gunsmoke (Matt Dillion, cool name). When I found out he played the Thing monster, I was super stoked. And then I found out Mr. Arness had a major role in another science fiction movie classic, Them! Oh my goodness, that dude was a very great actor. I'm going to get heat for this but, I liked James Arness more than John Wayne. I know, boo on me. Tough, that's my opinion.
One day I was at my cousin's house and they told me they had recorded John Carpenter's The Thing. I was freaking blown away! I loved it. Then, strangely, I found the book and read it. Wow! One the same day I saw The Thing, I also got to see Brainstorm, Natalie Wood's last film. I was blown away by the quality of that movie as well. I recommend all of this media.
Gunsmoke
The Thing (all versions)
Them!
Brainstorm.
I love them all!
By the way, special effects were expensive in classic black and white science fiction movies. It was actually very rare that the audience ever got to see the alien monster. You might see its shadow, or a creepy sound that it makes. Or that it grew plants that had human blood in them (!!) The characters on screen always got to see the monster and their reactions to it are what terrified audiences during that time period. You see, film makers knew back then that, if you let the audience imagine what the alien/monster looks like, it can be just as, if not more, terrifying as actually seeing it on screen.
@Davidbodyspam
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
1:42 yeah the movie that was actually good
@AndrewAmbrose
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
The only other famous Thing that came before '82 was Ben Grimm and the pet of the Addams family.
And not Mothra.
@KannibalBeats
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
It's crazy to see that James was actually passionate at one point
@Emmyzilla-q3q
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
Hot take: Tbh after finally watching the original film, I admittedly never liked it and I do find it extremely boring for me and good thing I enjoyed the remake more than the original
@thegargoylecumeth7932
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
2:45 correction- the 2011 The Thing was not a remake of a remake, it was a prequel to the remake
@jimvac77
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
It! The Terror From Beyond Space is a fantastic 50s sci-fi film.
@thekraemer1757
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
It was adapted from a novella Who Goes There I read recently. Great story.
@lucasmackey2808
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
12:36 Poor Howard Hawks..
@ShadeUnderTheSoul
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
I think the '82 Thing is stronger because the creature is simply executed better, and the element of shapeshifting is much more frightening than the "carrot from space". And like it or not, but the creature IS the star of the movie. After all, the movie is called the "THING (from another world)", not "Arctic outpost". So the creature is really the defining factor for which film comes out on top.
@Tamlinearthly
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
Nobody in the '50s cared about Roswell, that didn't become a real part of UFO culture until the book "The Roswell Incident" created most of the modern mythology around it in 1980.
@HenryCasillas
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
🍪
@TheWayBackMachine72
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
I love you man. Keep speaking to my soul.
@fuzzjunky
January 31, 2026 at 1:25 am
the 2011 was not a remake. people who say this just have not seen the film. it works very well as a prequel.
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