The Thing (1982)

Everybody at this research station has a beard and a parka, which is a real problem when the whole plot is figuring out who’s still human. I kept mixing up Palmer and Norris. Not proud of it. The characters are thin, too. Most of them exist to be suspicious, then to be wrong about it. That’s the knock. Everything else is a master class in paranoia. John Carpenter locks a crew of guys in the snow with something that could be any of them, then lets the trust drain out of the room. Kurt Russell’s MacReady solves problems with a flamethrower and a sombrero, the coolest man in horror. The creature effects still make people put their snacks down, and the blood test is the tensest scene ever built around a hot wire. Metacritic still has it at a 57. With audiences, it beats 99% of movies. A 9.0 because nothing has topped it for dread, trust issues or practical effects. $636 says you look at your dog a little too long tonight.

What works: Kurt Russell’s MacReady, the jaw-dropping practical effects, the blood test scene and nonstop paranoia.

What doesn’t: The supporting characters blur together under the beards and parkas, and most exist only to be suspicious or to be wrong.

Who it’s for: Horror fans who love practical effects and trust issues, and anyone who has worked a job where nobody trusts anybody.