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My main complaint with The Thing is the writing lets down an interesting concept. If the characters had been more fleshed out and diverse, they would have been memorable and it would have been easier to get engaged with them. As it is, I didn't really care too much about most of the characters, so I wasn't invested enough to care whether they lived or died. The script, written by Bill Lancaster - son of legendary actor Burt Lancaster - hovers at or slightly above the line of "average horror film" for the duration, with only a scene or two that worked really well, in my opinion.

One such scene is where MacReady is trying to determine which of the men has been assimilated by the alien life force. He comes up with an ingenious method: he draws blood from everyone and "tests" it by touching the pool of blood with a burning hot piece of metal. If the sample doesn't react to the heat, that donor is obviously not infected. The scene plays out methodically and really ratchets up the tension. As the viewer, you just know that someone is going to be infected, but the suspense is palpable as you wait to discover who it is.

Despite having lackluster characters and dialogue, The Thing is able to create quite a bit of tension and suspense. I think this owes more to Carpenter's direction and Todd Ramsay's editing (and the aforementioned score) than Lancaster's writing, though. The camera placement, shot length, and music combine well and the tension from the character's paranoia is evident throughout the film.

Another complaint of mine is the dark cinematography during the scenes set at night inside the camp buildings. It's one thing to create a dark atmosphere, which can help improve the mood of a film like this, but it's another matter altogether to have scene after scene of nearly indistinguishable characters and surroundings. If everything had been a shade or two lighter, the dark atmosphere could have been retained and the clarity of the film would have been much greater.

As much as I disliked the cinematography when the action was taking place inside, I equally loved the beautiful shots captured of northern British Columbia, which stood in for Antarctica. I'm a sucker for snowy, desolate landscapes and The Thing doesn't disappoint. The sense of isolation and despair is evident when you see the relatively tiny camp surrounded on all sides by vast stretches of snow and mountains.

I went into my viewing of The Thing with moderate hopes. I had attempted to watch the film once before (about a year ago) and didn't make it far before shutting it off. After all the comments I've read in regards to it being one of the best horror films of all-time, I decided to give it second chance. I'm glad I did. It's a fine film, but not one that I would consider a classic. It certainly isn't going to dethrone any of my favorite horror films.

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