The Thing

Twelve men at an Antarctic research station battle a shape-shifting alien that hides in human form, in John Carpenter’s ground-breaking sci-fi horror.

Workers at a remote Antarctic research station discover a parasitic alien that can invade, assimilate and imitate earthly lifeforms, leading to extreme paranoia as the twelve men try to work out who’s harbouring ‘the thing’.

John Carpenter’s ground-breaking adaptation of John W. Campbell’s novella Who Goes There? (previously filmed as The Thing From Another World) set the benchmark for special makeup effects for years to come, showcasing Rob Bottin’s extravagant parade of grisly, mutating creatures. Underappreciated upon its initial release (critics felt the gore effects were overused), The Thing has been re-evaluated in recent years for its undeniably scary premise, bleak setting and foreboding atmosphere of dread, and is now considered one of the 1980s’ best horror films.