The Thing (1982)

"The Thing" is classic John Carpenter. Cheap, fun and nasty, it asks no more of its audience than to watch carnage rip a cast of characters limb from bloody limb. "Alien" in Antarctica, the Thing, or things, is/are a shifting alien presence that viscerates an isolated group of U.S. scientists, doctors and pilots at an Antarctic research camp. Kurt Russell is the stoic, fearless leader, with support from later '80s TV staples David Clennon, Wilford Brimley and Richard Dysart. Brimley is the standout as an unhinged pathologist. You'll never eat Quaker Oats again. Unlike "Alien," there's no character development. That's OK. This is quick, nasty, giddy, grisly fun and the frigid ice and air is as deadly as space. The highpoint has a man's head sprouting other-worldly eyes and spider-like legs as it crawls off his burning corpse. Props to the pre-CGI effects that still scare and Ennio Morricone's glorious score, which vibrates with high strings, low horns and pure dread. Gore galore, and a dark ending. Love it. A