All_About_The_Thing

the time to show the quiet, subdued reactions. Here, less is more and the characters are
left alone with their thoughts.
At this point in the film several story elements are taking shape, two of which are
these: MacReady is quick thinking and bent above all else on his own survival rather than
heroics (apparent when he stepped away from Childs) and this single minded
determination combines with a quality that makes him a natural leader. Second, we know
that at least one of the camp members is a thing (the shadow on the wall) and it has
witnessed up close how humans treat things. It knows that its own survival, as important
to it as Mac’s is to Mac, is a direct threat to the humans and so they are on a collision
course. But the Thing is hidden. It has become a battle of wits. Like a chess game?
It is interesting to note how quickly we forget about the dog-thing. Since the Thing can
change its appearance the viewer tends to regard each manifestation as something
different but the large lump of flesh, muscle and bone on Blair’s operating table is the
dog from the beginning of the film. The title of the movie is so perfect because the
creature doesn’t have one single shape that we can identify.
Blair removes the outer layer to reveal what was going on underneath. What we
first see is a combination of twisted bone and muscle that resembles a dog’s head. It is
similar to a sculpture where a familiar whole is made up of unusual individual elements.
Having revealed so much Blair looks down sombrely and we fade out. It would have
been fascinating to have seen the whole Thing gradually unveiled but the film is always
brief, if never rushed. It would also have been a detour from the film’s main focus. By
fading out like this we avoid Blair’s examination. It is an unusual scene transition and
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