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The Thing | FULL Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2025-10-09 15:00:13
Imported:
2026-06

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This was such a good movie!!! I had a few good jump scares and am still thinking about the ending!!!

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20 16

So who do you think was the thing in the end. Both ,one or none ?

Dan M

Oh baby! Here we go! One of the most amazing display of practical effects put on film! John Carpenter puts on a master class on how to ramp up the feelings of paranoia and anxiety, underscored by tons of gooey visuals and Ennio Morricone’s version of the Jaws theme. Very creepy!

Larry Darrell

This is a film that you have to watch over and over. The way I like to describe this film is as a Detective Story… without a detective character. You, the viewer, is the Detective. There are clues in this film that point to who The Thing is at the end of the film. There are more clues that point to One Person more than anyone else… and the Key way The Thing transmits itself, even right up to the final scene. Here are some questions to consider, when watching again. Who's room did the dog go into the first night? From what we've seen and what we know, How Well did the Thing imitate each victim, and what capabilities of the Thing can be deduced? Who was the Third Man that went with MacReady & Norris to see the Ship in the ice? Why didn't MacReady want Blair in his Shack? What does MacReady do after Fuchs leaves the Tool Shed, and he is alone with Blair? What was MacReady's response to Blair's question in the Tool Shed? Why & How does MacReady keep Fuchs from getting help from Blair & Doc? Was Blair "Too Far Gone" for the situation? Why does MacReady tape over himself saying, "Nobody Trusts anybody now. We're all very tired."? Why was MacReady so distant with Fuchs in the Lab, before the lights went out? Why did MacReady never relay Fuchs' Warning about the Small Particle... prepare own meals... eat out of cans? Why was it an Hour before anyone found out the lights were out in the Lab? Why was there a Noose hanging in the Tool Shed with Blair... not noticing it? Why was MacReady's torn shirt outside? How and Why did it end up also in the furnace in his Shack? Was it the same one? Why did MacReady & Nauls spend roughly an Hour at MacReady's Small Shack? What might Norris & Palmer be thinking about when they look at each other as everyone is suspecting MacReady after Nauls comes back? Why did Clark have to Die? Why did MacReady test Windows' blood before his? Did MacReady's plan to "warm things up a little" really make any sense, when it was all said and done? Who benefited the most from his plan? What happened to Nauls? Who butted heads with MacReady the most in the film? If you were a Super Intelligent Being that could perfectly imitate any other Intelligent Being, and you were among a small group of people suspicious of this Super Intelligent Being... Who would you want to imitate? What game was MacReady playing in the beginning and what reoccurring object are we introduced to, JUST BEFORE MacReady? What was MacReady about to do, RIGHT BEFORE Childs walked up? Hint: I am NOT talking about gasoline or kerosene in MacReady’s liquor bottle. — I’ve got to wait until this weekend to watch this reaction. Dad Gommit!! :-(

Riggo 82

Definitely one of greatest horror flicks ever made. John Carpenter at his best, and bar none some the best practical effects ever. Tight script, great cast. Nothing negative to say about this film.

Greg In East TN

There's three "The Thing"s listed on Amazon. 1951, 1982 and 2011. Which one is it?

Larry Darrell

Whoa!! I feel old now. ;-) This reaction is of the 1982 film.

Greg In East TN

Don't feel bad. I remember the first one! :)

Larry Darrell

To explain the differences… 1951 is original film loosely based on 1938 novella, “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell. 1982 is advertised as remake of 1951, but story wise is actually a sequel of what happens in 1951. Also, 1982 changes “The Thing” back to being what was depicted in the 1938 novella. 2011 was advertised as a remake of 1982, but story wise was actually a prequel to the events in 1982, and a remake of the events in 1951.

scott osborne

ho no you fell for the husky trick everyone falls the first time every time without fail only to go haaaaaaaaa what the f later ho you should know that im just watching you and not the film the film creeps me out evert time

Larry Darrell

Yeah. Mis-marketing is a big reason 2011 didn’t do well.

Larry Darrell

Is there a “Who’s the Thing?” / Who Goes There?” debate or discussion going on somewhere other than here, like in Discord? Or do not many really care? On another reactor channel, there was some interesting theorizing, but I’d say mostly people were content with believing MacReady was the “Hero” and that was that.

Ron White

Another film with plenty of gory practical effects is "John Carpenters Vampires" from 1998. It is intense and atmospheric from the first scene to the last and action packed with plenty of intrigue. James Woods portrayal of the mad dog vampire hunter puts this movie over the top and is probably the most accurate personality portrayal of what someone would have to be like to survive the job if vampires really existed(?). The movie is an absolute hoot and based on your reaction to The Thing I think you would love it!

Dan M

What are your thoughts on this, Larry?

Larry Darrell

Well since you ask… ;-). Probably not gonna be till Saturday Night before I can watch this, so the wait is killing me. I do have my own theory, that I don’t think I’ve heard anyone else talk about. Everyone else always mentions the gasoline in the liquor bottle at the end, which doesn’t make sense, or that Childs doesn’t have breath in the end, which he does, you just have to look closer. Both of these try to prove that Childs was the Thing. He wasn’t… that is until MacReady’s Thing passed the liquor bottle to Childs, thus infecting him. When you watch The Thing next time, play a game called “Follow the Bottle.” You’ll notice that the Liquor Bottles are practically characters themselves, considering how much screen time they get. We are even introduced to the Whiskey Bottle BEFORE MacReady. Watch this scene, which is one of the most important, when MacReady, Doc, and Fuchs bring Blair to the tool shed. First notice that MacReady is definitive when he says, “I don’t want him in my shack.” (Why?) The major stuff happens inside though. You’ll notice Fuchs sets Blair’s Smirnoff bottle on the table, and MacReady waits for Doc and Fuchs to leave. MacReady grabs the bottle and takes a drink off screen. Blair says, “I don’t know who to trust.” (Which could be the tagline of the movie. No one in the film knows who they can trust. Not even us, the viewer.) MacReady, in a closeup, says, “I know what you mean Blair. Trust is a tough thing to come by these days.” Then MacReady sets the bottle back down in front of Blair. Except for one closeup on MacReady and one closeup on Blair, the Bottle can be seen in EVERY shot inside of the tool shed. (Seems important to me.) https://youtu.be/0eI0JH5Zw5I?si=qCYG4o9ziOB5gEMW Think about what MacReady said. “Trust is a tough thing to come by these days.” If you were a Super Intelligent Being, that could perfectly imitate any life form, down to their mannerisms, speech and personality. And your sole goal is to remain hidden and convince everyone that you are not an imitation… Who would you prefer to imitate? I’m thinking a Leader. What does a Leader need in order to be a leader? Trust. What does the Thing need the most from the humans around it, in order to remain hidden the longest, until it gets back to civilization? Trust… Trust that they are not the Thing. Watch this scene again of MacReady recording a log of what’s happening. MacReady says, “Nobody trusts anybody now… and we’re all very tired.” Then a closeup on the tape recorder as MacReady rewinds the tape, and replays the “Nobody trusts anybody now.” He stops it again. Rewinds to just before that line again… and HITS RECORD. https://youtu.be/ZH7hyzPIbp0?si=6__Kvn9F5lkN4aGx If MacReady really wanted to leave an accurate account of what’s been happening for the safety of anyone coming into the camp in the future… Why would you erase that line about TRUST? (Why erase any line for that matter?) That line only takes Trust away from him. The scene where MacReady walks in on Fuchs in the lab, and Fuchs tells MacReady that even the smallest particle of one these Things is enough to infect… that everyone should prepare their own meals, and only eat out of cans. Why do we never see MacReady tell anyone this? This was the most important detail about how the Thing infects. Which comes to the end scene… when MacReady gives Childs the Whiskey Bottle. They are both infected now. Sitting in the snow. No Shelter (because of MacReady’s plan to “warm things up a little.) Sitting outside in the Antarctic winter… Freezing… until a rescue team comes and takes their frozen bodies back to the main land… to be thawed out. Childs by the way was MacReady’s biggest threat throughout the film. MacReady was always fighting with Childs for the leader position. Childs was always the hardest to outsmart and the most combative. MacReady/The Thing finally won in the end. ;-) There are so many more clues that point to MacReady being the Thing. Trying to figure out when MacReady was turned is a fun thing too. You can deduce that Norris was turned the first night by the dog. Then MacReady and Norris fly to see the Alien Ship. They are accompanied by a third unnamed person. Who is this person? Why was he not identified? It’s very likely Palmer. If that’s the case, then MacReady is most definitely turned when they get back from that trip. Although MacReady could have been turned earlier. I could talk and write for hours on this. This film is so fun to watch, and I know Teegan has said before that she usually watches films over and over and over. This is the film for someone like her.

Dan M

Love this theory! I always suspected that MacReady may have been a replica by the end of the film, but I could never point to a specific reason why he might be. When Noals finds MacReady’s clothing ripped to shreds, this was an obvious point to lay suspicion on him. But, he could have easily been set up by any of the others who had already been turned. I just have one monkey wrench to throw into this theory. If MacReady was already a replica at this point, why didn’t his blood react to the blood test he performed after Norris was revealed to be a replica? It’s possible he could have put someone else’s blood in the Petri dish, someone he knew was not a replica at that point. But when and how? When a movie makes you think like this, makes you question and mistrust EVERY CHARACTER, and sparks debates over who, how, when, and why….you know it’s an awesome movie that was brilliantly written. This will always be one of my favorite sci fi/horror movies.

John A

My Favorite horror movie. Who is the THING in the end? Well I think maybe Childs. MacReady gives Childs his flask which is full of gasoline, and Childs drink it, MacReady gives a little laugh because he now knows Childs is the THING. Now according to Keith David (Childs) in April this year he said joking "“First, let me clear this up: it wasn’t me.”" John Carpenter is not saying anything about this question. I believe the really answer is we are not to know, that is the point, in the end you still can not trust each other in the movie. Which is great ending, you still do not know who to trust. lol

Larry Darrell

We never saw MacReady draw his blood. It’s very possible that he switched it. Childs thinks so, as he says in his closeup, “That’s a crock of shit.” Think about what’s going on that we don’t see. That’s purposeful to make us doubt everyone’s motives. Just because we aren’t shown something, doesn’t make it unimportant, but quite the opposite. Think of other movies where a main character, who’s a good guy, gets exposed in the end and then the audience gets a flashback showing how the person was working against the good guys all along, or was the mastermind of the whole thing. Only we don’t get that exposure in this film. You the viewer have to figure it out. What I found interesting was the altercation before the Test. When Childs and Clark are about to gang up on MacReady. Childs is MacReady’s/The Thing’s biggest threat. Childs and Clark both have been the toughest threats. They were both the two toughest guys, that MacReady couldn’t fully control. MacReady tells Windows and Palmer to tie everyone up, then Childs, Clark and Garry push back. Garry always being the loud one, yells “Let’s rush him! He’s not going to blow us all up!!” MacReady’s never been too worried about Garry because he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Childs and Clark are more quiet. But now the three are working together and they made Windows and Palmer stop getting the rope. MacReady is losing everyone’s Trust. I love Clark’s line (he doesn’t have many in the film, or thoughtful ones for that matter, that tell you what he’s thinking.) Clark says, “No, no. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let’s, let’s do what Mac says… I mean uhh, he wasted Norris pretty quick, DIDN’T he?” (Sarcasm… love it) If I was The Thing, I might read that as, “Why would a Thing kill another Thing?? He wasted Norris pretty quick… Right?? What could a Thing gain by killing another Thing??? TRUST. https://youtu.be/Esy-776wcIo?si=UTuMSELIUrOnSR8W MacReady could see the Trust that he had gained falling quickly. He was feeling the need to have to take it back by Force, when he points the gun at Childs. He didn’t want to do it, because he was surely fearing that killing a human… a strong respected human, might lose everyone’s trust. Luckily though, Clark charged on MacReady and he was forced to defend himself. This helped with any possible uprising for the moment, by causing fear, but his Trust level was still low. Now… Why did MacReady test Windows’ blood before his??? This seems like a key note. Was MacReady unsure of what the Test would do on ANY blood? Did doing Windows first help in his switch?? I think it could be that he was unsure of ANY test result. With MacReady being the only one holding a flamethrower, as Palmer ties up the dead bodies, Windows ties up everyone else, including Palmer… and Windows draws all the blood?? There would very likely be a moment MacReady could have performed a switch. Did Palmer help?? And on the point of MacReady’s long Johns. Fuchs first finds MacReady’s clothing in the ice, then Nauls finds the clothing in MacReady’s oil furnace, after Fuchs “burns himself.” Same Clothing??? Different Clothing?? My big questions are … Why was it an Hour before anyone found out the lights were out in the Lab?? MacReady noticed it. Wasn’t MacReady the last one to see Fuchs?? As far as we know. Didn’t Fuchs give MacReady a bit of Very Important information about how The Thing spreads, in this last meeting??? That MacReady never repeats. When Nauls comes back with MacReady’s shredded long Johns, they had been gone for roughly an HOUR. Why did it take so long for Nauls and MacReady to search his small shack. What could have happened in this ridiculous amount of time?? How did Nauls die?? Whose blood did Windows draw just before his own? Nauls You have to be suspicious of EVERYONE. I’ve always thought it crazy reading comments, even now in these YouTube clips’ comments… people taking what’s happening on screen and what the characters are saying for granted, believing everything they see and hear. If you were in this movie, would you 100% trust MacReady? I wouldn’t.

Larry Darrell

It looks to me like MacReady was about to drink from the whiskey bottle himself, before he realizes Childs is behind him. https://youtu.be/mZ-G2q6me2s?si=o9Q6cl0iZJBi6_t9 Why would MacReady want to drink gasoline? Why would we think that The Thing wouldn’t know the difference between the tastes of gasoline and whiskey? What was accomplished from MacReady’s plan of blowing the entirety of the shelter up? "I know who was the Thing in the end," Carpenter teases. "I know, but I'm not telling you ... I just feel like it's a secret that must be kept. The gods came down and swore me to secrecy." https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/john-carpenter-the-thing-40th-anniversary-retrospective#:~:text=%22It%20was%20not%20something%20I,want%20to%20get%20near%20it

John A

you are right MacReady does seem to be ready to drink it. so you are correct. I know there are different quotes from Carpenter on this. I think he is just keeping the discussion alive. Like I said the whole point is the movie leave you with who can you trust in this situation.

Brian's Dog

Wilfred Brimley (Blair) was only 47-48 when they made this.

Larry Darrell

I agree the whole point is to make the viewer not trust ANYONE in the movie. This film’s greatest achievement is making the audience feel just as paranoid as the characters. I have another theory though on what John Carpenter knows now and what he knew when he was making the film. He knew which of them was the Thing while making the film. Right up to that last scene. Carpenter knew, and most certainly Bill Lancaster, the writer knew. That’s it. When John Carpenter made The Thing in 1982, he made his masterpiece… and he knew it. When Carpenter’s The Thing, his masterpiece, was released in 1982… nobody got it, and they trashed it. Roger Ebert’s review of The Thing, called the film a “Barf Bag Movie” and “just a Geek Show.” https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-thing-1982 Most critics hated it and this was a time when critics’ influence was still great. The film bombed at the box office and John Carpenter’s reputation took a hit. I believe there would have been a time when John Carpenter would have been willing to discuss the details of his vision when making The Thing in 1982, like Ridley Scott eventually did in the Blade Runner (1982) DVD commentary. But given the initial response to his masterpiece in 1982… I believe Carpenter took the resolve to just say, anytime he’s asked about who The Thing is… “Fuck all of you… Nevermind.” The gods coming down and swearing him to secrecy, I believe, was the critical reception. He decided then that he was never gonna talk about it. Even after the belated success of The Thing, he may still be a little sore about it, and he’s just sticking to the decision he made. And I hope he does stick to that decision.

ViolatedGorilla

My personal belief is that Childs was The Thing. Fun fact: Childs is Admiral Anderson from Mass Effect.

Larry Darrell

If you don’t mind me asking… Why do you think Childs was the Thing?

ViolatedGorilla

As the movie is so well constructed to lead people to not have any solid clues, I have no evidence. Just my gut feeling.

Larry Darrell

MacReady was The Thing. 75% sure by the first night. 100% sure by the time MacReady, Norris and Palmer went to the Spaceship. Childs was NOT the Thing. He had breath in the final scene. The lighting made it difficult to see, but if you look closely, it’s there. Why would one assume that ALL the Things were working together? MacReady/(Thing Imitation) tells the rest of the team and us at the beginning of the hot needle test… “Watching Norris in there gave me the idea that… maybe every part of him was whole. Every little piece was an individual animal… with a built in desire to protect its own life.” What is the main goal of The Thing? - To make it back to Civilization. What do you think the chances were, of a Giant Monster Thing making it back to Civilization? - Slim to None If there was a Thing remaining quiet and hidden in a Perfect human imitation, do you think that a Giant Monster Thing might hurt the chances of any human body being brought back to Civilization? - Quite Possibly. Maybe a rescue team might quarantine the whole area, and nothing would leave until everything was confirmed safe. It would be better if all a rescue team found was the frozen bodies of humans. When MacReady throws the stick of dynamite at the Giant Monster Thing and says, “Yeah, Fuck You Too.” That is one Thing saying to another Thing, “Do you really think you’re going to make it out of here looking like that… You Fucking Idiot.” The reason Fuchs didn’t want to tell everyone about what Blair had found out, was because what he understood from Blair’s notes was that there could already be human imitations on the team. He didn’t want to inform a Thing that he was onto it, or that he knew how it was infecting people. They ALL had already been cutting, slicing and manhandling the burnt remains already. The damage was done. It was only later that Fuchs learned how dangerous the Thing particles were and how serious the situation was. Fuchs mistakenly assumed MacReady was still human because MacReady was appearing to be a great leader and leading the fight against the Thing. (The human leading the fight against The Thing looks like a terrific place to hide for a Thing… don’t it. ;-) Fuchs discovers the KEY way that The Thing is spreading itself among the team, and then tells this to MacReady… “Look MacReady, I’ve been thinking… if a small particle of this thing is enough to take over an entire organism, then everyone should prepare their own meals, and I suggest we only eat out of cans.” MacReady (distantly) hardly nods and barely mutters, “alright.” AND NEVER REPEATS this information. I bet Childs would have liked to have heard those instructions… before MacReady shared his Whiskey Bottle with him in the last scene. The Liquor Bottles (MacReady’s J&B Scotch Whiskey and Blair’s Smirnoff Black Label) are the vessels that are secretly spreading the Thing Particles around. MacReady possibly was turned by the Whiskey Bottle he left with Bennings after the Dog Thing was licking his gloves and face. Blair was definitely turned by MacReady drinking from Blair’s Smirnoff Bottle in the tool shed. (Watch that scene again. Except for 2 closeups, the Smirnoff Bottle is in EVERY SHOT.) Childs is definitely turned by MacReady in the final scene, with the Whiskey Bottle. The Liquor Bottles get so many great shots and closeups throughout the film. It’s like they are characters in the film. After Blair realizes that it will only take 27,000 hours for the entire world to end… there’s a great closeup of his Smirnoff Bottle, and then the camera pans down to his gun. (The Thing’s weapon and the Human’s weapon). The very next shot is MacReady studying the torn long-johns and finishing off his Whiskey Bottle. This Whiskey Bottle is such a major character that when MacReady gets up, the camera racks focus to the Bottle and then back to MacReady. (Is anybody hearing me yet ;-) The Whiskey Bottle got a RACK FOCUS. (Rack focus is a filmmaking technique that changes the focus from one subject to another within a single continuous shot. This shift directs the viewer's attention, guides their gaze, and can be used to emphasize relationships between subjects, create suspense, or reveal information dynamically without cutting the scene.) We are introduced to the Whiskey Bottle and MacReady at the same time. These two are linked the whole movie. (I really find it crazy no one else ever notices this.) We are given a closeup on the Whiskey Bottle First, and then the very next shot is a closeup on MacReady. Then the 3rd shot in this sequence is a closeup on the Chess Wizard computer game. (Could the game of Chess be a metaphor for the “game” that Everyone has to survive in this movie… sounds good to me.) Like Teegan said, MacReady was pretty cocky playing Computer Chess. He thought he was smart… but he wasn’t. Someone else was smarter. So MacReady killed the Chess Game with the Whiskey, and called it a “Cheatin’ Bitch.” The Whiskey Bottle would then become a “Cheatin’ Bitch” throughout the film, because everyone knows it’s safe to share liquor bottles. Alcohol kills germs right? Why would we be sure that Human Made alcohol would kill a Super Intelligent Alien organism that FIRE doesn’t even sanitize? In the final scene, MacReady/The Thing (who has become the biggest “Cheatin’ Bitch”) turns the last remaining human into a Thing using the same Whiskey… that killed the “rigged” Chess game in the beginning. MacReady, the Cheatin’ Bitch, rigged the whole THING. Every step of the way, MacReady was working against everyone. MacReady was trying to play down the severity of the Alien Monster Dog that could perfectly imitate other dogs and a Giant Spaceship found in the ice… until the first human Thing (Bennings) was seen by everyone. Now he becomes the leader. MacReady sticks Blair out in the tool shed, (why not his shack??) and keeps Fuchs from getting help from Blair. Was he really “too far gone?” Blair was the only one who figured out what was going on, and his notebooks proved it. Blair knew what had to be done. Cut off all communication and disable all vehicles. No One could be allowed to leave. In the tool shed, Blair says to MacReady, “I don’t know who to trust.” MacReady says to Blair, as he drinks from Blair’s Smirnoff Bottle (spreading Thing particles to Blair)… “I know what you mean Blair… Trust is a tough thing to come by these days.” MacReady/The Thing knowing that Trust is a tough thing to gain at the moment, but something it needs desperately… realizes that someone in charge… someone leading the fight against the Thing will gain a Whole Lotta Trust. So when Garry says all we can do is hold up till Spring and wait for the rescue team, MacReady takes the chance to say, “No. We don’t wait. Somebody in this camp ain’t what he appears to be. Right now that may be one or two of us, by Spring it may be all of us.” (MacReady’s looking like the last person the Thing would be right now.) MacReady leading this charge also brought about the blood serum test idea, which MacReady had no problem with Doc explaining in front of 3 - 4 possible Things. By the way, the scene with everyone arguing over who might have destroyed the blood, gives us one of Childs most telling lines, that informs us of who his character is… when Fuchs says, “Doc thought of the test.” Childs retorts… “So what!! Is that supposed to clear him!?” A line like that would make the Thing feel uneasy, I believe. That means this person is not trusting ANYONE on anything. You can’t control or predict what this person is going to do. After burning the blood bags, MacReady then separates Doc from Fuchs. He separates the last two medical team members. Then proceeds to make a Tape Recording. MacReady records a tape that he says he’s going to hide when finished. This tape is to inform anyone from a rescue team of the dangers they’ve been dealing with. First off, this tape would clearly give anyone listening to it the idea that MacReady was In Charge, Leading and the Person of Authority in the group. 2nd… MacReady records himself saying, “Nobody trusts anybody now.” Then he rewinds the tape to just before that line, and then RECORDS OVER it. He recorded over a line that would have cast doubt on his Authority and Trustworthiness, and it lessened the severity of their situation. MacReady withheld the Critical Information from Fuchs, about the Small Particle and NOT Sharing food. MacReady left Fuchs alone in the lab for an HOUR, without checking on him. For some reason, MacReady needed to drag Nauls up to his small shack for almost an hour. (What took so long??) When Nauls comes back and says he cut MacReady loose, Childs gives us another character telling line after Windows and Palmer deliver these… Windows - “MacReady!? When do you think it got to him?” Palmer/Thing, as it’s looking at Norris/Thing - “Could’ve been anytime… anywhere.” Childs - “If it did get him.” Childs is clearly the better thinker. Always keeping cool. Always looking at every angle. Never Trusting Anyone. Childs is the biggest threat to the Thing throughout the whole movie. Honestly, I feel like Childs makes the most Right decisions and is always saying the smartest lines, and doing the most human actions. Ok, the Final and Most Ridiculous plan that MacReady has is the plan to BLOW UP their shelter. By blowing up their shelter, MacReady made it so NO HUMAN would survive the winter, and ONLY the THING could survive. WTF!! He literally said just before giving this plan… “It wants to freeze now. It’s got no way out of here. It just wants to go to sleep in the cold until the rescue team finds it.” That is exactly what MacReady does for himself. But Childs was the surprise he didn’t see coming. Is MacReady/the Thing worried?? Childs gives one more line though, that proves to MacReady/the Thing that he is his toughest adversary and smartest opponent in this game of “Chess.” Childs - “Fire’s got the temperature up all over the camp… it won’t last long though.” MacReady can’t fool Childs like he could Garry and Nauls. But MacReady knows he’s won. They’re gonna freeze and there’s nothing they can do about it… Except MacReady does have his secret weapon…. the lovely Whiskey Bottle. Cheatin’ Bitch ;-)

Myth Oceanas

The story was written so that at the end either MacReady or Childs could be the Thing. John Carpenter himself couldn't decide on who he wanted the Thing to be so left it ambiguous. If you follow the story the whole thing is meant for MacReady and Childs to both have evidence in favor of and against. A fact is that one of the Things tried to make the others think MacReady was the thing. To the point, he himself, thinks he might be the thing. For this to lean into the cosmic horror trope, both would not be a Thing, but they end up killing each other anyway just to be sure.

Larry Darrell

Yes, the ending is ambiguous. You don’t know anything for sure. I made a case, with lots of evidence and some I didn’t talk about, for MacReady being the Thing. I’d love to hear someone make a case for Childs being the Thing, besides drinking gasoline or breath. Please make a case with evidence, that shows Childs becoming the Thing.

Larry Darrell

I gotta say this is the least theorizing comment section for a film that begs for theorizing. So I’m done. Leaving this last nugget here. Why do we automatically and so surely believe that the alcohol in the J&B Scotch Whiskey and Smirnoff Vodka bottles would kill the cells of the super intelligent, super survivalist, Thing? Especially when we know alcohol doesn’t kill all of Earth’s bacteria cells, such as Bacterial Spores, which Louis Pasteur discovered in 1870. A bacteria spore, or endospore, is a dormant, tough, and non-reproductive structure that certain bacteria produce to survive unfavorable conditions like a lack of nutrients, extreme temperatures, or radiation. These endospores are highly resistant and can remain viable for centuries before germinating into active bacteria when conditions become favorable again.   Key characteristics of bacteria spores * Survival mechanism: Bacteria form spores as a survival strategy to withstand harsh environments, not for reproduction. 

* Dormant and resistant: Spores are metabolically inactive and highly resistant to heat, radiation, and disinfectants. 

* Formation: The process of forming a spore is called sporulation and is triggered by adverse conditions. 

* Structure: Endospores are formed inside the parent bacterial cell and have a tough, multi-layered protective coat. 

* Germination: When conditions improve, the endospore can germinate, breaking open and reactivating into a vegetative (active) bacterial cell. 

* Examples: Bacteria that form endospores include species of Bacillus and Clostridium.  There was a good bit of Alcohol sharing going on. Just saying. (and tell me the description of bacterial spores don’t sound very similar to some THING in this movie.)