FAQ for
The Thing (1982) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Thing can be found here.

The Thing is based on the short story Who Goes There? by American science fiction writer John W. Campbell [1910-1971]. It was first published in the August 1938 issues of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, of which Campbell also became editor. It is also a loose a remake of the 1951 movie The Thing from Another World. For more details, see here.

That question is not answered in the movie. Viewers have suggested several possibilities: The Thing may have been (1) the pilot, (2) a passenger, (3) a stowaway, (4) part of the cargo, or (5) a prisoner being transported to some interstellar prison.

There's really no explanation. The wobbling of the vessel and the flame that bursts from the back end could suggest that something was wrong inside the ship. Apart from the small burst of flames, there seems to be nothing wrong with the structure from the outside. This theory suggests the spaceship landed on Earth either by accident or as an emergency landing. It is also possible that the burst of flames was due to friction from the spaceship entering the Earth's atmosphere and there was no malfunction explosion. The wobbling could likewise have been caused by proximity to Earth's graviational pull, or simply a mannerism of the craft's flight, such as a manuever used to slow do the spaceship before entering the Earth's atmosphere. This theory would suggest the spaceship intentionally entered Earth's atmosphere. Another theory is that the spaceship belonged to some other interstellar race that had become infected by the Thing, wreaking havoc not unlike what we see within the film and causing the ship to crash -- perhaps intentionally.

Two theories have been offered. (1) If the Thing was piloting, crashing in Antarctica was probably an accident as Thing would certainly choose a landing area with an abundance of lifeforms, although it's been argued that Thing may have chosen to land in an isolated, inconspicuous place, as landing in a heavily populated area might have resulted in a much more organized and efficient response, wherein the ship would be quarantined, making it impossible to infect another life form. The Thing may have known the best strategy was to start someplace remote, so virtually nobody would know until it was too late. 2) If the Thing was a stowaway or passenger, crashing in Antarctica may have been an intentional attempt by the besieged crew to mitigate Thing's ability to spread by landing in a desolate and hostile environment. Antarctica is one of, if not the only place on the planet in which there are areas with virtual no animal life. Had Thing been piloting the spaceship, it would have been extremely unlucky to crash in the small section of the Earth in which it would not be able to find life forms to assimilate. This supports the theory that something other than Thing was piloting the spaceship. Note that the Thing discovered by the Norwegians had attempted to crawl away from the crash site, only to freeze on the ice. It seems unlikely Thing would intentionally crash in Antarctica and then attempt to crawl away from its ship. This further suggests that however the spaceship ended up in Antarctica, it was either an accident or a deliberate attempt by the crew of the spaceship to avoid letting Thing reach life forms.

While we know that the Thing is not affected by bullets, we know that if it wished to stay hidden in its dog form, it would have to act wounded if hit. The Norwegians were likely trying to slow it down to catch up with it so they could deal with the Thing properly; i.e., explosives & or fire, hence their use of Thermite grenades and the many cans of kerosene they were carrying.

The film does not explain the purpose of the American team in Antarctica. Antarctica has no indigenous people, or permanent residents. The Antarctica Treaty, signed by a number of countries in 1959, dictates Antarctica must only be used for peaceful and/or scientific purposes. Considering the extensive laboratory equipment and presence of three doctors, it might be assumed that the men are a part of a scientific team occupying the residence to maintain facilities during the Antarctic winter, as most research occurs during the milder summer months. It was, however, explained in Campbell's short story that the science crew were there to study and perform experiments regarding the dynamics of magnetics and magnetism in subzero conditions. On the audio commentary to the DVD release of the film, John Carpenter says that he wanted to make a different type of horror film about a group of intelligent, well-read guys going up against an otherworldly, almost unstoppable alien that challenges everything they know. This could then fly in the face of accepted 'slasher' horror ideas where stupid teenage protagonists are picked off one by one.

MacReady is a helicopter pilot, Clark a dog handler, Blair a biologist, Fuchs is Blair's assistant biologist, Copper the attending physician, Windows the communications expert and radio operator, Nauls is the cook, Palmer is a helicopter pilot in training, Norris a geologist, and Bennings a meteorologist. In the original script, Childs is introduced as "the mechanic," although his position is unspecified in the movie. MacReady specifically requests that Childs operate the flamethrower against the Dog-Thing. MacReady also asks Childs to check on the tractor and helicopter after Blair destroys them, which suggests he is knowledgeable of the mechanics of both. Garry is an authority figure, though it is not explicit if he is a manager or security personnel. He carries a gun, wears a security- or police-like uniform, is in charge of keys to storage facilities, and is referred to once by Palmer as "el capitan" though Palmer may just have been teasing Garry. Though clearly in charge of security, Garry may also be the manager of personnel at the camp. After standing down Windows when he tries to retrieve a shotgun, Garry says to the group, "Maybe you'd feel better with someone else in charge."

The Norwegian said to MacReady and the men, in Norwegian: "Kom dere vekk, det er ikke en hund, det, det er en slags ting! Den imiterer mennskjer! Kom dere vekk, idioter!" This is translated to: "Get away, it's not a dog, it, it's some kind of thing! It imitates humans, but it's not a dog! Get away, idiots!"

There are two answers here. The first is very simple; if he hadn't, there'd be no film. Also, it is part of Garry's personality. Shoot first, ask questions later.

Modern gun fighting theory mandates one should never fire a gun "just to wound", that it is assumed the person being shot at will die when you pull the trigger and all shots should be placed on the target to immediately stop the attack. The Norwegian had shot one man already and was continuing to fire. Garry was simply doing what was necessary to end the gun fight quickly & protect his fellow camp mates.

Technically, the shadow belongs to a man named Dick Warlock. Mr. Warlock was chosen by Carpenter because he resembled both Clennon (Palmer) and Hallahan (Norris). (Interestingly enough, Dick Warlock had also previously played the Shape, aka Michael Myers with his mask on, in "Halloween II," which Carpenter wrote but didn't direct). Carpenter didn't want anyone to have a clear distinction of whose shadow was actually on the wall, so it's honestly impossible to distinguish who it was supposed to be. However, there are still shots from the movie that suggest it was Palmer, according to two different scenes. The first is when Jed (the dog) is walking down the hall and enters a room. The second is when the dog-thing had begun its attack on the kennel, and the men are coming out of their rooms. It appears as though it would be Palmer's room that Jed entered earlier, but objects in the hallway could suggest otherwise. This is an impossible question to answer.

Parts of the script that were cut would help to explain why, but anything not in the film can't be used as evidence. The best explanation is that it was far too early; the Norwegian threat (for the Thing) had been eliminated, and it was safe for now. It probably wanted to scope out the entire camp before going after anyone; look for isolated parts of the camp that would be good to assimilate other victims. The Thing may have also considered that, in the event it was discovered, Clark would be a liability because of his seclusion with the dog. In an interview on the Thing DVD, Richard Masur calls Clark the red herring in the script. In this regard, Clark was not assimilated as a plot device to misdirect the viewer.

The Thing is smart, almost as if it is playing chess with the men in the camp. It knows how to misdirect suspicion on the un-assimilated, to keep suspicion away from those who were. Therefore suspicion would definitely be on Clark because of his isolation with the dog, leaving it free to assimilate someone not suspected while all eyes were fixed on Clark.

It is never explained whether 1) people or animals that have become Things die in the process of being assimilated by the Thing, 2) regain consciousness after assimilation and essentially host the Thing, or 3) retain consciousness during the assimilation period.

In the film, evidence is strongest in regards to the first theory. It is stated that the Thing, even smaller parts of it (such as blood or Norris spider head), have an interest in self-preservation. This suggests that any actions taken by an infected life form, such as the dog fleeing the Norwegian camp or the Thing planting evidence to frame MacReady are deliberate actions by the Thing to preserve itself. The Thing waits until it has the best opportunity to attack a life form or simply has no choice. The Dog-Thing does not attack at the camp until it is isolated with the other dogs, all of which are snarling and presumably about to attack the Dog-Thing. The Norris-Thing does not reveal itself until it is on the table with the defibrillator being applied to its chest. The electricity in the defibrillator may have been seen as an attack by the Thing. The Palmer-Thing does not reveal itself until the moment when MacReady tests its blood with the hot wire, attacking because it knows it will soon be burned otherwise. The Blair-Thing likewise avoids the other men until it is confronted in the bunker. All situations suggest the possibility that the Thing has entirely assimilated life forms and is imitating them until forced to reveal itself. The computer simulation created by Blair suggests the Thing replicates by attacking, consuming and replicating cells, presumably using the DNA and material from the attacked life form to reform itself.

However, in an interview on the the Thing DVD, Charles Hallahan (Norris) points to the scene in which the men appoint MacReady as leader of the group following Windows' attempt to retrieve a shotgun from storage. Norris, who is presumably the Thing at this point, is originally offered the role of leader but declines stating that he doesn't believe he is up for it. Hallahan states that he always believed Norris knew at this point something was wrong with him (being the Thing) and declined the offer because of the feeling that he may be the Thing, which directly supports the 2nd theory. Norris then has a heart attack, which could be seen as an element of the real Norris and his heart condition or it could have been a ploy by the Norris-Thing to attempt to gain isolation from the group.

In the third theory, i.e., the host is conscious during assimilation, it is possible that, if an organism is infected from cells of a Thing, it would be conscious while it is being assimilated from the inside. If Norris was infected this way, then his actions (ie: refusing a leadership position) are explainable. If this theory is correct, then a host could be aware of his infection, and attempt to take action against the Thing, possibly making his condition known in order to be destroyed along with the Thing.

Regardless of theory, it is clear that the Thing becomes capable of controlling the assimilation or host, retains their memories and skills, and uses them in whatever way possible to its advantage.

It was Palmer. The script verifies this, as does his attire later in the film when they lock up Blair (he wears the same thing as he nails a board over a window). Palmer was sent because he was the back-up helicopter pilot.

A simple explanation would be that when a Thing assimilates someone, it rips through their clothes. And given the fact that none of them expected to need extra clothes on a helicopter trip, so if Norris and Palmer were things, if they assimilated Mac, they would have a hard time explaining why he is naked when they get back to camp. So they decided it was best not to take him then.

Another theory is that Mac could still have been a thing. Even though he tied everyone down and came up with the hot needle blood test, it might very well have been that the test was a "crock of sh*t" as Childs put it. Then the Palmer Thing sacrificed itself by acting as if the blood test was successful to draw any suspicions away from Mac.

There are two more possibilities here. The first and probably most logical is that one of them is still human at this point. Even if Palmer was the Thing, him leaving in the chopper and reporting Mac and Norris dead would not be a good move; it could easily be investigated. The second possibility is that neither Palmer nor Norris know that the other is a Thing, though this is highly contested.

Just because Palmer and Norris were both Things does not mean they were both Things at that given moment. We see later in the film Norris collapse. This is after Fuchs has informed us that a single cell of the Thing could (but not necessarily would) take over a whole person. Considering the manner of Norris' death, I suggest that he had been infected by a Thing (either through saliva from the dog, infected food, whatever) and that at the crater Norris was still Human, albeit, an infected human. Palmer, on the other hand, was almost assuredly a Thing by this point, though not brave enough to attempt to assimilate two people at once (which might have caused a crash and death for all).

Interestingly, if Palmer was a Thing from the moment we see his shadow facing the dog, then later when we witness Childs and Palmer sharing a joint, it is conceivable that Childs became infected. Not that Childs becomes a Thing, as we witness in the blood test scene, but that he could have been well on his way to becoming a Thing.

Another question with no definite answers, though there is one that seems more logical. When Windows gets the keys from Garry, we hear him drop them when he discovers Bennings being assimilated. A few moments later, everyone except for Blair is outside huddled around the Bennings-thing. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Blair to get the keys and tamper with the blood. When stored, blood plasma is nearly frozen, and would take several hours for it to thaw out and run the way it did when we first see the fridge. Therefore, the blood must have been tampered with quite a while ago, more evidence that it could have been Blair. Other evidence pointing to Blair is that he is a biologist, he would understand that the blood could be used as a test to expose him as a Thing (if he was infected at the time), or if he was not infected at the time, he could have realized the possibility that the blood could be used as a means to infect the other men of the camp, as a part of his theory that one cell could take over an organism, and eventually the world. There is also the distinct possibility that it was either Norris or Palmer, though neither really have a chance to get the keys because they were outside with everyone else.

It assimilated Bennings. The remainder that was left on the table was mostly the dead part that had been burned back at the Norwegian camp. This part, along with the near-assimilated Bennings-thing, were burned. However, the possibility also remains that a part or parts of the Burned Corpse-Thing could have detached themselves from the body and escaped and hidden in other areas of the complex, as this theory ties in with the fact that each individual part of a Thing has a goal of self preservation, as evidenced by the Norris Head-Thing attempting to escape by detaching itself from its body.

In the television version of the Thing, an additional voice over at the beginning of the film states Norris has a heart condition. After being assimilated by the Thing, Norris passes out, presumably from a heart attack during a moment of stress and is rushed to the medical room where Copper attempts to revive him, first with CPR, then with the defibrillator. After a few applications of the defibrillator, the Norris-Thing reveals itself, biting off Copper's arms. There are two possibilities as to why the Norris-Thing had a heart attack: 1) it was a ploy by the Norris-Thing to get away from the men, faking death with the intention of either escaping or simply waiting for an opportunity to assimilate a lone individual, and 2) when the Thing assimilates a life form, it takes on an exact replica, including diseases and other characteristics. Thus, the Thing was unable to sustain its existence as Norris-Thing because the Norris model's heart had failed.

In regards to Theory 1, the Burned Corpse-Thing brought back from the Norwegian camp uses a similar ploy, faking death until it has the opportunity to attack an isolated Bennings. What the Thing may not have counted on was the application of electricity from the defibrillator, which it likely perceived as an attack and prompted its attack on Copper. In regards to Theory 2, the Thing is never shown to have the ability to shape-shift from one person to another, or one creature to another. When the Thing assimilates the dog at the Norwegian camp, it stays in this form until it turns into the amorphous shape it uses for attacking. Since the Thing does not appear to be capable of transforming its shape without directly assimilating another life form, it can be suggested that the Thing is only capable of replicating life forms with which it is in immediate contact. In this theory, the Thing is only able to exactly replicate what it immediately finds. In Norris' case, the Thing replicates Norris exactly, including his heart condition. If the Thing replicated Norris' cardiovascular system, it must have not known it was faulty or been unable to replicate a healthier system.

Such exposure would make Palmer look more human and help him gain a little more trust. Things do not look out for other Things, as they are described in the short story as being selfish. Mac himself says that they would crawl away from hot needle to save itself. It is also possible that Palmer was still self-conscious and, thus, would react normally and bring attention to the Norris spider-head.

As with pretty much every other question, we don't know. What we do know is that he is dead and burned to a crisp. Whether or not he burned himself or the Thing burned him is hard to say. It is possible that he burns himself upon learning that MacReady could be a Thing after discovering the ripped jacket. He could have burned himself if the Thing had come to attack him. The Thing could have burned him just as a way of getting rid of him. We will examine all of these.

1. Fuchs burned himself after discovering Mac may be infected. Fuchs may have done this out of fear and confusion. Perhaps the Thing was setting him up as the person who was supposed to expose MacReady. If Fuchs had burned himself, it would explain why the Thing had to re-plant the evidence in Mac's shack.

2. Fuchs killed himself after a near attack from the Thing. The Thing may have tried to attack Fuchs, and in response Fuchs killed himself to prevent that from happening. This would also explain the evidence being re-planted.

3. Fuchs was murdered. The Thing may have killed Fuchs to make sure that there were no scientific minds capable of forming a test - Blair was locked up and Copper had been drugged. It would have been easy to do; Fuchs was holding a lit flare, so dousing him in fuel would have probably done it. Why not assimilate him? Fuchs was gone for an extended period of time, and it would have made the men very suspicious.

It is important to note that a scene, though never released, details Fuchs as being impaled by a shovel, which would suggest one of the things killed him. Can be found here:

http://www.outpost31.com/movie/deletedscenes.html

One of the biggest questions of the film. We will first break down the sequence of events and then explain the motives behind each from a human and Thing perspective. Sequence of events: 1) Blair runs the computer program and discovers the possible threat the Thing poses, 2) although we don't see it, Blair kills the dog and destroys the tractor, 3) Blair destroys the helicopter, 4) Blair injures Windows and destroys the radio, 5) Blair is locked up outside in the shed, 6) Mac is questions Blair as to the whereabouts of Fuchs, and 7) Blair has clearly been assimilated: he is building a ship, attacks Garry, etc.

Now, the question is asked, why would a human Blair kill the dogs and destroy everything? At this point, it is very clear that Blair understands the situation and feels that his comrades do not. He is afraid that the Thing will escape and infect the entire planet. He kills the dogs, destroys the helicopter, and destroys the tractor to isolate the men. Although Blair says, "no dog can make it a thousand miles to the coast," he was more or less referring to a dog on its own, and not a team with a master. He may have also killed the dogs to prevent infection, though we know that an axe would not be sufficient enough to prevent that - keep in mind that Blair has lost it at this point. Blair destroys the radio so that no outside help can be reached; it could be another way out. If this was the case (that Blair was assimilated after his lock-up), it was either Palmer or Norris that got to him. Somewhere during the 48-hour period that Mac refers to on his tape recording would seem logical.

The Thing perspective: The Blair-thing would have destroyed the tractor, radio, and helicopter to prevent the men from escaping and to keep them from reaching outside help. The dogs were killed to make his motives seem more human. The Blair-thing's plan worked; he was seeking isolation so that he could build a craft to escape. This makes it look as though the Thing's intentions are not to assimilate the entire earth, but to simply get off the planet; had the Thing wanted to assimilate the entire planet, it could have just as easily stolen the helicopter as Palmer and fly to the nearest base, country, whatever.

Another theory is that Blair was infected during the autopsy. It was a cellular infection which took some time to gain control of his body and "conscious" mind. The Thing gained more control as the cellular infection increased over days. We know this is a very strong possibility by the computer simulation that Blair ran which demonstrated the Thing cell taking over dog cells. As the infected individual's body is slowly taken over, they remain conscious during this state but unaware that they are infected, but their actions are subtly influenced by the Thing's ever-increasing hold over them. Blair destroyed the dogs, tractor and chopper. The dogs being killed was a completely human response backed by his scientific knowledge that any one of the dogs could have been inadvertently infected during their attack in the kennel cage by hostile or cellular infection. In his destruction of the tractor and chopper, the Thing influenced his decisions, and I believe it was subconscious.

*Think about it...The Thing was a masterful strategist. It had been alive for eons and assimilated hundreds, maybe even thousands of beings and intellects. Many of its actions had a two-fold and even three-fold win-win situation that still gave it an edge in the final game.

Yes, he destroyed the tractor and chopper to prevent the infection from spreading to populated areas (human response), but he also destroyed them to hide the fact that he had stolen parts from both.

The crew was less likely to investigate a smashed, ripped-apart tractor or chopper to see that all of the parts were there. Blair was well aware of military protocol and knew that his mental breakdown would call for them to isolate him, giving him time to assemble the parts and build a craft to get him to the nearest populated area. The craft was never meant for long distance travel.

A third goal in destroying the tractor, chopper and communications was to prevent anyone from getting out until they were ALL infected. Military protocol would have been to capture and quarantine all parties involved until it was determined who was human and who was not. The Thing could not take the chance of someone contacting the rescue team and revealing the alien infection. However, Blair was not the only one who may have been infected by cellular means during the autopsy... Fuchs may have also been infected!

We see Blair performing the autopsy and Fuchs "sniffing" and going through the clothes and other items there. Those garments and items are soiled with possible dried blood and other body fluids. Fuchs is seen standing there listening to Blair while going through the items without gloves or other personal protective equipment.

Since the scene ends this way we can assume that Fuchs assisted Blair in other ways during this autopsy even if it was just "Hold this" or "Move that." Cellular infection is HIGHLY probable at this point.

This theory would also explain Fuchs' disappearance. By the time he talked to Mac, he knew that cellular infection was a strong possibility. Blair at this point was isolated and locked up (or so we thought), but Blair was secretly moving about the camp collecting and assembling the last of the parts and tools he needed to finish his craft. It was Blair who killed the power and walked past Fuchs' door in the dark. By the time Fuchs got outside to chase this suspicious person, he found Mac's undergarments.

Now remember, if cellular infection was possible, then by this time Fuchs' actions would be influenced subconsciously as well, since he was infected during the same time period as Blair.

Thus, after finding Mac's undergarments, Fuchs heads to Mac's shack, possibly planning to snoop around for more proof that Mac was infected before accusing him publicly (clearly a human response). While there, he stuffed Mac's shorts in the oil furnace, this being a subconscious influence by the thing to keep an ally hidden.

In all likelihood, Fuchs began to question his own actions on the walk back to the main compound and came to the realization that he "must" be infected to have just done such a strange thing rather than exposing Mac.

*Now remember... the Thing only attacks when discovered or "attacked." Why wouldn't a self-realization spark an attack as well?

At this point during Fuchs self-realization, the thing begins to reveal itself, going for a more quickened "hostile takeover" of Fuchs rather than the cellular option. As Fuchs begins to change and lose the last of his humanity, he does the only thing he can, setting himself on fire in the snow...

For questions in regards to this response, mail Journeygod@yahoo.com

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Another hint that Blair has been infected before he destroys the radio and communications equipment is that his intentions, as 'the thing', are to destroy any means of communication (radios) that will allow the remaining humans of the research outpost to contact the outside world and warn them of 'the thing' that they unleashed from the ice.

Blair, as 'the thing', could prevent the humans from warning the rest of the world to either proceed with caution when approaching the arctic facility, or to isolate or even destroy the facility from afar. Once Blair, as 'the thing' was completely sure that the existence of the creature was safe and only known to the remaining humans in the facility, 'the thing' could take as much time as it needed to slowly and surely assimilate the rest of the crew.

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While Blair may have been infected on a cellular level when he autopsied the first remains of the thing early on in the film, it was slowly infiltrating his entire body, copying him slowly, to the point that Blair might have realized what was going on, causing his intense paranoia, enough to where he breaks down completely and attempts to kill everyone and destroy the communication equipment.

A sign that Blair was himself when he was first quarantined in the outdoor shed by the others was that he hung a noose from the ceiling, possibly in an attempt to hang himself before the thing had a time to take over. Perhaps he realized that his remains would still have cellular activity and he figured suicide was pointless. Perhaps he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Or perhaps he made the noose intending suicide, then his mind was finally assimilated and the thing stopped him from taking his own life.

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One theory that Blair has been infected early on is that he deliberately gets himself isolated by acting insanely and out of control. Once he's alone in the cabin, outside of the surveillance of the other remaining crew members, he can begin building his ship that will allow him to escape to the mainland, or possibly even to outer space.

In the original story, Who Goes There?, which this movie is based on, the character Blair is assimilated, then as the thing, pretends to have a nervous breakdown and they isolate him in solitary confinement in a cabin. In the cabin, the thing, in Blair's body, begins building an anti-gravity device to get back into space, but before it can complete it, the other crew members realize what is happening and they kill the thing before it was complete its objective.

This question is not directly answered by the film. The Thing does not necessarily have to go to a heavily populated area immediately, but find a means to escape the camp, where its presence is known and being opposed. Ultimately, it must find other life forms to assimilate. However, there are a few possibilities.

1. The craft was to be used by the Thing to travel to another base in Antarctica or another country where it would have more life forms to replicate.

2. The Thing was building a craft to travel into space away from Earth (the less likely explanation). Considering how small the craft being built was in comparison to the original crashed spacecraft, it is highly unlikely the Thing would be able to build a suitable craft from spare parts capable of traveling to somewhere else in the galaxy with known life forms.

Although the craft being built does resemble a flying saucer, it is unclear if the craft was intended to fly or travel on land (such as a snow mobile or hovercraft). Obviously, the craft would have to travel some distance before reaching the ocean, which would have to be traversed in order to reach another country.

If the craft was capable of flight, the Thing could feasibly fly to another country. If the craft was intended to travel on land, then its purpose would be to find another base with humans, or a population of life forms, such as penguins, fish or birds. Of course, a hovercraft would be capable of both land and water travel.

After replicating a penguin, fish or bird, the Thing could then just swim or fly to another country as that life form. It seems much more likely the Thing would attempt to assimilate as many life forms in Antarctica and use those to spread to other areas, rather than attempting to immediately travel to the nearest large landmass, most likely South America.

In the original story, Who Goes There?, that this film was based on, the thing, in Blair's body, nearly finished building an anti-gravity device in a shack that it has isolated itself in. The device would let it return to space using atomic power, but the remaining crew end up killing the thing before it can use the device to return to space, or possibly fly to another location, a heavily populated one, on earth.

The mother of all questions. Answer: unknown.

It is as reasonable to assume that Childs is the Thing as it is to assume he is human. There is certainly enough time for him to be assimilated, but he does have an alibi. He claims he saw Blair out in the snow, and since MacReady ordered him to kill Blair if Blair came back without the others, he was merely following orders. It is not hard to believe him, either; Garry, Nauls, and Mac had been gone for a good amount of time, and all of the men were sleep-deprived. Also, had Childs been a Thing at the end, he could have easily torched Mac. Similarly, Childs was mysteriously absent throughout the entire ordeal of destroying the camp and somehow managed to survive. (Note: long before the others see Childs run out into the storm, we see a quick shot of the coat room where he was stationed and the door is swinging open and the snow had been blowing in for a while. Possibly suggesting that The Thing forced its way in, over-powered Childs, assimilated him then ran out. Or possibly he left the station unmanned even though he was supposed to stay there, and The Thing snuck into the basement to get the generators)

The theory that you cannot see Childs's breath and he is therefore a Thing is not valid. Firstly, his breath CAN be seen. The reason it is difficult to see is because of the way the lights were set up. Also, we see Bennings earlier in the film after he has been assimilated. If Bennings, a non-perfect imitation, was able to have visible breath, why would Childs, by now a perfect imitation, be unable to do the same? The answer is, he can; it's just the light.

Was Mac infected? There are theories that he was, but the evidence points to no. Mac passes the blood test, and the possibility of him rigging it and managing to cheat his way out are very slim. Also, had he been infected, he would have most likely only taken one man with him to Blair's shed. This way Mac would be able to assimilate another victim. It is also hard to believe that Mac would kill Blair had he been a Thing.

Had MacReady been a Thing before the blood test, he could have killed the remaining humans. Instead of tying up Palmer, he could have had Palmer tie everyone down, and while Nauls, Garry, Childs, and Windows were strapped down, could have burned or assimilated all of them. The fact that he does not do this suggests strongly that he is human.

Are both infected? Again, probably not. Some say the dialogue is awkward and cryptic, but there's no strong evidence whatsoever to assume this. The theory of Mac being infected because he gives Childs the bottle and then laughs is not strong; we never see the Thing employ the "single-cell assimilation" technique at all during the film, and we don't even know if it's possible. His actions are not strange; Mac had previously acknowledged that no one was going to survive. He says to Nauls and Garry "We're not getting out of here alive, but neither is that Thing."

Two comic book sequels were made in which Childs and Mac survive, pursued by the Thing. At the end of the second comic it is revealed that Childs is the creature. Whether or not these comics are canon is unclear.

There is also a PS2 video game which carried on where the original film left off. In the initial scenes of the game Childs' body is found indicating that he was human. His cause of death is not made clear. At the end of the game the main character is rescued by a presumably human Mac flying yet another helicopter. Together they defeat a huge and grotesque incarnation of the Thing.

Yes, two alternate endings were shot, although only one has been seen. The first is a shot of the camp the next day, burned to the ground with billows of smoke rising into the air. In the distance we see a dog running away from the camp. The dog stops and turns, looks at the camp, then continues to run again. The second ending is mentioned on the DVD but has never been used. It showed MacReady in an office with evidence that he has just taken and passed a blood test. This sequence was shot for safety because of the downbeat ending, but was never shown to audiences, not even in test screenings.

The shape and size of the block of ice is a deliberate ploy on the part of director, John Carpenter to reference the form of the alien in the other film version of the story, The thing from another world. Carpenter persuaded the production designer to watch the earlier film and design the ice block accordingly. For more information, get the DVD release of 'The Thing' and listen to the commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. Remember, it has to be next to a life form to copy it, so unless there was a life form on the ship (if there was, what happened to it?), then it was that same shape when it left from wherever it last came. That was a pretty big block of ice with some type of weird outline carved in the ice.

MacReady's Introduction, The Other Norwegian Corpse, MacReady and His "Friend", Out on the Ice Field!, Lights Out!, The Discovery of Fuchs' Body in the Greenhouse, Mac and Nauls Check Mac's Shack, Alternate Death of Windows, Alternate Death of Nauls, The Death Throes of Nauls

Earlier in the film, Fuchs reads to MacReady from Blair's notebook that the burnt remains of the alien still contain some cellular activity; they are not dead yet. This implies that the alien could still take any of the science crew although these events are never shown in the film. Later, Fuchs suggests to MacReady that if it only takes a small part of the alien to take over an entire organism, then people should eat out of tincans and only eat meals that they have prepared as this would be a way for the alien to prevail, again implying that the alien could get to you slowly just by touching without having to assimilate immediately.

There is a scene earlier in the film, in which the infected dog is seen walking into a room, and either Palmer's or Norris's shadow can be seen on the opposite wall. This implies that the dog infected either Palmer or Norris earlier in the film.

This is puzzling, but it's possible that the creature was brought to the surface at a faster rate than the spaceship due to less surface area. It's also possible that the creature crawled out of the ship to the ground level only to be frozen by the Antarctic's intense cold. Over the several years/centuries/millennia it laid there, it would have been covered by layers-upon-layers of ice and snow.

This could possibly be an error of continuity from a directing standpoint. However, there are a few possible explanations. First, the men could really have had that much confidence that the Thing had been killed that quickly. Second, they had fear that the flames could catch other things on fire, such as the wooden planks on the ceiling that the Thing grabs on to. This is supported by the scene later on where Mac burns the Norris creature in the MedLab, the others immediately run and grab extinguishers but Mac tells them to wait. Again they beckon with Mac to let them put it out and he screams at them to "JUST WAIT!" as Mac figured out that it takes a lot of fire to kill the things and just burning it then extinguishing the flames right away does nothing. Third, they might have acted on instinct.

The obvious answer is that it might be his last name. However, some viewers have suggested that it's a nickname given to him because he constantly wears sunglasses, inside or out, day or night. Others have suggested that, as the radio operator, Windows was their main "window to the world", a saying from early in the days of radio.