The Thing: Terror Takes Shape (1998) (V)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Michael Matessino

Writer:

Michael Matessino (writer)

Release Date:

1998 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A revealing and insightful look into the making of this underrated horror film. |

Cast

John Carpenter	...	Himself
Kurt Russell	...	Himself
Rob Bottin	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dean Cundey	...	Himself
David Foster	...	Himself
Charles Hallahan	...	Himself
Peter Kuran	...	Himself
Bill Lancaster	...	Himself
John J. Lloyd	...	Himself
Richard Masur	...	Himself
Joel Polis	...	Himself
Todd C. Ramsay	...	Himself
Susan Turner	...	Herself
Albert Whitlock	...	Himself
Stan Winston	...	Himself

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's The Thing: Terror Takes Shape (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

USA:83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Company:

Universal Studios Home Video

Movie Connections:

References The Thing from Another World (1951)

Marvelous

On the DVD of The Thing you'll find this making-of documentary, that was put together almost twenty years later. While this does indulge in the silly gimmick of every chapter name utilizing the title card of the film itself, it is an excellently put together, very entertaining and quite informative piece. It consists of interviews with cast and crew, both groups having plenty to say and being a joy to listen to, behind-the-scenes footage, concept art/examples of how stuff did look or could have and finally clips from the movie, as well as from a couple of others. A specific highlight is Rob Bottin, whose hard work(and I mean that, he actually went to the hospital from exhaustion after they wrapped) helped make the piece as amazing as it was and is. He did just about all of the special effects, and he's a blast to listen to and watch. A comic book fan who was in his early twenties when he worked on the production, he's got a certain manic enthusiasm to him. He is a lot of fun, for both the anecdotes and the breakdown of some of what he created. In general you get to hear a lot about how it was on set, and how they achieved the many tricky aspects. It never becomes too technical to follow for people who don't live and breathe Hollywood, and it never lingers too long. Coming in at 83 minutes, feature-length, almost an hour and a half, this manages to remain worth the energy and time spent on it, throughout. The pacing is spot-on. There is a little love-fest going on, but mostly, it stays on point. I would say that for anyone into John Carpenter and this of his directorial efforts in particular, this alone is reason enough for getting the disc. I recommend this to any fan of him, anyone else who was employed on it, and the silver screen release itself. 10/10