John Carpenter Thinks Humanity Wouldn't Stand A Chance Against The Thing

Happy Halloween! What better way to celebrate the day before “November Depression” than by talking about John Carpenter’s The Thing? I first saw Carpenter’s masterpiece when I was in High School. The brand-new DVD had a spooky-as-can-be cover, and I bought it without knowing what it was. I was familiar with Carpenter but had only seen Halloween. Watching The Thing was a religious experience. At a time when I felt I could handle anything, it scared the sh** out of me.

The film is bleak and brutal. It pulls no punches. Its themes are rich and ever-present. Every time I watch it, I get something new out of it. Hell, the goddamn defibrillator scene is burned into my brain for the rest of my life. I can feel myself sitting in the chair in my room and staring up at the old tube TV as a man’s chest opens to eat the arms of another. The titular monster is an unstoppable and wet behemoth. It makes complete sense that the man who made it thinks we wouldn’t survive it.

The legendary John Carpenter sat down with Stephen Colbert last week. First, I want to point out how rare that is. The man recently directed segments of a show from his living room. He has said several times that he only likes to smoke weed and play video games (who doesn’t), and he’s earned that right. Yet, he threw a suit on and ventured to NYC to talk to Stephen Colbert. That’s pretty special.

Colbert made the trip worthwhile by talking about his love for The Thing. You can see how much that means to Carpenter. The film was not a success upon release. Now, over 40 years later, he’s on a talk show where the host is addressing it as the masterpiece that it is. He’s so excited to talk about it and his favorite scare, and he even points out that we wouldn’t survive it as a society. It’s a delight to hear him speak so happily of his work.

I’ve watched a few Carpenter movies this month (trying to watch the ones I haven’t seen). There’s something about The Thing that is undeniably special. I’m happy to be doing even a minuscule part in keeping the conversation about it going. The film did so much for me that I feel I owe it a debt. Even if I would be unlikely to survive its grasp.