Best star projectors 2025: The top projectors and planetariums ahead of Black Friday 2025 Not that it sets off any alarm bells the first time we see it, having taken the form of a very cute dog, mercilessly hunted down by a pair of angry Norwegians. They are not, however, anti-canine. Over the course of Carpenter's masterful slow-build first act, we gradually learn that the Americans' Antarctic neighbors uncovered an alien spacecraft in the ice, and brought something very nasty home with them. A subsequent trip to the Norwegians' smouldering base reveals death, destruction, and a hideously distorted corpse — though they probably should have left that particular discovery where it was. But while shapeshifting aliens that assimilate and imitate their hosts are bad news for the human race — scientist Blair calculates that the species could take over the entire planet in a matter of years — they're great news for pushing the limits of special effects. In order to realize his vision in this pre-CG era, Carpenter turned to prosthetics wunderkind Rob Bottin, who'd cut his teeth with Rick Baker before going solo on the 1981 werewolf movie that wasn't set in London, "The Howling". (Image credit: Universal Picture) Bottin reportedly had an unprecedented effects budget to work with, and gave himself one of the broadest briefs imaginable. After all, he was the one who suggested that the Thing (no other name is provided) could take on any form, whether an Earth-based host or some alien creature it had encountered on its previous travels. The job proved so vast that Bottin ended up in hospital with exhaustion. From his suffering came a pinnacle in the history of in-camera movie effects, a "how on earth did they do that?" showcase of models, puppets, and an awful lot of rubber. One of the creature's complex iterations in the final act required more than 40 operators on set. But the fact that CG wasn't an option back in 1982 undeniably makes the effects more memorable, as the stretching and snapping of latex gives the Thing's transformations an icky, otherworldly quality that computers simply can't match. (A fact that anyone who's seen the unnecessary 2011 prequel — also, coincidentally, a flop — will attest to.) The Thing | Every Alien Transformation In The Thing 4K HDR — YouTube Watch On Carpenter also knew how to accentuate the magic Bottin was unleashing on-set. During the film's most famous sequence, in which a flatlining patient's chest turns into a set of giant jaws, the director substituted Dr Copper actor Richard Dysart for a real-life amputee in a mask — Carpenter reasoned that nobody would be looking at the actor's face when the character's arms are shockingly bitten off. Then, as the victim's disembodied head sprouts legs and eyes before scuttling away, you can't help but echo Palmer (David Clennon)'s now-iconic remark: "You gotta be f***ing kidding". The visuals are supported by impeccable work from supervising sound editor David Yewdall, who used animal noises manipulated and distorted beyond recognition to ensure that closing your eyes would offer little protection from the horrors unfolding on screen. With its new menagerie of extra-terrestrial pets — particularly the chillingly aware eye creature, Trypanohyncha Ocellus — "Alien: Earth" has clearly been heavily inspired by "The Thing". Indeed, in both cases, the creatures' shared penchant for literally burrowing under your skin is laser-targeted on the fear centers of your brain. Ironically, the head of distribution at Universal had expected "The Thing" to be the bigger hitter in the summer of '82, predicting that "ET" was too kiddie-focused to become a major hit. How wrong he was. (Image credit: Universal Pictures) It seems that critics and audiences were unprepared for the horrors Carpenter was sending their way, with many reviews simultaneously applauding Bottin's effects work while declaring them excessively gruesome. Carpenter's career also seemed to suffer in "The Thing"'s aftermath, as Universal slashed the budget on his planned Stephen King adaptation, "Firestarter", prompting the director to quit and make "Christine" for rival studio Columbia instead. Forty-three years on, however, it's widely regarded as a classic. Indeed, in a year that may just be the greatest in sci-fi history — as well as "ET", 1982 saw the debuts of "The Wrath of Khan", "Tron", "Poltergeist" and (released the same weekend as "The Thing") " Blade Runner " — Carpenter's film more than holds its own. It certainly has the best ending, as the last men standing (we won't spoil their identities here) "wait here for a little while, [to] see what happens". Of course, Carpenter has no intention of clearing up the ambiguity: "I know who was the Thing in the end, but I'm not telling you," he told Syfy Wire. "I just feel like it's a secret that must be kept. The gods came down and swore me to secrecy." "The Thing" is available to stream on Peacock in the US, and Prime Video and ITVX in the UK. You can watch "Alien: Earth" on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK. Watch The Thing on Peacock (US): <p>Select (with ads): <a href="https://imp.i305175.net/c/221109/828265/11640?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.peacocktv.com%2Fplans%2Fall-monthly" target="_blank">$7.99/month or $79.99/year<br />Premium (no ads): <a href="https://imp.i305175.net/c/221109/828265/11640?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.peacocktv.com%2Fplans%2Fall-monthly" target="_blank">$10.99/month or $109.99/year View Deal Watch Alien: Earth on Hulu (US): <p>Hulu (with ads): <a href="https://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=kXQk6%2AivFEQ&offerid=763711.206&type=3&subid=0&u1=hawk-custom-tracking" target="_blank">$11.99/month or $119.99/year<br />Hulu (no ads): <a href="https://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=kXQk6%2AivFEQ&offerid=763711.206&type=3&subid=0&u1=hawk-custom-tracking" target="_blank">$18.99/month View Deal Watch Alien: Earth on Disney+ (UK/International): <p>Standard (with ads): <a href="https://disneyplus.bn5x.net/c/221109/564546/9358?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2F" target="_blank">£5.99/month<br />Standard (no ads): <a href="https://disneyplus.bn5x.net/c/221109/564546/9358?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2F" target="_blank">£9.99/month or £99.90/year<br />Premium (4K): <a href="https://disneyplus.bn5x.net/c/221109/564546/9358?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2F" target="_blank">£14.99/month or £149.90/year Source: https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/missing-alien-earth-already-the-thing-could-be-the-extraterrestrial-horror-flick-youre-looking-for