8.1
In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form-changing creature wreaks havoc, creates terror... and becomes one of them.
Kurt Russell
MacReady
Keith David
Childs
Wilford Brimley
Blair
T.K. Carter
Nauls
David Clennon
Palmer
Richard Dysart
Dr. Copper
Charles Hallahan
Norris
Peter Maloney
Bennings
Richard Masur
Clark
Donald Moffat
Garry
Joel Polis
Fuchs
Thomas G. Waites
Windows
Norbert Weisser
Norwegian
Larry Franco
Norwegian Passenger with Rifle
Nate Irwin
Helicopter Pilot
William Zeman
Pilot
Adrienne Barbeau
Computer (voice) (uncredited)
John Carpenter
Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited)
Director
John Carpenter
Novel
John W. Campbell Jr.
Screenplay
Bill Lancaster
October 31, 2015
10
Flips the scenario round from the original to great effect.
John Carpenter shows how much he loves the 1951 original by giving it the utmost respect that he possibly could, the only difference here is that Carpenter chooses to stick to the paranoiac core of John W Campbell Jr's short story.
The secret to this version's success is the unbearable tension that builds up as the group of men become suspicious of each other, the strain of literally waiting to be taken over takes a fearful hold. Carpenter then manages to deliver the shocks as well as the mystery that's needed to keep the film heading in the right direction.
Be it an horrific scene or a "what is in the shadow" sequence, the film is the perfect fusion of horror and sci-fi. The dialogue is laced with potency and viability for a group of men trying to keep it together under such duress, while Ennio Morricone's score is a wonderful eerie pulse beat that further racks up the sense of doom and paranoia seaming throughout the film.
The cast are superb, a solid assembly line of actors led by Carpenter favourite Kurt Russell, whilst the effects used around the characters get the right amount of impact needed. But most of all it's the ending that is the crowning glory, an ending that doesn't pander to the norm and is incredibly fitting for what has gone on before it. Lets wait and see what happens indeed. 10/10
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$15,000,000.00
Revenue:
$19,629,760.00