On two previous
occasions, I’ve live-blogged or -tweeted my reactions to movies while gulping
down an entire bottle of wine. I really don’t drink; those instances are among
the maybe two or three times I touch alcohol a year, and certainly the only times
I get good and tipsy. It’s a state I find I enjoy once in a blue moon and with
good cinematic accompaniment.
This New Year’s
Eve, I sat down with a bottle of wine courtesy of friend and occasional
collaborator Riley Byrne and a batch of brownies I had baked just that evening.
My film of choice: John Carpenter’s 1982 sci fi body horror masterpiece The Thing, not so much a remake of
Howard Hawks’ 1951 The Thing from Another
World as a more faithful re-adaptation of its source material, John W.
Campbell’s novella Who Goes There?
Though—justifiably—remembered
for its revolting creature effects, the work of VFX and makeup artist Rob
Bottin, The Thing is a master class
in atmosphere, suspense and genuine paranoia, demonstrated especially well in
its infamous “blood test scene.” Apart from starring Kurt Russell in his stoic,
grizzled prime, Carpenter’s film also features great performances by veteran character
actors Keith David, Wilford Brimley and David Clennon, among quite a few
others. It’s a disgusting yet truly tense affair, as well as one of my
favourite movies, and I’m happy to share my quite uninhibited thoughts and
feelings toward it from a few nights ago.
