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Who do you think was a thing at the end of The Thing?

Deleted member 17402

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I had seen a video several years ago that theorized who was a thing by the end of this movie but it had been so long that I decided to search for it again. This time I came across a more recent video that even incorporates the 4K release and something new the cinematographer introduces to lend credence to the theory that Childs is more than likely a thing by the end; however, I really do appreciate all the speculation the YouTuber puts into his video as to why MacReady could plausibly be one as well. Whatever the case, in the end I do think Childs is one. I only wish that we somehow got a sequel instead of a prequel.

Here's the video:



What do y'all think?
 
ThereAreFourNaan

ThereAreFourNaan

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Nov 8, 2017
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I like to believe they were both human, but I also like to believe there was never any sequels, prequels, spinoffs or whatnot. I think it works best standalone.
 
OP
OP

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Would y'all really be satisfied with the idea that neither one was a thing in the end? I don't know. I find that to be less interesting.
 
Pilgrimzero

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Jesse Gomez (IGN) said:
I remember hearing about how they got rid of most of the practical effects and swapped em for CGI, bit worried it takes away from the overall experience.
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It's noticeable and was a bad idea. The movie is fine if you accept that the thing doesn't know how to be stealthy at first.

I mean it does, but it makes some really overt actions when stealth would have been better.
 
LL_Decitrig

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Jesse Gomez (IGN) said:
Is the prequel worth watching?
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I enjoyed it, but it's never going to be a cult favourite like the 1982 film.

Incidentally it's a tradition at South Pole Amundsen-Scott International Station to show The Thing at the darkest point in the Southern winter, after the last flight has departed. When you're there for winter, you're even more isolated from humanity than the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. If one of the latter has a serious medical issue they just board a Soyuz capsule and head home.
 
Finale Fireworker

Finale Fireworker

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The Thing is one of my favorite movies ever. IMO there's nothing else like it.

Going to watch the video now. Interested in the "both are The Thing" theory.
 
Manmademan

Manmademan

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Childs is clearly not a Thing.

The closing scene explicitly has him turn his head towards the camera where THE AUDIENCE CAN SEE HIS METAL EARRING.

The thing can't replicate metal.

Edit: The Thing Videogame also makes it clear that neither one was a Thing. Carpenter endorsed that game as a sequel to the events of the film, and appears in it via voiceover iirc.
 
OP
OP

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Manmademan said:
Childs is clearly not a Thing.

The closing scene explicitly has him turn his head towards the camera where THE AUDIENCE CAN SEE HIS METAL EARRING.

The thing can't replicate metal.
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On the contrary you can make the argument that the thing knows it can't replicate so it picked up the earring after assimilating him.

Also I think some of you are just reading the title and nothing else. Watch the video. I know there's a comic and video game that show both survived and we're human but the 4K release, as discussed in the video, includes a very deliberate effect to make clear who's what in the film.
 
ProstatePuncher

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Manmademan said:
Childs is clearly not a Thing.

The closing scene explicitly has him turn his head towards the camera where THE AUDIENCE CAN SEE HIS METAL EARRING.

The thing can't replicate metal.

Edit: The Thing Videogame also makes it clear that neither one was a Thing. Carpenter endorsed that game as a sequel to the events of the film, and appears in it via voiceover iirc.
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The metal thing is prequel nonsense.
 
Manmademan

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TheFallenSaboteur said:
On the contrary you can make the argument that the thing knows it can't replicate so it picked up the earring after assimilating him.

Also I think some of you are just reading the title and nothing else. Watch the video. I know there's a comic and video game that show both survived and we're human but the 4K release, as discussed in the video, includes a very deliberate effect to make clear who's what in the film.
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Its telegraphed to the audience that Childs has his earring in. Childs himself doesn't mention it.

Carpenter was hoping the audience would be smart enough to take the hint.

If not, the game clears it up.
 
Chaotic-Strike

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Oct 25, 2017
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It doesn't matter, but I like to think one of them is the Thing and it's impressed enough with the survivor to simply chill with the winner till the end.
 
Hanbei

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I want to believe the Thing died. For good. Childs and MacReady were themselves.
 
Fallout-NL

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What I always notice upon re-watches is the importance of the food/drink that's mentioned near the beginning of the film. If a single cell is all that's needed to start someone's assimilation, everyone should prepare his own food from sealed cans. Then, further down the line, if I recall correctly, MacReady leaves a bottle of booze for Blair (or takes a swig from a bottle that was there, one of the two) who starts tunneling under his confinement and builds the ship afterwards. Now maybe Blair already was infected, but I don't think that's the case if you see why they imprisoned him in the first place...
 

Snack12367

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Oct 28, 2017
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It depends on what you consider cannon. In the film it's left ambiguous, however a lot of people point to Childs being the thing, because they suspect that the fluid in the bottle wasn't alcohol, but kerosene. In the Comics Childs is confirmed The Thing. In the Video game MacReady is confirmed to have been The Thing. All of which has reported to have been confirmed cannon by Carpenter.
 
mjc

mjc

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Oct 25, 2017
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Neither IMO, just that their outlook for survival was bleak once the fires went out so they freeze to death.
 
Kingpin Rogers

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... I recently discovered "the thing" thanks to a cinemassacre Halloween series review where it gets brought up. I'd never heard of it before but it seemed cool enough to where I thought "huh, that's definitely something I should look into when I get the chance" Then surprise surprise it turns up on UK Netflix and I was like "wow, what luck!" It was all going so well but with it being E3 week I'd been a bit busy recently so I hadn't watched it yet.

Now I'd been avoiding the gaming side of ERA since things are being leaked and stuff so I've been spending a lot more time in etc, since it's a kind of safe space where I can still browse a forum and pass the time but not worry about E3 stuff being leaked, unfortunately I guess I never accounted for old movies being spoilt in their titles... Just from the title alone I now know that "the thing" is never fully resolved by the end and that the movie ends on a bit of mystery with the viewer being left to speculate who "the thing" was. I never even had a proper chance to watch it before I got the ending spoilt for me. From my time on this website I already know how defensive and spiteful people can be when I bring up posting spoilers so I don't expect any different here but I just wanted everybody to know that thanks to this thread, my excitement to watch the thing has evaporated. I don't know if I'm gonna bother watching it after E3 anymore, might never watch it now. And it's all thanks to this thread and an op who couldn't be bothered to phrase his title in a way that wouldn't spoil things for people like me who didn't even know the movie existed until a short time ago. I'm sorry to say but we're not all old people here...

(I haven't actually read this thread at all (so I guess I do still care about the movie a bit?) but I'm assuming you're talking about the 1980's remake? If not semi disregard what I said as it doesn't necessarily apply but still please be more aware of posting spoilers in titles for the people who might never even of heard of whatever you're talking about because it was before their time.) I was lucky to have an older brother who was a film buff and he showed me so many good things that I never would have heard of and so many good experiences were had going into those films completely fresh. Please stop robbing people of those potential experiences. Just keep spoilers out of your title, it really isn't hard and saves so much heartache.
 
Aurongel

Aurongel

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Neither, they killed it. The final bit is to establish how they're both forever tainted by paranoia the Thing inflicted on them.
 
Finale Fireworker

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Staying strictly within the confines of the original film, and not taking in to account any additional material or paratext, this is how I've always felt:

1) Speculating on how clever The Thing may be and all the different things it may do to convince its threats is fun but not textually valid. It's inherently speculating on things that aren't depicted and don't happen and while they could happen in any infinite possible different universes there is nothing in the movie to suggest that.

2) Speculating on how clever MacReady may be is no different. Stuff like "maybe the bottle at the end had gasoline in it" isn't really intelligent insight, I don't think. That doesn't mean it's not fun to do (this channel actually understands this quite well and I enjoy them for that reason), but I just don't think it's smart speculation.

3) I am inclined to lean on the cinematographer's "eyeshine" as a strong indication of who is or isn't The Thing because this is a deliberately professed storytelling tool. We have the "word of God" on that. However, you always have to be careful with this. Just because something was intended doesn't mean a movie can't have continuity errors or mistakes.

So, for me, the most important thing (ha) here isn't really figuring out the puzzle so much as how the ending relates directly to the movie's theme of paranoia. I think there are meaningful decisions made in how the final scene is portrayed to make you think Childs is The Thing. The fact he drinks from the bottle, the musical queue when he does so, the fact MacReady laughs, and the lack of the eyeshine, all suggest that Childs could be The Thing.

But you don't know. You can't know. At most you can suspect. That distrust and paranoia is what the movie is really about. So ultimately whether Childs is The Thing or not isn't what matters - it's that you think he could be and so does MacReady. That's the full depth of the ending. Not about giving you an answer, but not giving you one.


That said, my current interpretation of the ending is the ending is that neither are The Thing.
 
LL_Decitrig

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Kingpin Rogers said:
From my time on this website I already know how defensive and spiteful people can be when I bring up posting spoilers so I don't expect any different here but I just wanted everybody to know that thanks to this thread, my excitement to watch the thing has evaporated. I don't know if I'm gonna bother watching it after E3 anymore, might never watch it now. And it's all thanks to this thread and an op who couldn't be bothered to phrase his title in a way that wouldn't spoil things for people like me who didn't even know the movie existed until a short time ago. I'm sorry to say but we're not all old people here...
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Plesse, don't bring this negative attitude here. It's a classic film. If you miss it, your experience of popular culture will be a tiny bit less than if you watch it. If you're familiar with the genre the fact that the ending is unresolved shouldn't be a surprise. It has no bearing on the quality of the film.
 
Teh_Lurv

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Oct 25, 2017
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Manmademan said:
Edit: The Thing Videogame also makes it clear that neither one was a Thing. Carpenter endorsed that game as a sequel to the events of the film, and appears in it via voiceover iirc.
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The plot of that video game checked off some many cliche tropes that i think Caprenter just checked out and rubber stamped his endorsement for the money. I can't see anyone reading the script to that game and thinking "yes, this is a worthy continuation of The Thing's storyline."
 

Deleted member 16365

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I always assumed it was neither which made the ending that much more impactful. They were going to freeze to death in order to be sure. The Thing killed everyone even if it wasn't directly.
 
Teh_Lurv

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Kingpin Rogers said:
Now I'd been avoiding the gaming side of ERA since things are being leaked and stuff so I've been spending a lot more time in etc, since it's a kind of safe space where I can still browse a forum and pass the time but not worry about E3 stuff being leaked, unfortunately I guess I never accounted for old movies being spoilt in their titles... Just from the title alone I now know that "the thing" is never fully resolved by the end and that the movie ends on a bit of mystery with the viewer being left to speculate who "the thing" was. I never even had a proper chance to watch it before I got the ending spoilt for me. From my time on this website I already know how defensive and spiteful people can be when I bring up posting spoilers so I don't expect any different here but I just wanted everybody to know that thanks to this thread, my excitement to watch the thing has evaporated. I don't know if I'm gonna bother watching it after E3 anymore, might never watch it now. And it's all thanks to this thread and an op who couldn't be bothered to phrase his title in a way that wouldn't spoil things for people like me who didn't even know the movie existed until a short time ago. I'm sorry to say but we're not all old people here...
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The movie is over 40 years old, if there was a statute of limitations on posting spoilers about movies, The Thing would be past it. The Thing is an iconic horror movie and one of the pinnacles of practical special effects, refusing to watch it because you stumbled across a spoiler is your loss.
 
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