The Thing

Howard Hawks produced (and many believe that he also directed, although Christian Nyby is officially listed as the helmer) this trend-setting science fiction/horror feature based on John W. Campbell Jr.'s short story "Who Goes There?" After a small band of scientists in a polar outpost discovers something buried in the ice that turns out to be a crash landed UFO, Captain Pat Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) is called in to investigate. What's uncovered is a frozen creature--the titular "Thing" (played by a heavily made-up James Arness)--that accidentally thaws out, and starts ambushing the scientists to obtain their blood. Shunned, not surprisingly, by the intellectual factions of the science fiction community at the time of its release, The Thing is now universally regarded as a pivotal film (John Carpenter directed a gory remake under the same title in 1982), being the progenitor of a number of "spam-in-a-cabin" flicks such as Ridley Scott's Alien. Featuring a handsomely cleaned-up digital transfer (check out the disc's only extra--the trailer--for a dramatic comparison) and serviceable Dolby Digital mono sound, this is definitely recommended. (R. Pitman) [Blu-ray Review—Jan. 1, 2019—Warner, 87 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $21.99—Making its debut appearance on Blu-ray, 1951’s The Thing from Another World features a fine transfer with DTS-HD 2.0 audio, but no extras. Bottom line: this sci-fi/horror classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]