The Thing, directed by John Carpenter, is a 1982 American science fiction horror film that has captivated audiences with its chilling story and enigmatic elements. Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There?, the film tells the story of a group of American researchers in Antarctica who encounter an extraterrestrial life-form known as "The Thing." This creature assimilates and imitates other organisms, leading to paranoia and conflict within the group as they struggle to determine who among them is still human.
One of the most intriguing and debated aspects of the film is the origin and purpose of the UFO that brought The Thing to Earth.
Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan
The Discovery
In Antarctica, a Norwegian helicopter pursues a sled dog to an American research station. The Americans witness the passenger accidentally blow up the helicopter in addition to himself. The pilot fires a rifle and shouts at the Americans, but they cannot understand him and he is shot dead in self-defense by station commander Garry. The American helicopter pilot, R. J. MacReady, and Dr. Copper leave to investigate the Norwegian base. Among the charred ruins and frozen corpses, they find the burnt corpse of a malformed humanoid, which they transfer to the American station.
The UFO
The UFO is a large spacecraft of unknown origin which brought The Thing to planet Earth circa 100,000 years ago. The UFO crashed in Antarctica 100,000 years ago, and became buried under several millenia's worth of ice and snow.
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The UFO is first seen in the opening credits entering Earth's atmosphere, in such a disoriented manner that it is implied that it was not even attempting to land, but had completely lost control, possibly due to the actions of The Thing on board. The Thing crawled out of the ship a short distance, but was unable to withstand the harsh cold weather and subsequently froze.
MacReady, Norris and Palmer discover the buried spacecraft in The Thing (1982).
During the winter of 1982, a Norwegian crew discovered the UFO buried in the ice near their outpost and the frozen remains of the assumed passenger of the spacecraft. A simple lab test on the remains of the unknown creature resulted in its revival from its long slumber, killing off the crew one by one and assimilated them, causing chaos.
Fan Theories Surrounding the UFO
There are many theories that have been commented on by the fans regarding the UFO, whether or not it was actually constructed by The Thing or that it belonged to one of The Thing's previous hosts before heading towards Earth.
- Theory 1 - The first idea would imply that the ship belonged to The Thing’s own race. As such, the Things' were the ones who built and piloted the vehicle.
- Theory 2 - The second notion, that of The Thing being one of the ship’s passengers, is even less popular.
- Theory 3 - The idea of a stowaway or contaminating Thing attacking the flying saucers original crew seems to be the most attractive among the film’s fans. By assimilating one of its crew or passengers, it may have gained knowledge on flying the spacecraft.
- Theory 4 - The fourth possibility, of having The Thing as part of the ship’s cargo or equipment, is not without its supporters. Perhaps the ship was on a scientific expedition, gathering specimens from other star systems, and The Thing would then have been collected from its own home world. Or, even more: what if The Thing was part of the ship’s armament? The idea here, is that The Thing was a biological weapon, created by the race that built and operated the ship. The craft may very well have been a military vessel, equipped with The Thing as part of it's standard weaponry. Earth itself, may have become a target for planetary invasion.
The 2011 prequel somehow supports the fourth possibility and chose to show that the ship was not constructed by The Thing itself, but was the ship of it's previous hosts. The sequences involving the ship, were subjected to "drastic" cuts, as the studio increasingly pressured for a "leaner and meaner" film, thus cutting many of the tension-building and exposition scenes.
The Pilot
The original backstory conceived the Pilot as part of a space-faring alien race. A scientific crew of members of this species collected lifeforms from different planets, storing them inside research pods. Unwittingly, the scientists took The Thing-disguised as another lifeform-onboard. The entity proceeded to break free and wreak havoc in the spaceship, assimilating both the alien researchers and the specimens they had collected.
The last remaining crewmember, the Pilot made the ship crash on purpose, with the intention of killing The Thing. As Kate enters the spacecraft, she sees the mummified remains of the Pilot, and is ambushed by The Thing, which has taken on the form of the Pilot race.
The Pilot Concept, a blend of otherworldly traits.
The original backstory - which the director developed for the film - conceived the Pilot as part of a space-faring alien race. A scientific crew of members of this species collected lifeforms from different planets, storing them inside research pods. Unwittingly, the scientists took the Thing - disguised as another lifeform - onboard. The entity proceeded to break free and wreak havoc in the spaceship, assimilating both the alien researchers and the specimens they had collected.
The last remaining crewmember, the Pilot made the ship crash on purpose, with the intention of killing the Thing. As Kate enters the spacecraft, she sees the mummified remains of the Pilot, and is ambushed by the Thing, which has taken on the form of the Pilot race.
Having imitated the Pilot’s form, The Thing is thus able to restart the spaceship for its own, obscure and perhaps incomprehensible motives. When it attacks Kate, the cables detach from the monster’s back. An assimilated Carter reaches the inside of the ship, where Kate is threatening The Thing with her last grenade (paralleling MacReady in Carpenter’s film).
Bringing the Pilot to life was “a great opportunity to design and build a unique alien life form,” according to Alec Gillis. Early concepts by Paul Komoda and Michael Broom included a bulbous skull based on a chihuahua’s, which would make all the way through to the final iteration.
This is the element that was replaced with the ‘Tetris Tower’.
Von Heininjen commented on the sequence: “what had to be done was showing the slaughterfest, while Kate was going through the ship - seeing multiple Pilot aliens dead, half transformed, burned. Something terrible had happened in the ship. I liked that idea because it would have been like the Norwegian camp in space. Kate sees the pod room and one broken pod, which gives her the clues of what happened.
Even before the Pilot itself was removed from the film, the Pod Creatures received the same fate.
A full animatronic prop was even built for the alien pilots of the ship, but this sequence was cut - though it appears in behind-the-scenes featurettes. In various interviews, the cast & crew explained that there were scenes on the ship showing containers, or chambers, which The Thing had broken out of - these also do not appear in the final cut of the film. The implication was that the aliens were picking up animals from many different planets as part of a zoological study, and The Thing was brought aboard without anyone realizing its true nature.
In conclusion, the UFO in "The Thing" remains a subject of fascination and speculation, adding to the film's enduring appeal and mystery.