John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of my absolute favorite films. I find it a highlight of its genre, of casting and character work, and of simple film craft. It was John Carpenter’s first big studio picture, and he knocked it out of the park… except for audiences didn’t go see it. The movie was a box-office flop.
Buy John Carpenter’s The ThingWell… the audience was wrong. And history has shown how thoroughly the film was misjudged and misunderstood. As a young fan decades ago (I am old), I remember reading contemporary reviews and being bemused at how thoroughly the critics misapprehended this beautiful, horrifying film.
But, as I said, history has shown its judgment. The Thing has been aptly appraised as a masterpiece by later audiences. And I thought it had been properly documented with DVD extras, including the fantastic The Thing Takes Shape available on most disc releases of the movie.
The Thing Expanded proved me wrong. In an exhaustive five and a half hour running time, this doc runs through all aspects of the film’s production and finds time for stories on the side. We learn about the films growing pains, the troubles with specific scenes, and so many aspects of production it’s hard to imagine what more one would need to know.
There are countless fan documentaries on YouTube related to any movie. What makes this different? First… they have access to the movie. Extensive clips from the film are shown, and from other films to illustrate the doc’s points. They also have a murderer’s row of interviewees, including the director John Carpenter, the lead Kurt Russell, and most of the cast and much of the crew of the film.
The only major omission I can see is head effects artist Rob Bottin. According to a Reddit AMA from Ian Nathan, the documentary’s director, Bottin apparently doesn’t like to do interviews anymore. That’s sub-optimal, but not critical. And he’s talked about enough that you get a picture of his technique and personality.
What I particularly like about this documentary format is that there is no imposition from the documentarian. All the information we have is from the interviews. Of course, it is organized and edited and collected, but there’s no voice from God telling us what to think. There are some theories about the film espoused by interviewees that I think are nonsense, but who cares? They’re just giving their opinions, and the doc doesn’t present them as anything but. And it delves into subjects around the film, including the poorly received prequel.
If you’re not a The Thing enthusiast, this doc is probably not for you. Though I find it generally entertaining and rewarding, I am clearly in the target audience. It has a lot of wonderful specifics about filmmaking, the story-telling business. It’s also a warts-and-all documentary, which doesn’t shy away from the film’s poor performance or conflicts that happened during the production.
This documentary is five and a half hours long. Its audience is a very particular kind of obsessive, like me. It is a treasure trove of stories and production information. It’s a damn long ride, but filled with thoughtful commentary, information, and love for this strange and fantastic film.
The Thing Expanded is available at https://thethingexpanded.com/. It is currently available for $29.99, until midnight of May 21st.
