10 Small Details That Make John Carpenter's The Thing Perfect
6. That's Real Dynamite
In the film's climactic battle between MacReady and the Blair-Thing, events come to their explosive head when MacReady tosses the dynamite into the belly of the overlarge beast. It is a thrilling scene, showing off both Rob Bottin's terrifying design and the pyrotechnical fun had on set.
However, there was very nearly a different outcome to this scene. Kurt Russell was throwing real dynamite at the creature on camera. Apparently, no one had sufficiently warned him about the strength of the explosion he was about to face.
The creature blew up in terrific fashion, but the resulting blast sent Russell flying across the room. The crew rushed to his aid and thankfully found him to be unscathed, merely shaken. Carpenter made the decision to leave the scene as filmed in the movie, delivering not just a big blast of a final battle but also a very, very realistic reaction from Russell, moving entirely without the aid of a safety harness.
On a film that featured more than one accidental slip up, this one served the film greatly, leaving a scene that serves as the perfect way to lead us to the coda.