8 Great Horror Movies Unfairly Snubbed At The Oscars

3. The Thing (1982)

The Exorcist Oscar
Universal Pictures

In a decade of heartwarming alien movies (E.T., Cocoon, Batteries Not Included, etc.), John Carpenter’s The Thing was a deeply unsettling throwback to the paranoid invasion flicks of the 1950s.

A loose remake of Howard Hawks’ The Thing from Another World (1951), Carpenter's movie follows a group of scientists at a remote research outpost in Antarctica in who stumble across a flying saucer buried beneath the ice for a hundred-thousand years, fatally uncovered by scientists at a nearby outpost. A deep-frozen alien body is also discovered and the Americans haul it back to their base for study. When it thaws, all havoc breaks loose as the parasitic ‘Thing’ knows that 'man is the warmest place to hide.'

The paranoia is so thick it’s almost tangible and the pessimism is unrelenting, with Kurt Russell’s now iconic MacReady remarking, “trust’s a tough thing to come by these days.” It’s the tonal essence of the film in a single line. But The Thing is so much more on every level. It remains John Carpenter’s most technically accomplished and nerve-shredding movie. The camera glides and stalks through the research station, spying on the doomed scientists, and the crisp, glassy cinematography of Dean Cundey captures the snow and ice in a way that makes us want to huddle for warmth. We can almost see our own breath as we watch. All of this is heightened by the pure sonic dread of Ennio Morricone’s creeping, minimalist score. The film’s outrageously graphic practical special effects were pioneering in their time and still pack gut punch today.

Tragically, The Thing opened to a frosty reception. Released hot on the heels of the warm and fuzzy E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, audiences were repelled by the horrific imagery of Carpenter’s ice cold creation. Today, The Thing is considered by many as one of the greatest films in the horror and sci-fi genres, if not one of the best films of the 1980s in any genre. It was clearly worthy of a number of Oscars, including Best Makeup, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director. Tell that to the Academy.

Oscars: 0

Contributor

Pop culture critic, professional geek, and author of 'Silver Screen Saucers: Sorting Fact from Fantasy in Hollywood’s UFO Movies.'