Spoilers The Ending of Carpenter's The Thing

[Mojochi]

Spoilers... duh... Now, I've heard all the crackpot theories about kerosene filled booze bottles, & absence of breath steam, or characters with earrings & whatever, but none of that stuff holds up very well, imho. I'm not even all that amenable to the theory that they are both human at the end, because frankly, if you consider what you're hearing on top of what you're seeing, it's pretty clearly suggesting that the thing is still alive by parading Ennio Morricone's (Brilliant) heartbeat theme all over the ending, just like during the beginning, when the thing is being hunted as a dog, & at points throughout the film. Why would you even have a creepy heartbeat sounding theme except to imply life?

What gets me is that I've always found the end rather simply obvious. Kurt Russell's Macready is present in every scene, from the moment that he is proven human, via the hot needle test. Keith David's Childs goes missing for some time near the end, as does Wilford Brimley's Blair, whose imposter is shown having made its way back to the main building where Childs was last seen. If the thing is still alive, as I assume it to be (Mostly because it's an infinitely better ending anyhow) Then it's pretty clearly Childs. We literally SEE Kurt Russell the whole time, or at least know he's on hand in the scene nearby

So why wouldn't Childs just attack MacReady then? Well, why would it have to? Macready is unarmed, & Childs has a flame thrower. Clearly they both know MacReady is beaten, just as they also both know there's no way for the thing to escape. Macready is already dead & soon to be frozen, & the thing is already forced to hibernate again. It wins

It's one of my favorite movies from a year just brimming with sci-fi brilliance. Am I missing something? How is this so contested?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The thing with the earrings does hold up, because the 2011 prequel proved that the Thing can't assimilate anything artificial, like earrings or tooth fillings.

So since Childs has an earring, he must be human.

 

[Tenacity]

Unless it took the earring from Childs to enhance it's impersonation of him.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ But like I said, it can't do that. Whenever the Thing assimilates someone whose body has anything artificial (like a filling or earring), that artificial thing gets spit out and left behind.

 

[USS Firefly]

I don't know if it's true but I heard that whoever was the Thing their eyes didn't reflect any light

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ No, not true.

Besides, if it was that easy to detect someone who'd been assimilated, a lot of the mystery would have been lost. All they'd have to do was shine a flashlight in somebody's eyes. The movies would have been over in 2 minutes.

 

[sojourner]

Why can't it pickup the earring and put it on?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Because the alien's body can't imitate anything non-organic. And it can't pierce its own ear and put the earring in, since there's no time to do that.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^ But like I said, it can't do that. Whenever the Thing assimilates someone whose body has anything artificial (like a filling or earring), that artificial thing gets spit out and left behind.

It couldn't put the actual earring into a hole in its earlobe? EDIT: Ninja'd

 

[sojourner]

And it can't pierce its own ear and put the earring in, since there's no time to do that.

There's no time for it to poke the earring through it's earlobe???? Seriously? Somehow I don't think it would take more than a second for a creature of such capabilities.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

There's no time for it to poke the earring through it's earlobe???? Seriously? Somehow I don't think it would take more than a second for a creature of such capabilities.

If it even needed to poke it through, if it can make nostrils it should be able to make a hole in the earlobe I would think.

 

[Solariabsg25]

It does of course depend if The Thing actually realised it needed the earring, as certainly Carter never noticed in the 2011 movie.

 

[Tosk]

The earring thing from the prequel is idiotic anyway. The Thing can imitate a person all the way down to their memories, but forgets which ear the earring was in? It can't imitate an earring but it can imitate teeth and hair and nails? It doesn't have to be an earring, it just has to look like one. ...Like with the fillings. It can't make the tops of a few teeth look a different color to the rest? Please.

 

[Nightowl1701]

As IMDb notes in its FAQ section: (Additions in [ ] mine)

"[By the end] There was really no need to do a perfect impression of anyone anymore [with or without earrings]. By this point, Mac was the only other survivor, and he was incredibly weak, freezing to death, and unarmed (Kurt Russell said that he had a torch/flamethrower under his coat during that scene), meaning that Childs could have easily assimilated him [thus doubling its chances of successfully infecting the inevitable rescue team], and Mac would be powerless to stop him. The fact that he doesn't would strongly suggest that he is still human."

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Much apologizings if this sounds like a stupid question, but...when the Thing has assimilated multiple members of the arctic team (in either film), they become a collective consciousness, amirite? Meaning, even though it looks like they're the same people the Thing assimilated, they are now all part of a single hive mind? Not "multiple Things"?

So, for example, when one person (who has been assimilated) sees, hears or experiences something, everyone else that has been assimilated also knows about it?

 

[Solariabsg25]

We actually don't know if they are a true hive-mind. Each duplicate seems to be totally self-serving, not risking their own exposure by helping another one of them for example. It's even implied that each one doesn't necessarily KNOW they're a Thing 100% of the time, like Norris turning down the chance to be in charge the actor stating that he wanted to put over the fact that Norris knows something isn't quite right. However I assume that there must be SOME kind of connection. Duplicates would have to be able to identify each-other for example, otherwise we could have a situation where Macready and Childs could BOTH be Things, and try to kill each-other.

With regard to The Thing imitating an earring, it is shown that it can only make an imitation of the biological pattern of a victim, so cannot "add" stuff not in the biological make-up. When it "Things-out" on discovery and transforms, it only adds biological portions of other life-forms it has previously absorbed, in no case does it create non-biological items such as knives, clubs etc.

 

[Tosk]

Whether it can fake an earring or not, there's still the stupidity of Carter reaching for the wrong ear.

 

[Anwar]

Well, one alternate ending Carpenter wrote (but never filmed) confirmed MacReady was a Human.

Keith David apparently said at a Con that his characters was Human as well.

So they were both human.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

So is that 2011 movie worthwhile? I never bothered because I felt I've already seen it but does it offer enough to warrant viewing?

 

[sojourner]

So is that 2011 movie worthwhile? I never bothered because I felt I've already seen it but does it offer enough to warrant viewing?

It's a pretty good film just to see how well it matches up as a prequel.