Thing

I just rewatched The Thing From Another World and its remake The Thing.

Marko tipped me off to a short story of the second movie, from the alien's perspective.


It's intriguing.

To make a horror movie monster approachable, sympathetic

And horrible all the same.

Voracious, to our eyes, in its nature.

Heh.

That's good fiction, right there.

What gun for shapeshifting aliens? Flamethrowers, naturally. But even they are not enough. The interesting thing is, by the time the second movie was set, flamethrowers were out of the US Army's inventory for 4 years. Since 1978.

Gun content in the 1950s era first movie saw only M2 Carbines (select fire version of the M1 Carbine) and M1911A1 .45s as small arms. Those weapons were ineffective against the James Arness alien. They had to use high voltage to vanquish him. In the second movie... it leaves off with the creature unvanquished. Unconquered. The gun content in the second movie was an assault rifle for the Norweigians, a revolver for Zephram Cochran, and a shotgun for Snake Plisskin. Plus the flame throwers.

Update: My mistake. That wasn't James Cromwell in The Thing. It was Donald Moffat.