The Thing is widely considered one of the finest horror films ever made, with John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of The Thing from Another World frequently being cited as one of the genre’s best. The movie is celebrated for its groundbreaking practical effects and unforgettable performances.
It is also one of the most compelling screenplays in horror. Filled with tension and paranoia, The Thing is a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat, offering over an hour of suspense and terror. Despite its legendary status, there are still a few aspects of the film that leave fans puzzled, particularly the ending.
The ambiguous ending of The Thing leaves fans guessing even decades later (Photo: The Thing/Universal Pictures and the Turman-Foster Compan)Though the people involved in the movie have teasing answers, the final moments remain ambiguous. Regardless of the true nature of the ending, one thing is for sure: The Thing does not end on a happy note.
What Is The Thing About?
The Thing follows a group of American scientists in Antarctica who face a terrifying alien creature capable of imitating others. The story begins when a Norwegian helicopter pursues a dog, eventually killing its pursuers and causing the American team to take the dog in.
That seemingly small decision would end up being the worst mistake the researchers would ever make. R.J. MacReady, the helicopter pilot played by Kurt Russell, takes another team member to investigate the Norwegian research station where the dog came from.
They discover that the station has been destroyed, and the entire crew is dead. They bring back a strange, humanoid body to their base, a clear warning of what’s to come.
The alien, which had been hidden under Antarctica’s ice for millennia, is now free to terrorize the planet, and only the American researchers stand in its way.
Who Dies in The Thing?
The Thing is packed with death, and it’s safe to say that no one is truly safe. The movie opens with the deaths of the last remaining members of the Norwegian research team, setting the stage for the terror to come. Soon after, the alien begins assimilating the dogs at the American base.
From that point on, paranoia runs rampant as the researchers try to figure out who might be a Thing and when. Fans have spent countless hours trying to pinpoint exactly when each character is assimilated, but the movie purposely leaves many moments unclear.
Before reaching the American base, the creature had already decimated the Norwegian base, which was just as full of researchers. One of the first confirmed deaths is George Bennings, whose assimilation is seen on screen.
As the story continues, other characters meet their ends in horrifying ways: one is burned alive, another dies of a heart attack, and another is shot by MacReady. Nearly every character – including George Bennings, Fuchs, Norris, Copper, Clark, Palmer, Windows, Blair, Gary, and Nauls – is either killed or assimilated.
The only two characters who might survive are R.J. MacReady and Childs, though it’s hotly debated whether they truly make it out alive.
What Happens at the End of The Thing?
By the film’s climax, the American research team has been whittled down to just MacReady, Childs, Nauls, and Gary, all of whom have been proven not to be Things in disguise. Without Childs, the remaining team members head out to check on Blair, who had separated from the group earlier.
A chilling tale of survival and distrust that lingers long after the credits roll (Photo: The Thing/Universal Pictures and the Turman-Foster Compan)They find that Blair is a Thing, and he’s been building a spaceship to escape. However, the power goes out, and MacReady realizes that none of them will escape alive. The only solution is to destroy both the base and the creature.
After some intense destruction, Gary and Nauls are killed by the Thing, but MacReady manages to take out the alien with explosions. As he seeks cover from the blasts and the cold, MacReady finds himself face to face with Childs, who had gone missing earlier.
The two sit down across from each other, neither fully trusting the other. This moment is one of the most debated aspects of the film. Some believe that MacReady is the Thing at this point, while others think Childs is the alien.
Several clues point in both directions, such as the smoke that MacReady exhales, but Childs does not, the glint in their eyes, and the shared bottle of booze that could be filled with gasoline. The theory that Childs is the Thing tends to be more widely accepted, but it’s never fully confirmed.
In the final moments, both MacReady and Childs sit in the flames, unsure of each other’s true nature. It’s also possible that one of them knows the creature hasn’t truly been defeated.
The movie’s conclusion is chilling, both literally and figuratively, as MacReady makes it clear to the audience that neither man can escape their frozen fate, and that one will meet certain death if they are not the Thing.
