I thought of something watching this. After Fuchs finds Macs clothes and he's killed offscreen, the clothes aren't at the scene. If the clothing was left to frame Mac, why would that person hide it before Fuchs body was found?? It would have been the perfect set up. Of all places to hide it, why in Macs shed? And not just laying around on the floor, it was STUFFED somewhere as if not to be found. So the clothes go from being a means to frame Mac to being a secret?
@@Lolaloveslemons the things adopted the suspicion of the ppl and started trying to frame each other maybe? maybe that's why macready said F u too,.. hmm
@@staxsonsuntoast1639 They'd naturally each desire to use the others as red herrings. In a desperate survival situation, people can turn on each other pretty quickly. A thing is genetically the same as all others. There would only be a need for one to survive. You can drive your quarry insane chasing monsters around while the one who was most adept would be able to remain hidden. This movie was the ultimate in misdirection.
It is reasonable to assume that the clothes were hidden in Mac's shed to frame him though... Even if the body was discovered and then the clothes, either way suspicion would fall to Mac. Just another way for The Thing to draw attention away from itself. It wouldn't make any sense for it to draw attention to the person it has replaced, because in the 1982 movie it is acting to protect itself. In the 2011 movie it would definitely do this since that one is just a lesser rehashing of the 82 movie as it was just a slasher. It makes no sense for a creature trying to hide in plain sight to draw attention to himself when they all have proven they will burn the assimilated alive to ensure the thing won't escape. Even at the very end, it is in Character for Mac to hand off his bottle we saw him do it at the start when the guy got shot in the leg(I can't remember the man's name sue me). While yes they did also institute the rule of not sharing food or drink, the facility is burning, at that point it wouldn't matter if the Thing survived, It wouldn't have anywhere to go.
I would describe this film's narrative as "perfectly crafted ambiguousness". It's over 40 years old, and yet even younger generations can still have fun with it. Coming up with theories. Discussing them. Debating them. Insulting and attacking each other over them... It's great!
Until you play the companion sequel games or listen to the commentary before it became fun to troll or make hypothesis. Mac isn't infected but it's fun to pretend.
Completely agree. I watched it when first released, on a driven-in big panel, from a balcony of a hotel in San Diego. No other vacationers cared or discovered the view. The audio was still fed thru those old school metal speakers so the audio was clear. Was great! At 14 ,I then had to wait for the vhs "viral" phenomenon to help make this the famous revolution . 👋
Twist ending: MacReady was just a psychopath who enjoys drinking gasoline and wanted everyone else to drink gasoline then as they got high on gasoline one-by-one they all shared gasoline induced hallucinations. That's how Fuchs burned so much, MacReady knew Fuchs was secretly consuming high-octane gasoline and didn't want to share. That's why Blair was building a vehicle, the natural companion to gasoline. That's why they did the blood test using a hot poker, to see how well they each combust. Moral of the story: Use gasoline responsibly.
It doesn’t make sense that MacReady is the thing because we are shown that the thing cares about its survival. MacReady was willing to blow himself up and everyone there. Also you cant use the fact that it wasn’t shown that MacReady cut his thumb in front of everyone in the blood test scene when we aren’t shown everyone doing that. I think in the end it’s more likely that neither one of them are the thing because we see from Blair that the thing isn’t affected by the cold that much because Blair was running around with no coat at the end of the movie seemingly unfazed by the cold. While Childs and MacReady are deeply affected by the cold at the end of the movie. And earlier in the movie when MacReady gets locked out and breaks in to grab the dynamite, he had to warm himself up and there is a scene of him trying to move his hand. It just makes sense that the true twist is that the thing is dead and Childs and MacReady are paranoid that either or might be the thing since they don’t know what the other has been up to and have no way to confirm if they are the thing.
He never confirmed nor denied anything. He just slyly says "Maybe! We don't know!" However, I think MacReady is the thing because we see him share him share drinks with everyone after told not to. Childs wasn't there when they said to not do that. Also, McReady says The Alien just wants to go to sleep in the cold again. At the end Child's asks "What do we do now?" McReady says "We wait." I have other, more off the wall, nitpicky stuff that can just be continuity. But two things that were mentioned Explicitly to the Audience: "Don't share food or drinks" and "The Thing wants to go back to sleep in the cold" Both of those are what McReady wants to do at the end @@robbcoleman469
I think that neither Childs or MacReady are the Thing at the end, but they are now both sufficiently paranoid enough to let themselves die to prove it.
@@Mercurial_Phoenix John carpenter said the game was canon, I don't know exact details but he "worked closely" with the devs as well according to IMDB. One of the things he did though was voice a character and get that character modeled after him, after he did that he went on to endorse the game. The fact that this is a debate is ridiculous when the answer has been confirmed over 2 decades ago.
@@2DimmMedia you know there has to be some messed up rule 34 stuff about how close Childs and MacCready got at the end. Real close friends, like the room mate your aunt keeps bringing along to Thanksgiving.
I love the movie but I hate this opinion people keep saying. No it wasn't such a great movie because half a century later we still talk about it. People literally talk about bad movies that are decades old. We are talking about it a decade later because it's on replayable media and some people enjoyed it. Such a microscopic percent of the population has seen, liked, or cares about this movie. The only reason you are seeing it is because you youtube and Google similar topics so the algorithm does what it's designed to and puts this niche video infront of you. It's not because of the films quality, which is amazing, it's because TH-cam is literally programmed to send you stuff it thinks you'll watch. For example I watch alot of true crime, horror, and horror games. I've rewatched my favorite game Silent Hill 2 like 10 times in the last year. Because of that I get alot of recommendations for stuff that can be categorized under that. Such as obscure cult classic films like the Thing. But most people will never have anything like this pop up. TLDR; your favorite movie isn't special because it's old. You're not refined for liking an old movie.
@Ringodingo......you should sit down and take a breath.....there are so many juicy, foolish bits in your comment i dont have time, so ill just paste this Numerous publications have ranked it as one of the best science fiction films, including number four by IGN (2016);[170] number 11 by Rotten Tomatoes (2024);[171] number 12 by Thrillist (2018);[172] number 17 by GamesRadar+ (2018);[173] number 31 by Paste (2018);[174] number 32 by Esquire (2015) and Popular Mechanics (2017).[175][176] Similarly, The Thing has appeared on several lists of the top horror films, including number one by The Boston Globe;[165] number two by Bloody Disgusting (2018);[177] number four by Empire (2016);[178] and number six by Time Out (2016).[179] Empire listed its poster as the 43rd best film poster ever.[73] In 2016, the British Film Institute named it one of ten great films about aliens visiting Earth.[180] It was voted the ninth best horror film of all time in a Rolling Stone readers poll,[166] and is considered one of the best examples of body horror. OBSCURE INDEED
Man. That sequel was *so good* right up until the post production guys got hold of it. The entire point of making the film in the first place was a special effects team wanting to show off their practical effects skills, so they bought the rights and made this movie to present their incredible skills. It was all amazing. They didn't find out until the movie premier that all their hard work had been covered over by shabby CG. Like, not even good for 2011 CG, just totally phoned in. Aaaaand they never got work again. If you haven't seen any, watch some documentaries about the making of the 2011 Thing. It's so much lost potential.
I agree. We still get to see their excellent practical work during that autopsy scene near the beginning.. but alas, everything else afterwards though, is yeah.. bland cg.
The dog scene may add credit to this, apparently the thing made the lights not work in the cage, homie left and turned off the light, then returns and the light just doesn't work. Later, Mac uses the light on in his cabin to separate them further. I think the "things" that just start turning into grotesque monsters are extensions to throw the others off, while protecting the primary.
One of the major issues with what you said in the previous video is that Macready wacked the guy who told him about eating food from cans. The problem is Macready left the room to the right, and the figure is seen coming from the left... So did he make some huge circle or what?
Also mentioning why he doesn't kill Childs in the end. The original script had him do just that as a callback to the computer chess scene. Carpenter removed it for the sake of ambiguity.
While i dont fully subscribe to your theory, mostly because of the final boss argument doesn't satisfy my problem - what your theory does do, is make the movie ambiguous again. I thought i had it all figured out, amd while my breakdown of events and who gets turned when still makes sense, you introduced other ways that also make sense. Im no longer 99% sure i know who is who. You brought ambiguity and mystery back to my favorite movie. Thank you
I recently rewatched The Thing, and I’ve come to believe that MacReady is, in fact, the Thing. Childs’ line, "So, how do we know who's human? If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know if it was really me?" is key. The Thing can replicate its prey with complete accuracy, meaning that from the moment it assimilates someone, it retains their knowledge, behavior, and memories. Throughout the film, MacReady exhibits traits that set him apart from the rest of the crew. He doesn't like being cheated, isolates himself in his own tower rather than staying in the barracks, and struggles to connect with the others-making him an outsider. This detachment raises suspicions about his true nature. There are several key decisions MacReady makes that point toward him being the Thing. First, after Blair sabotages the communication equipment and descends into madness, MacReady ensures Blair is isolated, neutralizing the potential threat he poses. When Childs challenges his leadership, MacReady steps in to take control, yet he doesn’t object earlier when Norris-who we later discover is infected-assumes the role. If MacReady were a perfect imitation, killing other infected crew members would be a calculated move to earn the group's trust and divert suspicion. After Fuchs’ death and the discovery of MacReady’s torn clothing, he eliminates threats one by one, such as Clark, whom he shoots even though he likely knows bullets won’t kill a Thing. This act isn’t just self-defense but a way to remove Clark, who was unpredictable and could jeopardize the Thing's plans. Consider MacReady's choices for assistants during the blood test: Windows and Nauls-arguably the weakest crew members-are selected, possibly because they are easier to manipulate. Later, when MacReady decides to destroy the entire base, he essentially dooms everyone, rationalizing it as their only option. He even convinces Garry and Nauls to sacrifice themselves, leading them down into the lower levels where they meet their demise, likely becoming assimilated. One critical moment is when Childs disappears, believing he saw Blair. No one pursues him, which is curious if MacReady were truly human. If MacReady is the Thing, ignoring Childs serves a purpose: with the base destroyed, the Thing’s survival is assured, as it can survive being frozen and wait for rescue. The humans, however, would perish in the cold. MacReady’s actions, when viewed through this lens, are not those of a hero but of a creature ensuring its survival by eliminating threats, manipulating trust, and securing its position.
It's definitely interesting how the behaviors and symbols that depict a strong individualist hero archetype can also align with the depiction of the other, an alien separate from humanity that is determined to survive, prey on others, and deceive.
yep and also after fuchs told mcready to tell the others to not share food we just assumed that mcready told them offscreen but in fact we are not sure if he really did as thats the most important thing ever and this is furthered by the scene where he took a drink from blair and at the end gives a drink to childs to which neither of them says anything against it which tells me mcready didnt tell anyone about fuchs big discovery. also fuchs died literally after that lol
I think it's far more reasonable to assume that getting the blood was in front of everyone. If he left the room and came back with a petri dish of blood, there'd be literally a 0% chance of anyone believing him.
The Thing and The Shining are both two very ambitious and ambiguous films with open interpretations. And they're both over 40 years old and they're still generating many new theories. This is the testament of what a well crafted film with even practical effects and good writing can produce. Your theory/film analysis is still really thought provoking. And I personally love that there's a new way to view/interpret this movie. Congrats!
Unlike movies like Alien, another one of the greatest Horror films ever made, where we're only shown 2 or 3 seconds of the Xenomorph gliding through the corridors or salivating in close up getting ready to strike, or Brucie in JAWS only being shown for a few seconds max at a time, forcing us to fill in the blanks in our imaginations, The Thing shows us everything. It lingers to such an extended degree of Horror that the Horror becomes the How's and Why's and Who's! Many people regard The Thing as a Whodunit, but it's actually about Suspicion and Paranoia. There's no real way of knowing who is The Thing at any given time unless explicitly shown. As many theories that naturally abound about all of the Red Harrings of the story, all we can really know for sure is that we can never really know for sure, such is the brilliance of The Thing.
As someone that knows people who work in the medical field, they teach you how to remove gloves without contaminating yourself. It's actually pretty interesting
True ending with a twist: the entire movie was a dream john carpenter had while passed out on the toilet; a cold draft coming in from a cracked open window is why it seemed antartic, and the thing from another world was playing in the livingroom in the baclground
I've only watch your video 2-3 times but i always watched the entire thing. I've always heard one side to the theories but the McReady is the Thing is new and well crafted.
So the original movie came out in 1951 based off a book from the 1940’s. John Carpenter’s version is actually much more similar to the original book. The most interesting thing in the book that is never started in both movies is that you don’t really become “The Thing” until you die. Now a more interesting theory is that MacReady never died but does know he is infected. In the book everyone doesn’t know they are infected except the main character. Once a character dies they start to turn into a monster. The monsters know everyone is infected and are purposely trying to kill people that have not turned yet. At the end of the book you find out the mind of “The Thing” and the main character combines into one entity. Everyone else had to die to become the thing except the main character. The idea is the real monster was man but the book takes an interesting and darker tone with some eugenics ideas involved.
I really like this theory, but I’m still torn which is honestly awesome because I think that’s the point of the movie. It has possibly the best ending ever. Every time Childs takes that sip and the “BUM BUM” starts playing I’m immediately thrown back into a state of paranoia, distrust, and a feeling that something’s off but I can’t quite put words to it. Incredible.
I feel either mcready is the thing because in the prequel it didnt know how smart humans are at detective work and learned from its mistakes and it makes sense to act the most paranoid and infect the bottle at the end. OR They both are human and if indeed alchohol is somthing that the thing disliks Childs taking adrink confirms he is human and Mcready chuckles realizing he doesnt have to die the only human and the music at the end just empathizes the reaization they still lost to the thing. The thing still has blood and parts of itself undiscovered or forgotten in the area that can just reassemble itself at a later time when people come to investigate. Great video both this one and the one before. I agree tiktok brain attention span ruins appreciation for a lengthy explanation. Well done
I heard carpenter on a commentary just the other day say they did plan to make Mac the Thing and then chose to keep it ambiguous. Kurt was talking to him and said “So Mac was never the Thing, right? Right?” And Carpenter just laughed. Both of them sitting waiting to die makes no sense unless they both 100% know they are both human . Because you don’t want it to freeze and continue to infect the rescuers.
The audio diary -- MacReady erases the tail portion of "Nobody trust's anyone anymore." That was always odd to me. Like he was hiding a clue from anyone who found the tapes.
The first time I watched this movie its crazy because I had no clue who the thing was and definitley didnt think it was mccready wow the whole movies changes with that gonna have to give it another watch now.
Came from your last Thing video and was glad to hear some of these explanations. Two things I noticed on a rewatch that you didn't address, one being much more important than the other: #1: Everybody automatically assumes the "dirty drawls" that were found came from Palmer after he assimilated. However, Mcready can be seen wearing the exact same longjohns in the opening sequence of the film under his grey shirt. In fact, just about every character is wearing this type of cloth. His labeled vest was obviously mangled and re-hidden after being discovered by fuchs, but nobody talks about the undergarments. Mcready is seen inspecting them by the radio before throwing them in the trashcan when the doctor calls him to the store room. This leads me to my second observation.. #2: NAULS was the one to find the torn up undergarments when he rolls into the lounge and says "who left their dirty drawls in the kitchen trash can?"... the next time we see what we can only assume to be the same garments are mcready throwing them away in the radio room. However, when we return to mcready's next radio diary scene, there's more drawls on his desk and he is again inspecting them, concluding it tears through your clothes. He tells the radio that WINDOWS found the shredded longjohns. He's either lying, has bad memory, or is referring to an off-screen scene where windows indeed finds additional clothes. I might be over-analyzing but i felt that was the only stone left unturned with your videos. Seriously great work man, i enjoyed diving back into this.
Im fine with Mac being the thing at the end, and Childs not. It makes sense to me, for two reasons. 1) we see Clark petting the Thing Dog at the beginning of the movie, like 5 minutes after the Thing Dog licks Bennings, and we know after he gets shot in the head and has is blood tested, that Clark is in fact not The Thing; further it is even mentioned that Clark spent MORE time then that with the Thing Dog off screen. With that, plus Bennings not showing any signs of being The Thing until we see him be assimilated by the Norwegian Corpse that thawed out, im will to go with the idea that the thing does not assimilate randomly, or just by touch, but has to make a conscious effort to assimilate. Reason 2) Mac is he only character, besides Bennings at the beginning, and Childs at the very end, that we see actually DRINK any alcohol. Sure we see a lot of open ore empty bottles, we see people with drinks in front of them and in their hands even. But we ONLY see Mac drink from either the JB bottle, or from a glass, through out the movie. It's not until the end of the movie that we see Mac NOT drink from the bottle of JB, but give it to Childs, that i think suggests a shift in the character, a shift that means something. IMO, since we know that contact with The Thing is not enough to guarantee assimilation, and Bennings being assimilated later, i think we can at least give it better then 50/50 odd thats either A) Mac is The Thing, Childs is not, or B) Both are human, and perhaps Mac is testing one last theory by giving Childs the bottle to drink from.
N ready is thing cause Fuchs told him his plan. And the rest of the movie Mcready does the opposite. Even the last scene. Meaning even if he did or did not kill Fuchs. He was the only one that knew not share food. Yet did so for the rest of the movie. Especially at the last scene
I appreciate your wild take even if I don't agree with it. I tend to lean on the idea that Childes and MacReady are both human at the end but neither of them trust each other and are ready to die freezing to keep an eye on each other
If Childs was a Thing then he has no reason to approach MacReady OTHER THAN to kill the last human left at the outpost. Which he doesn't do. He approaches MacReady because he wants to have a chat with him about what a whacky day they've had. And if MacReady was a Thing then it makes sense that he would keep up the disguise - Childs is armed with a flamethrower, after all. But why tell the truth about there being no other survivors? Tell Childs that, oh, I dunno, Nauls is still out there so we need to go look for him. Anything to get Childs to turn his back so a MacReady Thing can attack. But MacReady doesn't do that. He just sits down, shares a drink, and waits to freeze solid. And if BOTH were Things they wouldn't be having THAT conversation. They'd be talking about Thing... err.... things. They are both human.
The best thing (heh) about the movie is that 40 years later we’re still discussing it. Not knowing for sure who might be infected gets us into that paranoid mindset and we feel the characters’ fear.
Agreeing or disagreeing with the theory doesn't really matter. Your video about the topic was really nice to watch regardless of it. I felt like watching The Thing right after it and paid more attention to these small details than ever before The theory doesn't need to be correct. The fact that so many people debated about it says enough. It has fulfilled its purpose, so congratulations on it.
I never understood why people completely gloss over the fact that a smart chess player who knows sharing drinks could spread the thing hands Childs alcohal and suggests they wait and see what happens. Also did you notice how dramatic Childs was earlier in the movie, but at the end he is super calm? In my opinion they are both the thing in the end, but if I had to choose just one I think it’s Mac.
The original story was called "Who goes there?". The characters were never sure who was human, even thinking that they might not even know if they, themselves, were human anymore. Carpenter stayed very true to that vision. I think Carpenter purposely filled this movie with misleading information to throw the characters off the scent, and turn them against each other, as in the original story. He skillfully did it to the viewers too. I saw this movie when it premiered in the theaters, having already read the short story years before. I then read the novel based on the movie. Studios used to commission books of movies then. Through all of that, and much that has come since, I believe that Carpenter doesn't even know the whole story. I think it was never intended to be a riddle solved. I think he likes it that way. Sometimes a good storyteller likes to let the story tell itself. Great video, by the way.
I mean, I really don't know how people can so easily dismiss strong pieces of evidence such as MacReady's jacket in the snow or MacReady's insane response to the question about the cause of the "Maybe I Burned Myself Until It Got To Me" guy's death (sorry, forgot his name), so yeah, I think your theory is still the best one out there.
I believe that one of your major defenses that “it’s just a movie so sometimes they can’t do obvious things to keep it interesting” deeply takes away from your argument
I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I literally play it going to sleep almost every night.... for like almost 2 years now. That's like over 500 times, I do fall asleep early on but still that's alot. I treat this movie as a murder-mystery where paranoia is just as much as an enemy as the alien Thing is. We start off with 12 humans, well 14 but the Norwegians quickly die so down to 12. Bennings gets assimilated and burned, down to 11. Fuchs dies somehow, 10. Norris fakes death from a heartattack(presumedly) and kills Copper, now 8. Clark gets shot in the face, 7. The Palmer thing kills Windows and gets set on fire and TNT'd, down to 5. Nauls and Garry both get assimilated by Blair Thing, down to 3. MacReady blows up the combined Blair, Nauls, Garry Thing, now just 2. The murder mystery no longer matters, its just 2 now and we know MacReady knows if this Thing gets loose it'll be doom for the whole planet so the game is up, it doesn't matter if Childs is the Thing or is human.... the only way to MAKE SURE 100% without a doubt is to both burn themselves up, blow themselves up, and leave nothing. So why the conversation? at this point its not a mystery, its a search n destroy. If MacReady was human he would've instantly killed Childs with the revolver he has on his hip he's carried the last half of the movie, BLAMMO shoot Childs in the face then burn his body to be sure..... but he doesn't... he talks to him. Strange. The Thing has a natural need for self-preservation, and KNOWING it has no way out now it just wants to "die" and freeze to death that way the rescue team can find the frozen body so not instantly killing each other at the end and just accepting a slow freezing to death IS THE WAY TO CONTINUE LIVING. Now the one thing MacReady knows NOT to do is to SHARE MOLECULES, yet he hands Childs the bottle. Childs KNOWS not to share molecules as well so a human Childs would NEVER accept it, that's like rule number-fucking-1 is DO NOT SHARE MOLECULES. Also another theme present is the human action of suicide, something The Thing cannot do because of it's need for self-preservation. MacReady figured this out when he saw the frozen Norwegian with his neck and wrists slit in the Norwegian camp. Suicide is the ONE ACTION that the Thing CANNOT DO, and its the one thing MacReady is absolutely ready to do multiple times in the film. So by "accepting fate" and MacReady saying "lets just wait here a while, see what happens" is basically the opposite of what the search n destroy mission's goals are which is to find and BURN the Thing so nothing remains. If MacReady and Childs just wait around and freeze to death instead of burning each other to death then there is a chance The Thing survives, in the frozen body of them. Point is, MacReady should've burned Childs or shot him in the head the INSTANT he saw him at the end: if Childs was human then ok, Childs is dead and throw his body in the fire.... if CHilds was a thing then the bullet wouldn't do anything and he could grab a spare stick of dynamite he had strapped to him and light it and BOOM the Childs Thing is gone.... but if both Childs and MacReady are the Thing then they wouldn't immediately be kill-on-sight but still be playing the murder-mystery game instead of the search n destroy game.... oh who is it idk .... Anyway this is long enough. Something to think about.... suicide is something only humans do in this film and The Thing only tries to survive.... some food for thought.
I re watched the thing recently, what I did notice was when they take Blair to the shed & McCready takes a sip of the bottle & puts it down in front of Blair, the camera holds with Blair staring at the bottle for just a touch to long. As in for you to notice it. I think the McCready being the Thing is a pretty solid theory when you watch the whole film.
Greetings from Germany! I don't know HOW your videos ended up in my youtube list, but I enjoyed the whole "The Thing" videos very much! Keep up the entertaining work! I really like how much thought and effort you put into this theory, the way you handle all those comments (good ones as well as bad ones), and I really enjoy your sense of humor :D Looking forward to more content from you! Btw: I'm a believer now! From this day on, I'm in #TeamThingReady
I really like this theory, but this entire thing hinges on an assumption. An assumption that MacCready drank from the bottle. 👀 I have a bunch of other points relating to other characters, but because this is literally the crux and to keep this from not being an entire essay on the subject, I'll focus on this one glaring issue. So once Bennings has the bottle, MacCready goes out to the helicopter with the others to extinguish the flames. You're telling me that Bennings brought him the bottle? From how far the helicopter was from them? AFTER being shot in the leg? Mind you, he is currently dealing with the helicopter and didnt have a J&B bottle when we follow up with him later counting Kerosene jugs. Here he is told to basically get ready to fly. His cabin is separated from the rest of the compound. So he went in to find Bennings who he hasnt previously checked up on since he was still outside when we see him later at the Norwegian heli to get a bottle of J&B knowing full well this man has stacks in his cabin, since we see them littered EVERYWHERE. he then leaves for a MINIMUM of 2 and a half hours. Hour there, hour back, plus time to collect the burnt body. Comes back and drinks from that bottle thats been around people who are shown to share alcohol throughout the movie?
"Wait and see what happens" always struck me as a bizarre final line. Only the Thing would want to freeze, yet both characters present accept this solution. They could have hugged a shared dynamite stick a la Aliens if they really wanted to be sure. But they didn't... despite all the struggle throughout the film, now they decide to be chill? Bennings not being infected first is a huge flaw in this theory. But! I like it regardless, especially the idea of both Mac and Childs being infected at the end.
Ok so I came to a realization since I commented on your last video. How would McReady have gotten out alive or gotten a helicopter in the game sequel with his original goggles and hat? If it was one of the helicopters at the research facility then how did he repair it? Maybe he was The Thing assimilated and him picking you up at the end was a trick by the thing because that’s the only explanation I can think of for him being able to repair it. In the movie Blair builds a flying saucer with the parts from the helicopter. Now I’m not so sure anymore. :/
I believe they just wanted to have Macready in the game for a surprise ending. So again like I say in the video, I wouldn't read too deep in the game. But it is an interesting thought experiment if we do consider the game Cannon
25:10 maybe Carpenter had them film a scene with Mac cutting himself for the blood test just so none of the actors would guess Mac was a Thing, then he cut the scene (or never intended to show it in the first place)…
I loved your first video and got me thinking. It blew my gord to see it in another perspective. "What if im rooting for the wrong guy the whole time?" Mind freaking blown!!!! 😆 Lol!!! For the new video debunking:) Keep it up!!!
I think you are correct. After Bennings jumps out the window Macready looks out the broken window meaning he was in the room with the keys!!! Plus assimilation can happen without devouring the target. Remember when the dog walks into the room with the shadow, well guess what that person got assimilated and we still have a dog!! And it was specifically written in the script that he plays chess, why would that be important if it never comes up in the movie. Macready Thing was playing chess the whole movie!
You brought something up in the first video essay to quell people who were contrary to the petri dish scene. You mentioned how with how grotesque The Thing is shown to be, it is not farfetched that MacReady thing could have made a little pocket with regular blood inside his thumb from the blood he stole to be able to "prove he's a human." But its also like you said, anything that was important was deliberately shown. If they really wanted to disprove MacReady, they would have shown his thumb directly. It was not important enough to show it on screen. Based on your video essays, I am pretty much certain MacReady is a thing by the end of the movie. To be fair, I had that feeling my last couple of watch throughs, but never thought to go back and analyze. Thank you for your analysis!!
Please read because I’m curious about what your response to this is: first off I LOVE this take because you’re right that everyone is concerned about Childs, this is some great out of the box thinking. But I disagree for this reason: Mac gets everyone in the room with him where he’s the only one with a flame thrower during the blood test scene. If he was the thing, why doesn’t he hose the non-things or assimilate them at this time?
He needs a Excuse to get out when the Rescue Team comes. He Destroyed all evidence of the Thing, Blew the Whole Base up wich would explain why everybody is Dead. Not so much if they Find them Tied up in a Row.
@@lorand5578 It 100% Does. The Thing wants to get out of the frozen Zone. To do that, it needs to be pickt up by a Rescue Team. And IT can not be Put under suspicion of any kind, wich It learned. So all Evidence of the Mutation Bodys, Written Notes etc must be Destroyed. So the Last Survivor Mc Ready/The Thing, can come up with some Excuse of what Happend. If a Team comes into the Camp and finds all Others Burned in a Row, but him. They would immediately Put him into Cuffs and under some "He is Crazy" Why Quarantäne. The Whole Thing hat to look like a Desaster. The Camp was blown up, the THINGs where Buried after Burned, There is no Obvious Evidence any of it ever Happend. Why would a HUMAN Mc Reedy, not make sure some Proof of it Exists? Just Put a Peace of Flesh into a Jar. So People Beleave him and do not think he was the Murderer. His Theory of MC Being the Thing is 100% Correct. He only Missed a view Points.
This is awesome. I thought it'd be 6 more months or a year before we got this. Lol You're still doing great. Be as abrasive as you want, your presentation is on point as ever, don't let the haters get you down. 🤘 I'm 48 years old and grew up watching The Thing on video disc (vinyl not laser). My dad used to talk about his own theories every time and I wish he was here to see your videos. He would've loved 'em. SIMMY JUICE!!!
Gotchas. And honestly, the Bennings drinking from the bottle before Macready hole is bigger than the blood test. You already made the point of off-screen take overs AND that he could've had a "pouch" in his finger for human blood (for the deleted scene argument). 🤷♂️
Starting my watch now, I’ll edit this when I finish with my takeaway. Yeah, im still not really convinced. I could break it down into details, but it’s really not that important. I really like the theory and you’ve probably heard everything I would say anyway, but the fact is that it’s nice to have differing opinions on the Thing because that was ultimately the intent. The fact that we have two completely different theories with almost equal amount of validity is a testament to how good the movie is. Cheers, I’ll be sure to watch your videos to come.
MacThing just really likes being MacReady. That's why he doesn't try to shapeshift at all, he much prefers the human body. This slows him down because he has to shapeshift to insta-assimilate targets, like his child Things and the Thule Station Things do, and there's enough of Mac left in him to enjoy the chess game.
If MacReady is the Thing, it stands to reason that the hot wire blood test is a ruse: not actually effective at detecting Things. Remember that the test is MacReady's idea. It makes no sense for him to teach the humans how to detect him. The "successful positive" blood test is easily explained through sleight of hand; MacReady-Thing shoots the tendrils out of his hand. He sacrifices the other Thing to save himself, while simultaneously teaching the humans a fake Thing-detection method which seems conclusively proven effective.
Yeah. I felt that sleight of hand was a good theory, but alot of people dismissed the idea but I can easily see him doing it. Like swapping the petri dish with a pre placed one. And the thought of it not being a true test and a ruse is an idea I hadn't considered 🤔
No, not switching the dishes. He sticks the wire in blood, which doesn't do anything because the test is fake. Then he just shoots goop out of his hand at the same time so it looks like the test did something.
@@2DimmMedia Why would it even React. It can Tolerate Pain or it would have reacted as soon as they cut his Finger. The Whole Prozess of detaching its own Head must be as Painful as being Burned. Even Parts without a Brain can React Smart. Or the not Burned stuff inside one of them Could have just come out and take a New Shape. Jet it Waited inside of the Body before making its Move.
_That's_ good. This would imply all the different "Things" don't agree on stuff which would support our host's theory as to why MacReady would blow up the other one. But that's one hell of a leap in logic. No one else was around when Mac blew it up. & if they spread through infecting each other, how were there *other* "Things." They'd all be descendants of _one_ Thing. So this requires leaps in logic the narrative doesn't provide any background for. He wouldn't blow up the other Thing. This theory can't support that. & it's _really_ unlikely that he exposes how to detect them. If anything, the symbolism of the alcohol might be that it _prevents_ the spread of the Thing. It's been protecting him all along.
They actually wrote an alternative ending where Childs and MacReady were both the thing, but carpenter didn't like it, I guess he wanted to keep the conclusion ambiguous, that's my theory. My take on MacRead, he gave blood and passed so that's what makes me say no to him being the thing, bui it is possible. The ambiguity is what makes this flick great imo.
So the blood thing, you never see him cut his finger. But they took the time to show Nauls and Windows. Bystanders who weren't revealed to be a possible thing a few scenes earlier like Mac. That was intentional. There would be more credence if they didn't show anyone cut there fingers, but they deliberately showed 2 randoms instead of the man in question. Again, this was intentional for some reason
@@2DimmMedia I think you reading to much into this. There are 6 people 8 if we count the corpses. We dont need to see every single one getting cut. It just saves time. And its perfect chance for Mac to assimilate them but he didnt so he is human at that point at least.
This is such a good theory that I thought I was the first to think of it, but after seeing how well you nail this down- I don't even want to make a video on it! The only thing I'd say that adds to this theory is how the dog looks directly at Mac as he's going to the base, the dog is putting two and two together, how that helicopter pilot might be someone he wants to assimilate, but already has (at least in the process of it as it slowly takes over.) I mean, why would Mac proudly claim "I'm human, if you all weren't, you'd jump me" as he holds the only known weapon to hurt them, he knows he'd win that encounter. I think for as much as the thing is a communal being, taking from everyone, Mac being a loner strategist influenced this thingification. Mac thing seems to use Blaire as the scapegoat for the final part of the movie (where there has been nothing for a day or two) Mac sets the dominoes for everything to fall, so he can look like the hero most know him as, while hopefully being the last left (oops, hello Childs!). Just another thought, I think the slow assimilation comes with a lot of terror for the crew, where Blaire has a noose in his cell, but says "I'm completely fine, come on, let me out!" That's once the assimilation has finished, but not before the thing has cleaned up the evidence. In the same way, Mac has this moment with the diary, where he starts craddling the J&B again, but looks at it like he has just had an idea, or that it's clouding his judgement, what would really cloud his judgement would be 'not feeling like himself,' which he is all to familiar with alcohol, so it's like there's something else encroaching on his mind. Either ways, this video does give breath to The Thing once again.
@2DimmMedia maybe. In your other video, you mention the thing music playing in the beginning, and at the end, when child's takes a sip. It could mean several things, and it's really cool. Could mean child's is now infected, and that's why macready smiles. Could be that child's was already infected and when he takes a sip, he now infects the drink and they likely share the bottle. Or possibly the bottle contains gasoline because they used the bottles for the purpose of burning everything. The possibilities are endless. Also, macready gets beaten by the computer in the beginning, and in retaliation, spills his drink into the computer, killing it. Perhaps when he was defeated (had a flamethrower pointed at and him and not knowing if child's was the thing) poured the drink (gave child's a bottle that possibly could have had gasoline) and that's why he smiles. All really interesting!
I like the theory. The semi juice is funny, but when you brought it up, I immediately thought of red in The Six Sense. It’s a visual queue for infection. Also Carpenter is smart enough to be ambiguous enough for multiple interpretations. The truth will only come from him. But again I like this theory.
Of course! And I'm only claiming Mac is a thing. Childs has no on screen proof. Just lack there of for his innocence. So it's a 50/50 if Mac is the thing! And only JC can answer that question
One thing you fell for was the blood fridge/keys. The issue of the keys was a red herring to sow confusion. This is demonstrated by the blood oozing out of the bottom of the fridge as they approach it. A refrigerator maintains the cold inside using a soft rubber bumper which is slightly compressed when the door is closed, making a seal. Now, look at the blood bags when the door is opened. Every bag has numerous slashes in it, which would have taken time to do. If the thing had been too slow, there would already have been blood on the floor. Too quickly, and the blood wouldn't have poured out until the door was opened. Conclusion? The thing did NOT use the keys to open the door to the blood fridge. Rather, it slipped an appendage up between the rubber bumper on the bottom of the door and the body of the fridge, slashed the blood bags, then withdrew its appendage and got away. This would deform the bumper on the bottom of the door, thereby breaking the seal and letting the blood leak out before the door was opened.
Depending on the type of virus or bacterial organism, even medical alcohol may be insuffiecient, particularly if you emidiately swallow the virus/bacteria in question.
Although I don't agree with your theory, the 4D chess play by play is an amazing interpretation! Well done! They beauty of the movie is you can insert almost any character into the 4d chess model, with evidence and theory and still make the theory work. It's a MASTER class in writing! But no, Childs is def the Thing! Hahaha!
I thought Fuukes was the one that told Mac that people should prepare their own food? Which means by your theory Mac kills him. This means only Mac and the audience knows about the possible contamination through food. So the argument that Childes would of had that knowledge at the end is debunked. So there was no reason for Childes NOT to take a sip, since it was only Mac that got the information from Fuukes who seemingly and suspiciously died after giving out that recommendation to Mac.
Correct. Childs wouldn't have any info of it. I never made the argument that Childs had knowledge of of contamination through drinks. The commenters did.
@@2DimmMedia Right, both arguments for Childes being aware of contamination to avoid food from other people either with preventative measures or if Mac was testing him would be debunked. So why would Childes be suspicious of the bottle? Or why would Mac be testing Childes, since we never visually see Childes being informed by Mac or Fuukes (before his death) about food? Your theory really puts a nice new perspective that adds to the mystery. Great job man!
I genuinely love the dual attempt to be less abrasive while simultaneously being just as if not more abrasive. 😆 I'm on this man's side for that reason alone lmao
I think because Childs had the flamethrower, McReady would have no choice but to assimilate him with the alcohol. This also was shown with Fuch's death as the thing is not afraid to eliminate someone with a flamethrower if they are alone. If Childs were the thing, he'd kill McReady then wait for himself to freeze, hoping to be discovered by humans. But this didn't happen. Or they could just both be human.
Hello chap - I think that , combined with Carpenter's own directorial personality & signatures , your point is very cool . Your po8nt makes great sense - I'm 55 , saw this film on its trease & have loved it ever since , I'd never seen this thread . I love it because it's hiding in plain sight .
I thought it was a given when MacReady said to Childs "Let's just wait here awhile... see what happens." Back to how the movie started, the Thing back in ice waiting for another thaw, another chance. If MacReady was still human, he should, no he WOULD have said "Let's get finishing burning down the place and go out in style... just in case." You don't have to prove anything, it's all right there. 30:33 You thought it happened then? Oh no, MacReady was still human even when he fought Blair. Carpenter did a really fun thing when he switch the POV to Childs at the end, we lost sight of MacCready. That's all it took, a bit of Blair and that's all they wrote for MacReady..
I believe MacReady being the thing before that explains how Blair got infected. On screen I mean. Anything can happen off screen. But like I said in my original video. Mac drinks the smirnoff that Blair has and then Blair decides not to end himself anymore. Because he has fully assimilated by then
@@nathairius8753 Why would Childs agree that freezing to death is the best solution? I think MacReady took the wrong lesson from the blood test. He thought proving himself human would result in everyone attacking him if they were all turned. However, I think that while each Thing can recognize other Things, that won't force them to work against their instinct of assimilation and self-preservation. Survival of the fittest replaced by survival of those who fit in best.... once they removed all the Thing sensing dogs at least. Wait... is it a hive mind too? Or would it be more akin to social insects... Oh. OOHH, it's BOTH! It's a cumulative existence, it keeps all the memories and knowledge of past being but then adds the new knowledge of its present body. So they're individuals who can work towards a common goal using shared knowledge like a hive mind but they can also sacrifice earlier versions of itself if it helps to lengthen the chain of new Things like social insects. Evolution, fear it.
That's what it seems to be on screen. Except Blair was attacking at the end even when he didn't know they figured out a way to discover if someone was a thing 🤔 But he was cornered at that point
"They both are the thing. THE END." - You can't be more metal and grim that that! xDDDD But, yeah. It's part of Apocalipse trilogy for a reason: the horror wins in the end, it can be delayed but will win eventually in the end. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
@@lorand5578 Yes. But don't change the fact that whatever one of them be human, he still will die from freezing. While the thing will just sleep, waiting the rescue team.
Your theory is not original, and has been plastered all over reddit for decades. Its been disproven time and time again, as there are significant leaps in logic youd have to make to have this theory work.
I disagree on all points you just stated. While reddit has a few similar points, mine has more than double the proof and all on screen evidence is debunk proof 🤷♂️ mainly because it's on screen. And they arent leeps when evidence supports the big picture
@@2DimmMedia I think the biggest flaw is Mac fighting the Blair Thing. The explanation doesn't wash. (First, Blair thing wasn't trying to leave Earth, just Antarctica, so that he could infect the world), which a Mac Thing would have wanted. An explanation of killing the monster Blair so that Mac could go stealth doesn't work. Blair only monstered out because it was cornered, and presumably, could have also gone back to being just Blair for any potential rescue team.
@@2DimmMedia I'm waiting for you next video claiming that the mother in The Exorcist was also possessed by the demon all along, and she only called in the exorcists to avoid suspicion and go undetected. And at the end, she makes her escape with no one suspecting a thing.
My issue is you don’t ever see Macready drink from that bottle again! He seemed to be too busy flying to the Norwegian camp. He also pulled the fire alarm getting a beer out of the refrigerator when if he was The Thing he would probably know the dog was assimilating the other dogs. If Things recognize one another especially! Norris and Palmer gave each other a look when Nauls came back and they were discussing Macready being one of them. Seemed like they were trying to create doubt to protect The Thing.
I would like to add that Macready was alone with Fuchs in the tractor outside before Bennings was assimilated. Why didn’t he assimilate Fuchs? He had plenty of time to do it!
Thanks for your followup. How about this? MacReady is NOT the Thing until after he kills the giant monster Thing. After all, pivotal events occur off-screen. He could have been turned into a Thing. Then it makes sense for him to pass Childs the bottle, thus making Childs a Thing, as well. It disrupts your theory that he was a Thing much, much earlier in the movie, though, but does make sense thematically (the drinking and passing of the bottle is a legitimate motiff, as you mentioned). I'm not sure this is the case, but now that you've brought up the possibility of MacReady potentially being the Thing I can't see the movie in the same way ever again. Much appreciated, as the POV has value. But I'm not certain at all and will keep thinking about it.
ive always thought this was what happened. And i used to think they just let themselves freeze Thing is.. we already know the things dont have to do this. They turned into husky's to survive. Once there were only things left they could have turned into husky's or sea lions or whatever and survived.
in the end there's no proof of Childs or Mac being the Thing. Childs is very suspicious, however if he was the Thing there isn't really a reason why he wouldn't kill Mac at the end of the movie, or just avoid Mac all together and freeze. I personally like the movie ending with paranoia and fear amongst two normal humans who ultimately don't know who's who.
Yeah, no. While I like this interpretation and won't be surprised if it's what they go with if we ever get a sequel, it's a bit crap. Reality is the movie lays out the thing's plan to let itself freeze again. There's absolutely no strategic advantage in the final confrontation for the thing(s) vs just walking off at any point, dropping a limb somewhere (where'd all that blood scurry to btw?), or just staying hidden. Especially after the facility is blown up by McCready, exposing itself just increases the likelihood it gets taken down. I like the sneeze idea too, but issue, how would the thing know humans can sneeze? As the saying goes, pics or it didn't happen. The "everyone is the thing" is also interesting, but I don't recall the movie setting up anything that could validate it. I'm not seeing how people have come to the conclusion things can't identify each other or are the type to wear lone wolf howling at the moon shirts. Especially as one obviously has to infect someone, meaning that one knows who it turned.
There's no evidence to support alot of the theories. That's kind of the hang up. No proof they communicate nor that they can. No proof that they know one another or not too.
@@2DimmMedia Still a really interesting idea though. Literally went "oh I like that!" when it came up. Be a pain in the ass to find a way to sensibly justify it though beyond some handwavy bullshit like "because alien." Kinda pokes a hole in the point of taking over an entire planet if things can't tell who's who. Thinking about what that would look like, almost turns the idea onto a horror sitcom.
With all the Stations only 50 Miles Away. A Giant explosion could not only be seen, (at night) but detected, with the Seismic stuff. ( Since the Radio was gone) Wich would send a Rescue Team. Mc Reedy was the One that Burned all the Evidence down, even Buried the Bodys with the Bulldozer, because he wanted to get out NOT Frozen. With an Excuse why everybody is Dead and to reach Civilisation before someone else notices that the Norway Station is gone too. it was 100% Mcreedy Carpenter Build this Whole Story around.
It could know sneezing because upon assimilation things gain the memories of those they assimilate. Otherwise how would Blair thing know how to build a ship? It remembers knowledge from all aching assimilates
3:40 The computer does cheat for the moves we see can not be done in the fashion shown. It is most probably broken - that's why he destroyed it so fast, it was already broken to begin with. So his action was not hot tempered. Probably.
Here's your entire theory thrown out the window: Macready was a pilot that could've easily flown away at any point. Roll credits and end movie! Even if you were to say that he was the 1st person to be infected, my guy.....your theory is thrown out again, because he would've just immediately gotten in the helicopter and flown away. Why do you think Blair built the space ship? Because all other vehicles got destroyed before he got turned. In the future when you present theories, drop the negative colorful language.
Just came here from the last video, I like that you’re branching into the big what-ifs and talking about what most wouldn’t think of! I like that the movie does its job so well that it’s still being discussed today. It’s fun to think about! Like I said on the last video, good stuff!
I wish carpenter would be like ok this guy got it right, im sure someone has on youtube by this point. Yours definitely made me think holy shit it might actually be him. Also gamervet definitely told everyone in the mw2 lobby his dad was the ceo of microsoft and he was gonna report them.
In the comics a woman who became a thing attacks a man she tricked into helping her but the man turned out to also be a thing so they definitely cant tell each other apart Edit: Another thing from the comics is that things will kill each other to keep the trust of the humans and maintain their disguise
I think mcready (or any other thing for that matter) not sneezing on everyone can be explained by self preservation. If he doesnt want to die from a bunch of paranoid, jumpy, well armed apes destroying everyone around them and then themselves. If a single human figures out what happened, there is a huge chance they immedeatly allert everyone, which immedeatly sky rockets the chances you, as a thing, get destroyed.
I think the most compelling evidence personally is the ending. If mcready figured out childs was the thing y would he just sit there and go to sleep and do nothing about it. I just don't see a reason for that
Know im late, but the same argument as to why childs sits there and accepts his death could be said the same for Mcready. Its not just mcready could be trying to assimilate childs. It could just be 2 men (or 1 men depending on who the thing is) just accepting their inevitable end. Theyre stuck in the antartic with no shelter with one, both, or none of them possibly being at ends with the other, and neither are sure which it is
NGL things start to fall apart when half of this video is "see, it's intentional, he planned this, he's thought out this plan, it makes sense" and the other half is "it's a movie, sometimes illogical things happen just to push the story, sometimes characters aren't perfectly smart". You can't have both.
My biggest gripe with this is that if Mac was the thing why didn’t he just infect all the people while they were tied up during the blood testing scene? All it would take it to just touch them and leave some skin cells it doesn’t make any sense
Regarding the whole earring argument: As far as I remember, in the prequel they show that the Thing can't replicate non-organic matter and so they can test to see if people are things by checking if they have dental fillings. Of course then the Thing wouldn't be able to recreate an earring. But then later in the prequel, the main character notices that another teammember has their earring in the opposite ear of what they usually do (It used to be in the right ear, is now in the left, or reverse). She concludes that the Thing has learned to grow around the earring, probably after it saw that the humans used this as a tactic to root it out. Since that happened in the prequel, the Thing in the original would know that it should pay attention to things like earrings.
Is it possible that although the thing assimilates others to spread, but in doing so creates an individual entity in doing so. There may be one original "Thing", but there are individual things spawned when it assimilates others. I've always thought Mac was a Thing, so it's possible that Mac Thing was going rogue and playing his own game against its own kind, kinda like establishing it's own line and ensuring it's survival.
That's absolutely possible and can be inferred by the blood syrome scene. As how every piece will act on their own to survive and leave a burning comrad or like the cpr scene when Palmer(who was a thing at the time), rats out the head crab thing just to seem more human.
@@2DimmMediagoing back to the chess analogy again. Each thing has an inbuilt desire to protect its own life. So by shifting suspicion onto others and establishing trust it makes it's own survival and job a lot easier. Notice how Mac isn't declared the leader or tries to take the role of leader up, people just trust him enough and are happy to do what he says. Mac Thing had the game rigged from the start and it knew it, had people willing to go alone with him all the time
Absolutely. Number one on my list and to alot of people for sure! This movie will go down for sure as one of if not the best horror movie of all time and will be debated forever. Even if a sequel is made. Which like is said, is a possibility
Just want to point out a glaring flaw with the vid's logic here that you may have overlooked: While I do agree the open and close are nothing to write home about, as they're a bit slow and understated, the core verses of XXX are some fkn fiiirrrreeeeee. Don't skip this one, just scrub to 0:58 and listen to 2:30. You're welcome 👌 Seriously though, glad to see more vids from you, keep up the great work!
The answer to the video is NO. Childs was clearly a thing at the end of the movie, He ran away from his post "chasing after blair" even though Blair was clearly in the generator room destoying it as power went down right after Childs left his post, and the fact that McCready would have no reason to leave a black box message for the recovery team, specifically telling them that the thing "rips through your clothes" and Kurt Russell later confirmed that he still had the flamethrower at the end of the movie when he was talking to Childs who was the thing, failing a simple test by showing no worry for infection and taking a drink of whisky.
Childs was very distrustful of Mac. But he took the bottle at the end. Maybe because he was the thing, yeah. But I think: He took the bottle because Mac never told the other guys about Fuchs' idea.
I don't believe Blair could leave the planet in the tiny ship he was cobbling in the tunnel as the presenter stated. Compare it to the HUGE ship they find crashed. That was an intergalactic vessel. Blair's little saucer is designed to reach civilization on Earth.
I thought of something watching this.
After Fuchs finds Macs clothes and he's killed offscreen, the clothes aren't at the scene. If the clothing was left to frame Mac, why would that person hide it before Fuchs body was found?? It would have been the perfect set up. Of all places to hide it, why in Macs shed? And not just laying around on the floor, it was STUFFED somewhere as if not to be found. So the clothes go from being a means to frame Mac to being a secret?
Seems kind of like that's not the intent at all, right?
Edit: finally a comment worth pinning on this video!
@@Lolaloveslemons the things adopted the suspicion of the ppl and started trying to frame each other maybe? maybe that's why macready said F u too,.. hmm
@@staxsonsuntoast1639 They'd naturally each desire to use the others as red herrings. In a desperate survival situation, people can turn on each other pretty quickly. A thing is genetically the same as all others. There would only be a need for one to survive. You can drive your quarry insane chasing monsters around while the one who was most adept would be able to remain hidden.
This movie was the ultimate in misdirection.
@@michaeldavid6832 oh cool yeah makes sense
It is reasonable to assume that the clothes were hidden in Mac's shed to frame him though... Even if the body was discovered and then the clothes, either way suspicion would fall to Mac. Just another way for The Thing to draw attention away from itself. It wouldn't make any sense for it to draw attention to the person it has replaced, because in the 1982 movie it is acting to protect itself. In the 2011 movie it would definitely do this since that one is just a lesser rehashing of the 82 movie as it was just a slasher. It makes no sense for a creature trying to hide in plain sight to draw attention to himself when they all have proven they will burn the assimilated alive to ensure the thing won't escape. Even at the very end, it is in Character for Mac to hand off his bottle we saw him do it at the start when the guy got shot in the leg(I can't remember the man's name sue me). While yes they did also institute the rule of not sharing food or drink, the facility is burning, at that point it wouldn't matter if the Thing survived, It wouldn't have anywhere to go.
I would describe this film's narrative as "perfectly crafted ambiguousness". It's over 40 years old, and yet even younger generations can still have fun with it. Coming up with theories. Discussing them. Debating them. Insulting and attacking each other over them... It's great!
For real. I agree 🤣
Until you play the companion sequel games or listen to the commentary before it became fun to troll or make hypothesis.
Mac isn't infected but it's fun to pretend.
Completely agree.
I watched it when first released, on a driven-in big panel, from a balcony of a hotel in San Diego. No other vacationers cared or discovered the view. The audio was still fed thru those old school metal speakers so the audio was clear. Was great!
At 14 ,I then had to wait for the vhs "viral" phenomenon to help make this the famous revolution . 👋
Childs is standing there with a flame thrower. That’s why human Mac (or Mac Thing) doesn’t attack him. Look close.
true they don't make anything near this good right now....
Twist ending: MacReady was just a psychopath who enjoys drinking gasoline and wanted everyone else to drink gasoline then as they got high on gasoline one-by-one they all shared gasoline induced hallucinations. That's how Fuchs burned so much, MacReady knew Fuchs was secretly consuming high-octane gasoline and didn't want to share. That's why Blair was building a vehicle, the natural companion to gasoline. That's why they did the blood test using a hot poker, to see how well they each combust. Moral of the story: Use gasoline responsibly.
😱😱😱 I didn't even think of that
Game changer
Okay, this is my most favorite theory from now on xD Ahahahaha! Awesome!
Don't be RamaRama the petrol goes into your car!
He should’ve been in The Lighthouse movie where they start drinking kerosene after all the provisions are gone 😂
It doesn’t make sense that MacReady is the thing because we are shown that the thing cares about its survival. MacReady was willing to blow himself up and everyone there. Also you cant use the fact that it wasn’t shown that MacReady cut his thumb in front of everyone in the blood test scene when we aren’t shown everyone doing that. I think in the end it’s more likely that neither one of them are the thing because we see from Blair that the thing isn’t affected by the cold that much because Blair was running around with no coat at the end of the movie seemingly unfazed by the cold. While Childs and MacReady are deeply affected by the cold at the end of the movie. And earlier in the movie when MacReady gets locked out and breaks in to grab the dynamite, he had to warm himself up and there is a scene of him trying to move his hand. It just makes sense that the true twist is that the thing is dead and Childs and MacReady are paranoid that either or might be the thing since they don’t know what the other has been up to and have no way to confirm if they are the thing.
He didn’t heart your comment, it’s true 💀
John carpenter said it's one of them forsure it's not neither and it's not both it's forsure one of them is the thing
He never confirmed nor denied anything. He just slyly says "Maybe! We don't know!"
However, I think MacReady is the thing because we see him share him share drinks with everyone after told not to.
Childs wasn't there when they said to not do that.
Also, McReady says The Alien just wants to go to sleep in the cold again. At the end Child's asks "What do we do now?" McReady says "We wait."
I have other, more off the wall, nitpicky stuff that can just be continuity.
But two things that were mentioned Explicitly to the Audience: "Don't share food or drinks" and "The Thing wants to go back to sleep in the cold"
Both of those are what McReady wants to do at the end
@@robbcoleman469
If mcready or childs the thing wouldn’t they just kill the other one at the end?
That is a great thought I agree 110%
I think that neither Childs or MacReady are the Thing at the end, but they are now both sufficiently paranoid enough to let themselves die to prove it.
They were dying regardless what they thought
Play PS2 The Thing.
As the rescue team.
Then you find out 100% no guessing.😂
Carpenter said one of them is a Thing at the end
@@Mercurial_Phoenix John carpenter said the game was canon, I don't know exact details but he "worked closely" with the devs as well according to IMDB. One of the things he did though was voice a character and get that character modeled after him, after he did that he went on to endorse the game. The fact that this is a debate is ridiculous when the answer has been confirmed over 2 decades ago.
@ he also endorsed a comic which had a different answer. The game makes no sense
Maybe the real friends were the things we turned into along the way.
🤣🤣 the closest of friends
@@2DimmMedia you know there has to be some messed up rule 34 stuff about how close Childs and MacCready got at the end. Real close friends, like the room mate your aunt keeps bringing along to Thanksgiving.
There has to be, but I'm not gonna research that 😂😂
Now there is@@jaykaye594
@@2DimmMedia too close too be literally inside the body XD
I think that Macready taking a drink from Blair's bottle is clear evidence that he IS the thing as he knows not to share food and drink
It just shows how amazing this movie is, that decades later, almost half century, we still discussing the plot and mystery
Yep. It is ahead of its time while also being timeless. I love it!
I love the movie but I hate this opinion people keep saying.
No it wasn't such a great movie because half a century later we still talk about it. People literally talk about bad movies that are decades old.
We are talking about it a decade later because it's on replayable media and some people enjoyed it.
Such a microscopic percent of the population has seen, liked, or cares about this movie. The only reason you are seeing it is because you youtube and Google similar topics so the algorithm does what it's designed to and puts this niche video infront of you.
It's not because of the films quality, which is amazing, it's because TH-cam is literally programmed to send you stuff it thinks you'll watch. For example I watch alot of true crime, horror, and horror games. I've rewatched my favorite game Silent Hill 2 like 10 times in the last year. Because of that I get alot of recommendations for stuff that can be categorized under that. Such as obscure cult classic films like the Thing.
But most people will never have anything like this pop up.
TLDR; your favorite movie isn't special because it's old. You're not refined for liking an old movie.
@Ringodingo......you should sit down and take a breath.....there are so many juicy, foolish bits in your comment i dont have time, so ill just paste this
Numerous publications have ranked it as one of the best science fiction films, including number four by IGN (2016);[170] number 11 by Rotten Tomatoes (2024);[171] number 12 by Thrillist (2018);[172] number 17 by GamesRadar+ (2018);[173] number 31 by Paste (2018);[174] number 32 by Esquire (2015) and Popular Mechanics (2017).[175][176]
Similarly, The Thing has appeared on several lists of the top horror films, including number one by The Boston Globe;[165] number two by Bloody Disgusting (2018);[177] number four by Empire (2016);[178] and number six by Time Out (2016).[179] Empire listed its poster as the 43rd best film poster ever.[73] In 2016, the British Film Institute named it one of ten great films about aliens visiting Earth.[180] It was voted the ninth best horror film of all time in a Rolling Stone readers poll,[166] and is considered one of the best examples of body horror.
OBSCURE INDEED
Man. That sequel was *so good* right up until the post production guys got hold of it. The entire point of making the film in the first place was a special effects team wanting to show off their practical effects skills, so they bought the rights and made this movie to present their incredible skills. It was all amazing. They didn't find out until the movie premier that all their hard work had been covered over by shabby CG. Like, not even good for 2011 CG, just totally phoned in. Aaaaand they never got work again. If you haven't seen any, watch some documentaries about the making of the 2011 Thing. It's so much lost potential.
Oh I know. I have gone on a whole tanget about the sequel but decided to cut it out.. it was too much of a digression.. I fully agree cg killed it
@@2DimmMediaso there is a 2011 Thing version with animatronics instead of CGI? That's so depressing.
I agree. We still get to see their excellent practical work during that autopsy scene near the beginning.. but alas, everything else afterwards though, is yeah.. bland cg.
It's a prequel
@@Petahhhhh Right, but I was more referring to it as the next movie in the series rather than the previous movie in the story.
The dog scene may add credit to this, apparently the thing made the lights not work in the cage, homie left and turned off the light, then returns and the light just doesn't work. Later, Mac uses the light on in his cabin to separate them further. I think the "things" that just start turning into grotesque monsters are extensions to throw the others off, while protecting the primary.
One of the major issues with what you said in the previous video is that Macready wacked the guy who told him about eating food from cans. The problem is Macready left the room to the right, and the figure is seen coming from the left... So did he make some huge circle or what?
That's actually a very good catch.
mac is never the only thing
Also mentioning why he doesn't kill Childs in the end. The original script had him do just that as a callback to the computer chess scene. Carpenter removed it for the sake of ambiguity.
I’ve seen your original video a few times and it’s a fascinating theory. 👍
It's certainly well thought out.
Thank you! I worked hard on both!
While i dont fully subscribe to your theory, mostly because of the final boss argument doesn't satisfy my problem - what your theory does do, is make the movie ambiguous again. I thought i had it all figured out, amd while my breakdown of events and who gets turned when still makes sense, you introduced other ways that also make sense. Im no longer 99% sure i know who is who. You brought ambiguity and mystery back to my favorite movie. Thank you
I recently rewatched The Thing, and I’ve come to believe that MacReady is, in fact, the Thing. Childs’ line, "So, how do we know who's human? If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know if it was really me?" is key. The Thing can replicate its prey with complete accuracy, meaning that from the moment it assimilates someone, it retains their knowledge, behavior, and memories.
Throughout the film, MacReady exhibits traits that set him apart from the rest of the crew. He doesn't like being cheated, isolates himself in his own tower rather than staying in the barracks, and struggles to connect with the others-making him an outsider. This detachment raises suspicions about his true nature.
There are several key decisions MacReady makes that point toward him being the Thing. First, after Blair sabotages the communication equipment and descends into madness, MacReady ensures Blair is isolated, neutralizing the potential threat he poses. When Childs challenges his leadership, MacReady steps in to take control, yet he doesn’t object earlier when Norris-who we later discover is infected-assumes the role.
If MacReady were a perfect imitation, killing other infected crew members would be a calculated move to earn the group's trust and divert suspicion. After Fuchs’ death and the discovery of MacReady’s torn clothing, he eliminates threats one by one, such as Clark, whom he shoots even though he likely knows bullets won’t kill a Thing. This act isn’t just self-defense but a way to remove Clark, who was unpredictable and could jeopardize the Thing's plans.
Consider MacReady's choices for assistants during the blood test: Windows and Nauls-arguably the weakest crew members-are selected, possibly because they are easier to manipulate. Later, when MacReady decides to destroy the entire base, he essentially dooms everyone, rationalizing it as their only option. He even convinces Garry and Nauls to sacrifice themselves, leading them down into the lower levels where they meet their demise, likely becoming assimilated.
One critical moment is when Childs disappears, believing he saw Blair. No one pursues him, which is curious if MacReady were truly human. If MacReady is the Thing, ignoring Childs serves a purpose: with the base destroyed, the Thing’s survival is assured, as it can survive being frozen and wait for rescue. The humans, however, would perish in the cold.
MacReady’s actions, when viewed through this lens, are not those of a hero but of a creature ensuring its survival by eliminating threats, manipulating trust, and securing its position.
It's definitely interesting how the behaviors and symbols that depict a strong individualist hero archetype can also align with the depiction of the other, an alien separate from humanity that is determined to survive, prey on others, and deceive.
yep and also after fuchs told mcready to tell the others to not share food we just assumed that mcready told them offscreen but in fact we are not sure if he really did as thats the most important thing ever and this is furthered by the scene where he took a drink from blair and at the end gives a drink to childs to which neither of them says anything against it which tells me mcready didnt tell anyone about fuchs big discovery. also fuchs died literally after that lol
I think it's far more reasonable to assume that getting the blood was in front of everyone. If he left the room and came back with a petri dish of blood, there'd be literally a 0% chance of anyone believing him.
The Thing and The Shining are both two very ambitious and ambiguous films with open interpretations. And they're both over 40 years old and they're still generating many new theories.
This is the testament of what a well crafted film with even practical effects and good writing can produce.
Your theory/film analysis is still really thought provoking. And I personally love that there's a new way to view/interpret this movie. Congrats!
And both are on the top of my list! Thank you!
@@2DimmMedia Cool cool ... You're welcome dude.
Unlike movies like Alien, another one of the greatest Horror films ever made, where we're only shown 2 or 3 seconds of the Xenomorph gliding through the corridors or salivating in close up getting ready to strike, or Brucie in JAWS only being shown for a few seconds max at a time, forcing us to fill in the blanks in our imaginations, The Thing shows us everything. It lingers to such an extended degree of Horror that the Horror becomes the How's and Why's and Who's!
Many people regard The Thing as a Whodunit, but it's actually about Suspicion and Paranoia. There's no real way of knowing who is The Thing at any given time unless explicitly shown. As many theories that naturally abound about all of the Red Harrings of the story, all we can really know for sure is that we can never really know for sure, such is the brilliance of The Thing.
Correct
My Dad said people were freaking out in theaters and even running out sick when Alien first came out
As someone that knows people who work in the medical field, they teach you how to remove gloves without contaminating yourself. It's actually pretty interesting
Honestly I can see either way, and even see a theory that neither of them are infected. Its such a great movie
True ending with a twist: the entire movie was a dream john carpenter had while passed out on the toilet; a cold draft coming in from a cracked open window is why it seemed antartic, and the thing from another world was playing in the livingroom in the baclground
I would lose it 🤣 sounds like a spongebob episode ending
I've only watch your video 2-3 times but i always watched the entire thing. I've always heard one side to the theories but the McReady is the Thing is new and well crafted.
Happy to hear that! I appreciate the support and I am glad to bring this theory to more people
So the original movie came out in 1951 based off a book from the 1940’s. John Carpenter’s version is actually much more similar to the original book.
The most interesting thing in the book that is never started in both movies is that you don’t really become “The Thing” until you die. Now a more interesting theory is that MacReady never died but does know he is infected.
In the book everyone doesn’t know they are infected except the main character. Once a character dies they start to turn into a monster. The monsters know everyone is infected and are purposely trying to kill people that have not turned yet. At the end of the book you find out the mind of “The Thing” and the main character combines into one entity. Everyone else had to die to become the thing except the main character.
The idea is the real monster was man but the book takes an interesting and darker tone with some eugenics ideas involved.
I really like this theory, but I’m still torn which is honestly awesome because I think that’s the point of the movie. It has possibly the best ending ever. Every time Childs takes that sip and the “BUM BUM” starts playing I’m immediately thrown back into a state of paranoia, distrust, and a feeling that something’s off but I can’t quite put words to it.
Incredible.
Yes. It does its job very well. This movie is paranoia
I feel either mcready is the thing because in the prequel it didnt know how smart humans are at detective work and learned from its mistakes and it makes sense to act the most paranoid and infect the bottle at the end.
OR
They both are human and if indeed alchohol is somthing that the thing disliks Childs taking adrink confirms he is human and Mcready chuckles realizing he doesnt have to die the only human and the music at the end just empathizes the reaization they still lost to the thing. The thing still has blood and parts of itself undiscovered or forgotten in the area that can just reassemble itself at a later time when people come to investigate.
Great video both this one and the one before. I agree tiktok brain attention span ruins appreciation for a lengthy explanation. Well done
I heard carpenter on a commentary just the other day say they did plan to make Mac the Thing and then chose to keep it ambiguous. Kurt was talking to him and said “So Mac was never the Thing, right? Right?” And Carpenter just laughed.
Both of them sitting waiting to die makes no sense unless they both 100% know they are both human . Because you don’t want it to freeze and continue to infect the rescuers.
That is true! I mean unless they just don't care anymore. But I do like thinking that they are both the thing. That's the most poetic in my eyes
The audio diary -- MacReady erases the tail portion of "Nobody trust's anyone anymore." That was always odd to me. Like he was hiding a clue from anyone who found the tapes.
It is a very interesting detail indeed!
The first time I watched this movie its crazy because I had no clue who the thing was and definitley didnt think it was mccready wow the whole movies changes with that gonna have to give it another watch now.
Came from your last Thing video and was glad to hear some of these explanations.
Two things I noticed on a rewatch that you didn't address, one being much more important than the other:
#1: Everybody automatically assumes the "dirty drawls" that were found came from Palmer after he assimilated. However, Mcready can be seen wearing the exact same longjohns in the opening sequence of the film under his grey shirt. In fact, just about every character is wearing this type of cloth. His labeled vest was obviously mangled and re-hidden after being discovered by fuchs, but nobody talks about the undergarments. Mcready is seen inspecting them by the radio before throwing them in the trashcan when the doctor calls him to the store room. This leads me to my second observation..
#2: NAULS was the one to find the torn up undergarments when he rolls into the lounge and says "who left their dirty drawls in the kitchen trash can?"... the next time we see what we can only assume to be the same garments are mcready throwing them away in the radio room. However, when we return to mcready's next radio diary scene, there's more drawls on his desk and he is again inspecting them, concluding it tears through your clothes. He tells the radio that WINDOWS found the shredded longjohns. He's either lying, has bad memory, or is referring to an off-screen scene where windows indeed finds additional clothes.
I might be over-analyzing but i felt that was the only stone left unturned with your videos. Seriously great work man, i enjoyed diving back into this.
Thank you for these observations! I'll have to look back at it again with this in mind!
Im fine with Mac being the thing at the end, and Childs not. It makes sense to me, for two reasons. 1) we see Clark petting the Thing Dog at the beginning of the movie, like 5 minutes after the Thing Dog licks Bennings, and we know after he gets shot in the head and has is blood tested, that Clark is in fact not The Thing; further it is even mentioned that Clark spent MORE time then that with the Thing Dog off screen. With that, plus Bennings not showing any signs of being The Thing until we see him be assimilated by the Norwegian Corpse that thawed out, im will to go with the idea that the thing does not assimilate randomly, or just by touch, but has to make a conscious effort to assimilate. Reason 2) Mac is he only character, besides Bennings at the beginning, and Childs at the very end, that we see actually DRINK any alcohol. Sure we see a lot of open ore empty bottles, we see people with drinks in front of them and in their hands even. But we ONLY see Mac drink from either the JB bottle, or from a glass, through out the movie. It's not until the end of the movie that we see Mac NOT drink from the bottle of JB, but give it to Childs, that i think suggests a shift in the character, a shift that means something. IMO, since we know that contact with The Thing is not enough to guarantee assimilation, and Bennings being assimilated later, i think we can at least give it better then 50/50 odd thats either A) Mac is The Thing, Childs is not, or B) Both are human, and perhaps Mac is testing one last theory by giving Childs the bottle to drink from.
N ready is thing cause Fuchs told him his plan. And the rest of the movie Mcready does the opposite. Even the last scene. Meaning even if he did or did not kill Fuchs. He was the only one that knew not share food. Yet did so for the rest of the movie. Especially at the last scene
I appreciate your wild take even if I don't agree with it. I tend to lean on the idea that Childes and MacReady are both human at the end but neither of them trust each other and are ready to die freezing to keep an eye on each other
Yeah. That would be the best case scenario for the situation. And hopefully that's the case for humans!
If Childs was a Thing then he has no reason to approach MacReady OTHER THAN to kill the last human left at the outpost.
Which he doesn't do. He approaches MacReady because he wants to have a chat with him about what a whacky day they've had.
And if MacReady was a Thing then it makes sense that he would keep up the disguise - Childs is armed with a flamethrower, after all.
But why tell the truth about there being no other survivors? Tell Childs that, oh, I dunno, Nauls is still out there so we need to go look for him.
Anything to get Childs to turn his back so a MacReady Thing can attack.
But MacReady doesn't do that. He just sits down, shares a drink, and waits to freeze solid.
And if BOTH were Things they wouldn't be having THAT conversation. They'd be talking about Thing... err.... things.
They are both human.
The best thing (heh) about the movie is that 40 years later we’re still discussing it. Not knowing for sure who might be infected gets us into that paranoid mindset and we feel the characters’ fear.
Agreeing or disagreeing with the theory doesn't really matter. Your video about the topic was really nice to watch regardless of it. I felt like watching The Thing right after it and paid more attention to these small details than ever before The theory doesn't need to be correct. The fact that so many people debated about it says enough. It has fulfilled its purpose, so congratulations on it.
Thank you! And that's all that matters! Makes it a fresh viewing for returning viewers!
I never understood why people completely gloss over the fact that a smart chess player who knows sharing drinks could spread the thing hands Childs alcohal and suggests they wait and see what happens. Also did you notice how dramatic Childs was earlier in the movie, but at the end he is super calm? In my opinion they are both the thing in the end, but if I had to choose just one I think it’s Mac.
The original story was called "Who goes there?". The characters were never sure who was human, even thinking that they might not even know if they, themselves, were human anymore. Carpenter stayed very true to that vision. I think Carpenter purposely filled this movie with misleading information to throw the characters off the scent, and turn them against each other, as in the original story. He skillfully did it to the viewers too. I saw this movie when it premiered in the theaters, having already read the short story years before. I then read the novel based on the movie. Studios used to commission books of movies then. Through all of that, and much that has come since, I believe that Carpenter doesn't even know the whole story. I think it was never intended to be a riddle solved. I think he likes it that way. Sometimes a good storyteller likes to let the story tell itself. Great video, by the way.
Actually in the dog autopsy scene when Blair peels it back to reveal the dog his right arm, which is exposed, actually touches the thing.
I'll have to rewatch that scene with a keen eye but I don't remember his bare skin ever touching the thing. But I will check
I mean, I really don't know how people can so easily dismiss strong pieces of evidence such as MacReady's jacket in the snow or MacReady's insane response to the question about the cause of the "Maybe I Burned Myself Until It Got To Me" guy's death (sorry, forgot his name), so yeah, I think your theory is still the best one out there.
Thank you! And yeah, its crazy to me too..
I believe that one of your major defenses that “it’s just a movie so sometimes they can’t do obvious things to keep it interesting” deeply takes away from your argument
I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I literally play it going to sleep almost every night.... for like almost 2 years now. That's like over 500 times, I do fall asleep early on but still that's alot. I treat this movie as a murder-mystery where paranoia is just as much as an enemy as the alien Thing is. We start off with 12 humans, well 14 but the Norwegians quickly die so down to 12. Bennings gets assimilated and burned, down to 11. Fuchs dies somehow, 10. Norris fakes death from a heartattack(presumedly) and kills Copper, now 8. Clark gets shot in the face, 7. The Palmer thing kills Windows and gets set on fire and TNT'd, down to 5. Nauls and Garry both get assimilated by Blair Thing, down to 3. MacReady blows up the combined Blair, Nauls, Garry Thing, now just 2. The murder mystery no longer matters, its just 2 now and we know MacReady knows if this Thing gets loose it'll be doom for the whole planet so the game is up, it doesn't matter if Childs is the Thing or is human.... the only way to MAKE SURE 100% without a doubt is to both burn themselves up, blow themselves up, and leave nothing. So why the conversation? at this point its not a mystery, its a search n destroy. If MacReady was human he would've instantly killed Childs with the revolver he has on his hip he's carried the last half of the movie, BLAMMO shoot Childs in the face then burn his body to be sure..... but he doesn't... he talks to him. Strange. The Thing has a natural need for self-preservation, and KNOWING it has no way out now it just wants to "die" and freeze to death that way the rescue team can find the frozen body so not instantly killing each other at the end and just accepting a slow freezing to death IS THE WAY TO CONTINUE LIVING. Now the one thing MacReady knows NOT to do is to SHARE MOLECULES, yet he hands Childs the bottle. Childs KNOWS not to share molecules as well so a human Childs would NEVER accept it, that's like rule number-fucking-1 is DO NOT SHARE MOLECULES. Also another theme present is the human action of suicide, something The Thing cannot do because of it's need for self-preservation. MacReady figured this out when he saw the frozen Norwegian with his neck and wrists slit in the Norwegian camp. Suicide is the ONE ACTION that the Thing CANNOT DO, and its the one thing MacReady is absolutely ready to do multiple times in the film. So by "accepting fate" and MacReady saying "lets just wait here a while, see what happens" is basically the opposite of what the search n destroy mission's goals are which is to find and BURN the Thing so nothing remains. If MacReady and Childs just wait around and freeze to death instead of burning each other to death then there is a chance The Thing survives, in the frozen body of them. Point is, MacReady should've burned Childs or shot him in the head the INSTANT he saw him at the end: if Childs was human then ok, Childs is dead and throw his body in the fire.... if CHilds was a thing then the bullet wouldn't do anything and he could grab a spare stick of dynamite he had strapped to him and light it and BOOM the Childs Thing is gone.... but if both Childs and MacReady are the Thing then they wouldn't immediately be kill-on-sight but still be playing the murder-mystery game instead of the search n destroy game.... oh who is it idk .... Anyway this is long enough. Something to think about.... suicide is something only humans do in this film and The Thing only tries to survive.... some food for thought.
I re watched the thing recently, what I did notice was when they take Blair to the shed & McCready takes a sip of the bottle & puts it down in front of Blair, the camera holds with Blair staring at the bottle for just a touch to long. As in for you to notice it. I think the McCready being the Thing is a pretty solid theory when you watch the whole film.
I'll have to rewatch that scene. But do keep in mind Blair is plastered out his mind 😂 but I'll keep an eye out on that. Thank you!
Greetings from Germany! I don't know HOW your videos ended up in my youtube list, but I enjoyed the whole "The Thing" videos very much! Keep up the entertaining work! I really like how much thought and effort you put into this theory, the way you handle all those comments (good ones as well as bad ones), and I really enjoy your sense of humor :D Looking forward to more content from you!
Btw: I'm a believer now! From this day on, I'm in #TeamThingReady
Awesome! Thank you for watching and enjoying! That's awesome!
My remember the critics talking trash about the dog scene saying “it looked bad because the dogs were wagging their tails.
I really like this theory, but this entire thing hinges on an assumption.
An assumption that MacCready drank from the bottle. 👀
I have a bunch of other points relating to other characters, but because this is literally the crux and to keep this from not being an entire essay on the subject, I'll focus on this one glaring issue.
So once Bennings has the bottle, MacCready goes out to the helicopter with the others to extinguish the flames. You're telling me that Bennings brought him the bottle? From how far the helicopter was from them? AFTER being shot in the leg? Mind you, he is currently dealing with the helicopter and didnt have a J&B bottle when we follow up with him later counting Kerosene jugs. Here he is told to basically get ready to fly. His cabin is separated from the rest of the compound. So he went in to find Bennings who he hasnt previously checked up on since he was still outside when we see him later at the Norwegian heli to get a bottle of J&B knowing full well this man has stacks in his cabin, since we see them littered EVERYWHERE.
he then leaves for a MINIMUM of 2 and a half hours. Hour there, hour back, plus time to collect the burnt body.
Comes back and drinks from that bottle thats been around people who are shown to share alcohol throughout the movie?
"Wait and see what happens" always struck me as a bizarre final line. Only the Thing would want to freeze, yet both characters present accept this solution. They could have hugged a shared dynamite stick a la Aliens if they really wanted to be sure. But they didn't... despite all the struggle throughout the film, now they decide to be chill?
Bennings not being infected first is a huge flaw in this theory. But! I like it regardless, especially the idea of both Mac and Childs being infected at the end.
Ok so I came to a realization since I commented on your last video. How would McReady have gotten out alive or gotten a helicopter in the game sequel with his original goggles and hat? If it was one of the helicopters at the research facility then how did he repair it? Maybe he was The Thing assimilated and him picking you up at the end was a trick by the thing because that’s the only explanation I can think of for him being able to repair it. In the movie Blair builds a flying saucer with the parts from the helicopter. Now I’m not so sure anymore. :/
I believe they just wanted to have Macready in the game for a surprise ending. So again like I say in the video, I wouldn't read too deep in the game. But it is an interesting thought experiment if we do consider the game Cannon
Unless Carpenter was involved in the game, which would be unusual for games based on movies, it's not canon.
25:10 maybe Carpenter had them film a scene with Mac cutting himself for the blood test just so none of the actors would guess Mac was a Thing, then he cut the scene (or never intended to show it in the first place)…
Absolutely a possibility. Can't have the cast know during filming or it could change the dynamic subconsciously
The mental gymnastics required to justify this theory and ignore all the holes in it would be harder than surviving Outpost 31
🤣🤣🤣
I loved your first video and got me thinking. It blew my gord to see it in another perspective. "What if im rooting for the wrong guy the whole time?" Mind freaking blown!!!! 😆 Lol!!! For the new video debunking:) Keep it up!!!
I think you are correct. After Bennings jumps out the window Macready looks out the broken window meaning he was in the room with the keys!!!
Plus assimilation can happen without devouring the target. Remember when the dog walks into the room with the shadow, well guess what that person got assimilated and we still have a dog!!
And it was specifically written in the script that he plays chess, why would that be important if it never comes up in the movie. Macready Thing was playing chess the whole movie!
You brought something up in the first video essay to quell people who were contrary to the petri dish scene. You mentioned how with how grotesque The Thing is shown to be, it is not farfetched that MacReady thing could have made a little pocket with regular blood inside his thumb from the blood he stole to be able to "prove he's a human." But its also like you said, anything that was important was deliberately shown. If they really wanted to disprove MacReady, they would have shown his thumb directly. It was not important enough to show it on screen.
Based on your video essays, I am pretty much certain MacReady is a thing by the end of the movie. To be fair, I had that feeling my last couple of watch throughs, but never thought to go back and analyze. Thank you for your analysis!!
Yup. Sometimes it's about what isn't shown... I'm glad I could help you!
Please read because I’m curious about what your response to this is: first off I LOVE this take because you’re right that everyone is concerned about Childs, this is some great out of the box thinking. But I disagree for this reason: Mac gets everyone in the room with him where he’s the only one with a flame thrower during the blood test scene. If he was the thing, why doesn’t he hose the non-things or assimilate them at this time?
He needs a Excuse to get out when the Rescue Team comes. He Destroyed all evidence of the Thing, Blew the Whole Base up wich would explain why everybody is Dead. Not so much if they Find them Tied up in a Row.
I talk about that question in my follow up video. And funny enough, I also mention what @youcanhandlethetruth4695 said as well!
@@youcanhandlethetruth4695 it doesn't anwser the question above
@@lorand5578 It 100% Does. The Thing wants to get out of the frozen Zone. To do that, it needs to be pickt up by a Rescue Team. And IT can not be Put under suspicion of any kind, wich It learned. So all Evidence of the Mutation Bodys, Written Notes etc must be Destroyed. So the Last Survivor Mc Ready/The Thing, can come up with some Excuse of what Happend. If a Team comes into the Camp and finds all Others Burned in a Row, but him. They would immediately Put him into Cuffs and under some "He is Crazy" Why Quarantäne. The Whole Thing hat to look like a Desaster. The Camp was blown up, the THINGs where Buried after Burned, There is no Obvious Evidence any of it ever Happend.
Why would a HUMAN Mc Reedy, not make sure some Proof of it Exists? Just Put a Peace of Flesh into a Jar. So People Beleave him and do not think he was the Murderer.
His Theory of MC Being the Thing is 100% Correct. He only Missed a view Points.
This is awesome. I thought it'd be 6 more months or a year before we got this. Lol
You're still doing great. Be as abrasive as you want, your presentation is on point as ever, don't let the haters get you down. 🤘
I'm 48 years old and grew up watching The Thing on video disc (vinyl not laser). My dad used to talk about his own theories every time and I wish he was here to see your videos. He would've loved 'em.
SIMMY JUICE!!!
Thank you! I'll take your advice and yeah, I figured people would think I would take forever 😅 also, your dad sounds like an awesome person!
@@2DimmMedia Are you on X? I went there to share the link and tag you but didn't see you. 🤷♂️
x.com/Glytch_2Dimm?t=Cn_jdONcDanl3blt0vf6og&s=09
I have one but not under the media name!
Gotchas. And honestly, the Bennings drinking from the bottle before Macready hole is bigger than the blood test. You already made the point of off-screen take overs AND that he could've had a "pouch" in his finger for human blood (for the deleted scene argument). 🤷♂️
@@2DimmMedia ...and f**k "gamervet". 😂
Starting my watch now, I’ll edit this when I finish with my takeaway.
Yeah, im still not really convinced. I could break it down into details, but it’s really not that important. I really like the theory and you’ve probably heard everything I would say anyway, but the fact is that it’s nice to have differing opinions on the Thing because that was ultimately the intent. The fact that we have two completely different theories with almost equal amount of validity is a testament to how good the movie is. Cheers, I’ll be sure to watch your videos to come.
Thank you! Cheers
MacThing just really likes being MacReady. That's why he doesn't try to shapeshift at all, he much prefers the human body. This slows him down because he has to shapeshift to insta-assimilate targets, like his child Things and the Thule Station Things do, and there's enough of Mac left in him to enjoy the chess game.
If MacReady is the Thing, it stands to reason that the hot wire blood test is a ruse: not actually effective at detecting Things. Remember that the test is MacReady's idea. It makes no sense for him to teach the humans how to detect him.
The "successful positive" blood test is easily explained through sleight of hand; MacReady-Thing shoots the tendrils out of his hand.
He sacrifices the other Thing to save himself, while simultaneously teaching the humans a fake Thing-detection method which seems conclusively proven effective.
Yeah. I felt that sleight of hand was a good theory, but alot of people dismissed the idea but I can easily see him doing it. Like swapping the petri dish with a pre placed one. And the thought of it not being a true test and a ruse is an idea I hadn't considered 🤔
No, not switching the dishes. He sticks the wire in blood, which doesn't do anything because the test is fake. Then he just shoots goop out of his hand at the same time so it looks like the test did something.
@@2DimmMedia Why would it even React. It can Tolerate Pain or it would have reacted as soon as they cut his Finger. The Whole Prozess of detaching its own Head must be as Painful as being Burned. Even Parts without a Brain can React Smart. Or the not Burned stuff inside one of them Could have just come out and take a New Shape. Jet it Waited inside of the Body before making its Move.
_That's_ good. This would imply all the different "Things" don't agree on stuff which would support our host's theory as to why MacReady would blow up the other one.
But that's one hell of a leap in logic. No one else was around when Mac blew it up. & if they spread through infecting each other, how were there *other* "Things." They'd all be descendants of _one_ Thing. So this requires leaps in logic the narrative doesn't provide any background for.
He wouldn't blow up the other Thing. This theory can't support that. & it's _really_ unlikely that he exposes how to detect them. If anything, the symbolism of the alcohol might be that it _prevents_ the spread of the Thing. It's been protecting him all along.
@@ChewsCarefully it is still a hypothesis.
They actually wrote an alternative ending where Childs and MacReady were both the thing, but carpenter didn't like it, I guess he wanted to keep the conclusion ambiguous, that's my theory. My take on MacRead, he gave blood and passed so that's what makes me say no to him being the thing, bui it is possible. The ambiguity is what makes this flick great imo.
So the blood thing, you never see him cut his finger. But they took the time to show Nauls and Windows. Bystanders who weren't revealed to be a possible thing a few scenes earlier like Mac. That was intentional. There would be more credence if they didn't show anyone cut there fingers, but they deliberately showed 2 randoms instead of the man in question. Again, this was intentional for some reason
@@2DimmMedia his creepy smile at the end always left me feeling unsettled to be honest so it's highly possible
@@2DimmMedia I think you reading to much into this. There are 6 people 8 if we count the corpses. We dont need to see every single one getting cut. It just saves time. And its perfect chance for Mac to assimilate them but he didnt so he is human at that point at least.
I've watched this film over and over and over, one of my favorites and I never added all this up! Holy crap MACREADY was the THING!
Now go back and watch it! It makes it a whole new movie!
This is such a good theory that I thought I was the first to think of it, but after seeing how well you nail this down- I don't even want to make a video on it! The only thing I'd say that adds to this theory is how the dog looks directly at Mac as he's going to the base, the dog is putting two and two together, how that helicopter pilot might be someone he wants to assimilate, but already has (at least in the process of it as it slowly takes over.) I mean, why would Mac proudly claim "I'm human, if you all weren't, you'd jump me" as he holds the only known weapon to hurt them, he knows he'd win that encounter. I think for as much as the thing is a communal being, taking from everyone, Mac being a loner strategist influenced this thingification. Mac thing seems to use Blaire as the scapegoat for the final part of the movie (where there has been nothing for a day or two) Mac sets the dominoes for everything to fall, so he can look like the hero most know him as, while hopefully being the last left (oops, hello Childs!).
Just another thought, I think the slow assimilation comes with a lot of terror for the crew, where Blaire has a noose in his cell, but says "I'm completely fine, come on, let me out!" That's once the assimilation has finished, but not before the thing has cleaned up the evidence. In the same way, Mac has this moment with the diary, where he starts craddling the J&B again, but looks at it like he has just had an idea, or that it's clouding his judgement, what would really cloud his judgement would be 'not feeling like himself,' which he is all to familiar with alcohol, so it's like there's something else encroaching on his mind. Either ways, this video does give breath to The Thing once again.
More I think about it, it makes sense. During the end, child's is supposedly wearing a different jacket, and he drank a molotov cocktail.
I talk about that. I don't think it's Gasoline. I'm pretty sure it is J&B because he was going to drink it
@2DimmMedia maybe. In your other video, you mention the thing music playing in the beginning, and at the end, when child's takes a sip. It could mean several things, and it's really cool. Could mean child's is now infected, and that's why macready smiles. Could be that child's was already infected and when he takes a sip, he now infects the drink and they likely share the bottle. Or possibly the bottle contains gasoline because they used the bottles for the purpose of burning everything. The possibilities are endless. Also, macready gets beaten by the computer in the beginning, and in retaliation, spills his drink into the computer, killing it. Perhaps when he was defeated (had a flamethrower pointed at and him and not knowing if child's was the thing) poured the drink (gave child's a bottle that possibly could have had gasoline) and that's why he smiles. All really interesting!
I like the theory. The semi juice is funny, but when you brought it up, I immediately thought of red in The Six Sense. It’s a visual queue for infection.
Also Carpenter is smart enough to be ambiguous enough for multiple interpretations. The truth will only come from him. But again I like this theory.
Of course! And I'm only claiming Mac is a thing. Childs has no on screen proof. Just lack there of for his innocence. So it's a 50/50 if Mac is the thing! And only JC can answer that question
One thing you fell for was the blood fridge/keys.
The issue of the keys was a red herring to sow confusion. This is demonstrated by the blood oozing out of the bottom of the fridge as they approach it. A refrigerator maintains the cold inside using a soft rubber bumper which is slightly compressed when the door is closed, making a seal.
Now, look at the blood bags when the door is opened. Every bag has numerous slashes in it, which would have taken time to do. If the thing had been too slow, there would already have been blood on the floor. Too quickly, and the blood wouldn't have poured out until the door was opened.
Conclusion? The thing did NOT use the keys to open the door to the blood fridge. Rather, it slipped an appendage up between the rubber bumper on the bottom of the door and the body of the fridge, slashed the blood bags, then withdrew its appendage and got away. This would deform the bumper on the bottom of the door, thereby breaking the seal and letting the blood leak out before the door was opened.
Depending on the type of virus or bacterial organism, even medical alcohol may be insuffiecient, particularly if you emidiately swallow the virus/bacteria in question.
Although I don't agree with your theory, the 4D chess play by play is an amazing interpretation! Well done! They beauty of the movie is you can insert almost any character into the 4d chess model, with evidence and theory and still make the theory work. It's a MASTER class in writing!
But no, Childs is def the Thing! Hahaha!
Yes. The movie is a master piece. And he honestly could be The Thing. 🤷♂️
I thought Fuukes was the one that told Mac that people should prepare their own food? Which means by your theory Mac kills him. This means only Mac and the audience knows about the possible contamination through food. So the argument that Childes would of had that knowledge at the end is debunked. So there was no reason for Childes NOT to take a sip, since it was only Mac that got the information from Fuukes who seemingly and suspiciously died after giving out that recommendation to Mac.
Correct. Childs wouldn't have any info of it. I never made the argument that Childs had knowledge of of contamination through drinks. The commenters did.
@@2DimmMedia Right, both arguments for Childes being aware of contamination to avoid food from other people either with preventative measures or if Mac was testing him would be debunked.
So why would Childes be suspicious of the bottle?
Or why would Mac be testing Childes, since we never visually see Childes being informed by Mac or Fuukes (before his death) about food?
Your theory really puts a nice new perspective that adds to the mystery. Great job man!
Not even 2 min in. Love the shirt haha. Just had to say that first.
Thank you! I love the series!
I genuinely love the dual attempt to be less abrasive while simultaneously being just as if not more abrasive. 😆
I'm on this man's side for that reason alone lmao
I think because Childs had the flamethrower, McReady would have no choice but to assimilate him with the alcohol. This also was shown with Fuch's death as the thing is not afraid to eliminate someone with a flamethrower if they are alone. If Childs were the thing, he'd kill McReady then wait for himself to freeze, hoping to be discovered by humans. But this didn't happen. Or they could just both be human.
I agree with this
Carpenter said that one of them is the creature, though...
Hello chap - I think that , combined with Carpenter's own directorial personality & signatures , your point is very cool . Your po8nt makes great sense - I'm 55 , saw this film on its trease & have loved it ever since , I'd never seen this thread . I love it because it's hiding in plain sight .
I thought it was a given when MacReady said to Childs "Let's just wait here awhile... see what happens." Back to how the movie started, the Thing back in ice waiting for another thaw, another chance. If MacReady was still human, he should, no he WOULD have said "Let's get finishing burning down the place and go out in style... just in case."
You don't have to prove anything, it's all right there.
30:33 You thought it happened then? Oh no, MacReady was still human even when he fought Blair. Carpenter did a really fun thing when he switch the POV to Childs at the end, we lost sight of MacCready. That's all it took, a bit of Blair and that's all they wrote for MacReady..
I believe MacReady being the thing before that explains how Blair got infected. On screen I mean. Anything can happen off screen. But like I said in my original video. Mac drinks the smirnoff that Blair has and then Blair decides not to end himself anymore. Because he has fully assimilated by then
So then why would Childs drink from it knowing all that had taken place?
@@nathairius8753 Why would Childs agree that freezing to death is the best solution?
I think MacReady took the wrong lesson from the blood test. He thought proving himself human would result in everyone attacking him if they were all turned. However, I think that while each Thing can recognize other Things, that won't force them to work against their instinct of assimilation and self-preservation.
Survival of the fittest replaced by survival of those who fit in best.... once they removed all the Thing sensing dogs at least.
Wait... is it a hive mind too? Or would it be more akin to social insects... Oh. OOHH, it's BOTH! It's a cumulative existence, it keeps all the memories and knowledge of past being but then adds the new knowledge of its present body.
So they're individuals who can work towards a common goal using shared knowledge like a hive mind but they can also sacrifice earlier versions of itself if it helps to lengthen the chain of new Things like social insects.
Evolution, fear it.
I want to say that things don't attack unless there cover is blown
That's what it seems to be on screen. Except Blair was attacking at the end even when he didn't know they figured out a way to discover if someone was a thing 🤔 But he was cornered at that point
"They both are the thing. THE END." - You can't be more metal and grim that that! xDDDD
But, yeah. It's part of Apocalipse trilogy for a reason: the horror wins in the end, it can be delayed but will win eventually in the end. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nope, Carpenter confirmed that only one of them was
@@lorand5578 Yes. But don't change the fact that whatever one of them be human, he still will die from freezing. While the thing will just sleep, waiting the rescue team.
You said it’s 41 years old, I’m gonna feel so bad for showing this to my dad lmao
Your theory is not original, and has been plastered all over reddit for decades. Its been disproven time and time again, as there are significant leaps in logic youd have to make to have this theory work.
I disagree on all points you just stated. While reddit has a few similar points, mine has more than double the proof and all on screen evidence is debunk proof 🤷♂️ mainly because it's on screen. And they arent leeps when evidence supports the big picture
@@2DimmMedia I think the biggest flaw is Mac fighting the Blair Thing. The explanation doesn't wash. (First, Blair thing wasn't trying to leave Earth, just Antarctica, so that he could infect the world), which a Mac Thing would have wanted. An explanation of killing the monster Blair so that Mac could go stealth doesn't work. Blair only monstered out because it was cornered, and presumably, could have also gone back to being just Blair for any potential rescue team.
@@2DimmMedia I'm waiting for you next video claiming that the mother in The Exorcist was also possessed by the demon all along, and she only called in the exorcists to avoid suspicion and go undetected. And at the end, she makes her escape with no one suspecting a thing.
My issue is you don’t ever see Macready drink from that bottle again! He seemed to be too busy flying to the Norwegian camp. He also pulled the fire alarm getting a beer out of the refrigerator when if he was The Thing he would probably know the dog was assimilating the other dogs. If Things recognize one another especially! Norris and Palmer gave each other a look when Nauls came back and they were discussing Macready being one of them. Seemed like they were trying to create doubt to protect The Thing.
I would like to add that Macready was alone with Fuchs in the tractor outside before Bennings was assimilated. Why didn’t he assimilate Fuchs? He had plenty of time to do it!
Thanks for your followup. How about this? MacReady is NOT the Thing until after he kills the giant monster Thing. After all, pivotal events occur off-screen. He could have been turned into a Thing. Then it makes sense for him to pass Childs the bottle, thus making Childs a Thing, as well. It disrupts your theory that he was a Thing much, much earlier in the movie, though, but does make sense thematically (the drinking and passing of the bottle is a legitimate motiff, as you mentioned). I'm not sure this is the case, but now that you've brought up the possibility of MacReady potentially being the Thing I can't see the movie in the same way ever again. Much appreciated, as the POV has value. But I'm not certain at all and will keep thinking about it.
ive always thought this was what happened. And i used to think they just let themselves freeze
Thing is.. we already know the things dont have to do this. They turned into husky's to survive. Once there were only things left they could have turned into husky's or sea lions or whatever and survived.
How would that be possible, the giant monster thing would be the last thing in that scenario, if it’s dead there’s nothing left to assimilate him?
in the end there's no proof of Childs or Mac being the Thing. Childs is very suspicious, however if he was the Thing there isn't really a reason why he wouldn't kill Mac at the end of the movie, or just avoid Mac all together and freeze. I personally like the movie ending with paranoia and fear amongst two normal humans who ultimately don't know who's who.
Yeah, no. While I like this interpretation and won't be surprised if it's what they go with if we ever get a sequel, it's a bit crap. Reality is the movie lays out the thing's plan to let itself freeze again. There's absolutely no strategic advantage in the final confrontation for the thing(s) vs just walking off at any point, dropping a limb somewhere (where'd all that blood scurry to btw?), or just staying hidden. Especially after the facility is blown up by McCready, exposing itself just increases the likelihood it gets taken down.
I like the sneeze idea too, but issue, how would the thing know humans can sneeze? As the saying goes, pics or it didn't happen. The "everyone is the thing" is also interesting, but I don't recall the movie setting up anything that could validate it. I'm not seeing how people have come to the conclusion things can't identify each other or are the type to wear lone wolf howling at the moon shirts. Especially as one obviously has to infect someone, meaning that one knows who it turned.
There's no evidence to support alot of the theories. That's kind of the hang up. No proof they communicate nor that they can. No proof that they know one another or not too.
@@2DimmMedia Still a really interesting idea though. Literally went "oh I like that!" when it came up. Be a pain in the ass to find a way to sensibly justify it though beyond some handwavy bullshit like "because alien." Kinda pokes a hole in the point of taking over an entire planet if things can't tell who's who. Thinking about what that would look like, almost turns the idea onto a horror sitcom.
With all the Stations only 50 Miles Away. A Giant explosion could not only be seen, (at night) but detected, with the Seismic stuff. ( Since the Radio was gone) Wich would send a Rescue Team. Mc Reedy was the One that Burned all the Evidence down, even Buried the Bodys with the Bulldozer, because he wanted to get out NOT Frozen. With an Excuse why everybody is Dead and to reach Civilisation before someone else notices that the Norway Station is gone too.
it was 100% Mcreedy Carpenter Build this Whole Story around.
It could know sneezing because upon assimilation things gain the memories of those they assimilate. Otherwise how would Blair thing know how to build a ship? It remembers knowledge from all aching assimilates
3:40 The computer does cheat for the moves we see can not be done in the fashion shown. It is most probably broken - that's why he destroyed it so fast, it was already broken to begin with. So his action was not hot tempered. Probably.
Here's your entire theory thrown out the window: Macready was a pilot that could've easily flown away at any point. Roll credits and end movie! Even if you were to say that he was the 1st person to be infected, my guy.....your theory is thrown out again, because he would've just immediately gotten in the helicopter and flown away. Why do you think Blair built the space ship? Because all other vehicles got destroyed before he got turned. In the future when you present theories, drop the negative colorful language.
Well, its a movie.... so that would be stupid. And about how i talk, thanks for the advice but nah I'm good crodie. 👍
I love this theory. I’m here for it! Looking forward to watching this!
Me too! Have fun!
Just came here from the last video, I like that you’re branching into the big what-ifs and talking about what most wouldn’t think of! I like that the movie does its job so well that it’s still being discussed today. It’s fun to think about! Like I said on the last video, good stuff!
I wish carpenter would be like ok this guy got it right, im sure someone has on youtube by this point. Yours definitely made me think holy shit it might actually be him. Also gamervet definitely told everyone in the mw2 lobby his dad was the ceo of microsoft and he was gonna report them.
In the comics a woman who became a thing attacks a man she tricked into helping her but the man turned out to also be a thing so they definitely cant tell each other apart
Edit: Another thing from the comics is that things will kill each other to keep the trust of the humans and maintain their disguise
I think mcready (or any other thing for that matter) not sneezing on everyone can be explained by self preservation. If he doesnt want to die from a bunch of paranoid, jumpy, well armed apes destroying everyone around them and then themselves.
If a single human figures out what happened, there is a huge chance they immedeatly allert everyone, which immedeatly sky rockets the chances you, as a thing, get destroyed.
I think the most compelling evidence personally is the ending. If mcready figured out childs was the thing y would he just sit there and go to sleep and do nothing about it. I just don't see a reason for that
Correct. Especially when the whole movie is him putting a front of him "doing something about it" infront of the humans
@2DimmMedia Exactly, (*cancels weekend to watch movie again*
Know im late, but the same argument as to why childs sits there and accepts his death could be said the same for Mcready. Its not just mcready could be trying to assimilate childs. It could just be 2 men (or 1 men depending on who the thing is) just accepting their inevitable end. Theyre stuck in the antartic with no shelter with one, both, or none of them possibly being at ends with the other, and neither are sure which it is
They’re all infected through the dog. Not by licking, but by the straw on the floor being contaminated and coming into contact with it
NGL things start to fall apart when half of this video is "see, it's intentional, he planned this, he's thought out this plan, it makes sense" and the other half is "it's a movie, sometimes illogical things happen just to push the story, sometimes characters aren't perfectly smart". You can't have both.
I mean, these 2 things are directly related but okay 🤷♂️
You can have both lmao ever met a shining fan
@@GreenEyedDazzler know him? Of course I know him, he's me.
My biggest gripe with this is that if Mac was the thing why didn’t he just infect all the people while they were tied up during the blood testing scene? All it would take it to just touch them and leave some skin cells it doesn’t make any sense
If you're right and mac is the thing the reason he didn't just up and attack him at the end is because child's had a flame thrower
This is a fair point 🤣🤣
That comment where they are both the Thing and the lack of trust between the two of them now i think that is a very good way to think of the ending.
I agree. Very poetic
wow I never noticed that with the Blair music either!
31:51 I think it's also about fear of your own body turning against you.
Regarding the whole earring argument:
As far as I remember, in the prequel they show that the Thing can't replicate non-organic matter and so they can test to see if people are things by checking if they have dental fillings. Of course then the Thing wouldn't be able to recreate an earring. But then later in the prequel, the main character notices that another teammember has their earring in the opposite ear of what they usually do (It used to be in the right ear, is now in the left, or reverse). She concludes that the Thing has learned to grow around the earring, probably after it saw that the humans used this as a tactic to root it out. Since that happened in the prequel, the Thing in the original would know that it should pay attention to things like earrings.
Is it possible that although the thing assimilates others to spread, but in doing so creates an individual entity in doing so. There may be one original "Thing", but there are individual things spawned when it assimilates others. I've always thought Mac was a Thing, so it's possible that Mac Thing was going rogue and playing his own game against its own kind, kinda like establishing it's own line and ensuring it's survival.
That's absolutely possible and can be inferred by the blood syrome scene. As how every piece will act on their own to survive and leave a burning comrad or like the cpr scene when Palmer(who was a thing at the time), rats out the head crab thing just to seem more human.
@@2DimmMediagoing back to the chess analogy again. Each thing has an inbuilt desire to protect its own life. So by shifting suspicion onto others and establishing trust it makes it's own survival and job a lot easier. Notice how Mac isn't declared the leader or tries to take the role of leader up, people just trust him enough and are happy to do what he says. Mac Thing had the game rigged from the start and it knew it, had people willing to go alone with him all the time
A game of trust and he had all the cards
@@2DimmMedia It had all the cards. Still one of the greatest movies ever made because however many years later, we're still discussing it
Absolutely. Number one on my list and to alot of people for sure! This movie will go down for sure as one of if not the best horror movie of all time and will be debated forever. Even if a sequel is made. Which like is said, is a possibility
Just want to point out a glaring flaw with the vid's logic here that you may have overlooked: While I do agree the open and close are nothing to write home about, as they're a bit slow and understated, the core verses of XXX are some fkn fiiirrrreeeeee. Don't skip this one, just scrub to 0:58 and listen to 2:30. You're welcome 👌
Seriously though, glad to see more vids from you, keep up the great work!
I'll give it another chance. Just for you! And thank you!
@@2DimmMedia 🥹 Best case.
John Carpenter has said that all the clues to know who, if either, of the two survivors is the Thing… I think you may have picked up on them!
The answer to the video is NO. Childs was clearly a thing at the end of the movie, He ran away from his post "chasing after blair" even though Blair was clearly in the generator room destoying it as power went down right after Childs left his post, and the fact that McCready would have no reason to leave a black box message for the recovery team, specifically telling them that the thing "rips through your clothes" and Kurt Russell later confirmed that he still had the flamethrower at the end of the movie when he was talking to Childs who was the thing, failing a simple test by showing no worry for infection and taking a drink of whisky.
Childs was very distrustful of Mac. But he took the bottle at the end. Maybe because he was the thing, yeah. But I think: He took the bottle because Mac never told the other guys about Fuchs' idea.
I honestly think it's both. They are both the thing. You are correct. The change in trust and the withholding of info.
I don't believe Blair could leave the planet in the tiny ship he was cobbling in the tunnel as the presenter stated. Compare it to the HUGE ship they find crashed. That was an intergalactic vessel. Blair's little saucer is designed to reach civilization on Earth.
I mean if we are going off size comparison that makes sense 🤔