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The Thing (1982 film)/WMG: Difference between revisions
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** This is one of the mysteries that Carpenter decided to just let the fans speculate on.
* I always was under the assumption that the Thing doesn't so much "infect" people as it does perfectly imitate them, its primary intention in this case to be to get away from Antarctica, the best way to do so is to try to blend in. After all, the dog they let in started morphing and trying to eat the other dogs, so it certainly knew when it transformed.
** [http://thethingfan.11.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=1261 There is a rather noticeable rift between those who think that things can infect and those who think they have to assimilate en-mass]{{Dead link}}. And a few of us who believe there are a wide range of assimilation possibilities. Assuming a "one cell assimilates another" scenario, all assimilation methods would become exponentially more rapid as more of the body is assimilated.
*** "Slow Assimilation" would work as an infection, from contact with one single cell, or Thing slime/blood etc. At first, like any infection, you wouldn't know it's started. But, then, you may start feeling weird and start getting a bit sick as the Things ravage your immune system and take over your body. It really picks up speed as it approaches significant fractions of the body. At the 1/2 mark, it becomes an instant assimilation of the other half of the body. Blair and Norris are often presumed to have been assimilated this way. It may be possible that all of the mend had some thing cells on them and that Mac and Childs would be assimilated by the end of the movie, or later. The main obstacle to this type of assimilation is that the cells have to burrow through the dead skin layers to get into the body, or come into contact with soft tissues or open wounds. One of the upsides to this type of assimilation is that there would be no torn clothing from an attack.
*** "Aggressive Assimilation" is where a Thing has little time in which to assimilate someone else. So, it attacks them and tries to inject them with as many Thing cells as it can. This may also include "Predatory Assimilation", where the Thing engulfs the target. This is the main reason one would find torn clothing from the assimilated. Bennings is a prime example of this. If the Thing has equal or greater biomass to the target, this is basically an instantaneous assimilation.
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The remarkably similar plot of Ridley Scott's hit, coupled copious amounts of mind twisting narcotic smoke and alcohol, warps Macready's antisocial dislike of the rest of the camp into a fulfilment fantasy wherein he has a JUSTIFIED excuse to burn and kill the men that he's sick and tired of spending the last 3 years with, their forms warped and mixed with his [[Vietnam War]] flashbacks into distorted and grotesque abomination by the psychadelic effects of the weed. The trip ends with Childs, the teammate closest to him in personality and the only one he liked, sharing a drink with him as heroes, as his fantasy fades to black and he groggily stumbles back to reality...
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"Hey Mac, wanna watch ''[[Jaws (
"Ah sure, why not. Got nothing better to do..." }}
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* Weed is not a psychadelic drug. Although to be fair, Palmer doesn't exactly strike me as averse to lsd.
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* The theory is somewhat backed up by some fan speculations. It could explain why Blair-Thing didn't just run off and escape, or why he just stood there and let Mac blow him up. He was still some part Blair, and wanted the Things to lose. It could very well lead to some interesting Thing vs Thing situations.
== [[Real Life]] takes place in the Thing/Aliens/Predator universes and that [[
If you think about it (but not too much) all of the named films take place in settings that either are in or as close to realistic places and time/eras no different then what you see outside on a regular basis. Even the futuristic setting of the Alien films arent that super fantastic not everyone has lasers or their own cutsey talking companion robot. And all of the even remotely implied or guessed backstories of the alien characters take place not just mearly far away from our own planet, but seemingly our galaxy as well.
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* Hell screw Hunting! if their species ever went to actual full scale war what by the Hammer of Thor would that look [[Brain Bleach|like!!]].
This by its own merit also proves that legendary 1920s Horror writer H.P. Lovecraft was correct (or as close to factually correct as possible) about all of the creatures contained within his Cthulu Mythos connected story universe. Basically it proves that somewhere the Great Old Ones do exist and may genuinely be worshiped on other planets as gods. It also proves that all or most of the horror based [[Science Fiction]] of the past 100 years was created by some artists, writers, or movie makers had "dreampt" these horrific creatures while they were asleep (in someway this is proven by Dutch modern artist [[
== The thing was never meant to be a virus ==
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== The thing has a original form ==
We just never get to see it, but it has it's own physical identity. And likely ''absorbs'' and imitates it's prey rather than "infect them" like a virus. Of course this doesn't explain where the extra mass goes but...it does looks like it absorbs rather than "infect".
** In the original short story, ''Who Goes There?'' it's natural form is [[Green
** The things convert living cells into other Thing cells. The precise mechanisms for this is unknown, but quantum computing is suspected to be involved. The origional Thing could have simply been an alien who contracted a disease of some sort.
** The giant tumor with the eyes and "tongue flower" is the Thing's true form. It's an ambulatory form of cancer.
** The Thing's true form is a single cell. Rather unassuming and unimpressive.
** Every Thing form you see is the Things' true form.
** [http://thethingfan.11.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=165 The Thing was originally designed as a cute little pet that could adapt to any living condition and wouldn't die on little Grrkekk's]{{Dead link}}... And then it [[Gone Horribly Right|evolved]].
** The prequel does give glimpses of what the thing looked like in the ice, but background information given in various cast and crew interviews state that the thing does not have a true form, per se. Or if it did, it was long before it reached earth.
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== The Thing wasn't the pilot of the UFO - it was a bioweapon or animal in containment before breaking out and consuming the pilots ==
[http://thethingfan.11.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=165 The debate rages on.]{{Dead link}}
* [http://io9.com/5849650/the-director-of-the-thing-reveals-the-aliens-secret-backstory The director of the prequel talks about the thing's backstory].
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== The Thing is just mimicking behavior of those it infects - it doesn't actually understand them. ==
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== Childs is the Thing at the end, and Mac figures it out. ==
* Throughout the film, Childs has a navy blue parka, which he never changes throughout the movie. However, when he shows up for the final scene, he is wearing a beige coat. A necessary change in outfit for Childs' visibility in that scene? Maybe. But given the level of detail in other parts of the film, maybe not quite. Also, Blair had a beige coat that, under frost and firelight, could easily match the color of Childs' coat in the final scene. Furthermore, Blair is one of the first to be infected, through contact with the Thing's cells. Of course, Childs suddenly changing coats is not sufficient evidence [[In
* [http://thethingfan.11.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=39 The whole point of this long-running discussion on Outpost 31]{{Dead link}}
== The prequel will have a really bleak ending ==
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== The Thing is only acting in self defense. ==
* Just look at how nervous it acts when it assimilates a human! The movie opens up with a couple of Norwegian blokes trying to gun down The Thing in its dog form. It seeks help from the Americans who unwittingly take it in, only to lock it up with the other dogs. The Thing thinks it's safe until the dogs begin to pick up on its unnaturalness and attack it. Then, feeling threatened, The Thing has no choice but to fight back. When the men torch it with a [[Kill It
** Sort of. It's not acting out of maliciousness, but normal animal self-interest. It wants to survive ''and'' spread, otherwise it would have just stayed in the dog body.
** Can be taken either way in the sequel. The Thing kills one Norwegian, but it may be because it knew they were going to kill it one way or another.
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== Kate ends up rescuing [[Mac Ready]] and Childs, confirms that neither one is a Thing and they all live happily ever after. ==
* She doesn't know the way to the American camp, but drives around the ice pack for a while in the snowcat looking for the Russian base (that may or may not exist) before seeing the helicopter on its last trip back to the Outpost 31 and following it. On the way, she gets [[Trapped
== The creature grows more intelligent with each human it absorbs, or maintains the memories of its victims. ==
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He's a shapeshifter, in the original novel was telepathic, an his weakness is fire. The Thing is a survivor of Mars extinct wildlife. If the green and the white martians are the equivalent of Earth's Homo sapiens, the the things would be like martian chimps or dogs. That's why they act in a more animalistic and predatory way and lack some of the other martian powers (like invisibility or flight).
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[[Category:Wild Mass Guessing/Film]]
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