The Genre And 'The Thing'

The Genre And 'The Thing'

 - Or the genre thingy?

“Can’t we say of them this much as least, that their primary purpose is to horrify viewers? Sure, they don’t always succeed – lots of times they fail - but isn’t it the fact that they try that makes them horror film monsters?” (Schneider, 168) The creepy monster is one of the vital factors in horror film regardless of whether or not it successfully horrify the audience.

In ‘The Thing’ directed by John Carpenter in 1982, the monsters exist in various forms as it reproduces into the exact same figure of its host. This particular shrewd characteristic of the monsters makes the viewers anxious and unsettled as it breaks characters’ strong friendship and trust in the movie. This causes the characters to distrust and doubt each other. The scene of burning the victim alive disgusts the audience. The pressure from unawareness of who might be the monster that could kill the rest of characters represents the thriller aspect of the movie.

The mysterious and unknown alien represents the scientific fiction aspect of the movie. The way alien infects other living things and takes over the host both externally and internally revolts the audience; due to the level of detail at which this is portrayed, we draw the conclusion that this is a horror film. For example, there is a scene that shows an infected friend lying down. A man tries to give him electric shock therapy and suddenly the infected one’s stomach becomes a creepy mouth and bites the other’s arms. The inveterate life of the monster reaches its climax when it doesn't die even after its head is cut and it creeps on the floor, keep transforming to infect the next target.

Schneider says “what all horror film monsters have in common, besides the fact that they are not real, is that they all fall under the surmounted beliefs are horror film monsters conceptual metaphor.” He also mentions “In order to instill a conflict of judgment in views, the manner in which horror film monsters metaphorically embody surmounted beliefs must be periodically updated.”(Schneider, 184) The monster might represent threats that could possibly destroy civilization in a society since it shows us how it destroys a group of people. Although the film does not concentrate on what The Thing exactly symbolizes, it rather develops the constant recognition that humans should be afraid of a threat in psychological or physical forms.

The film focuses on unknown fears that come from the shadows into reality. The anxiety exists on the boundary between undetermined horrors and the physically realized eyesore that is maybe why his scenes remain eventfully involving.

 

Work Cited

Schneider, Steven. "Monsters as (Uncanny) Metaphors: Freud, Lakoff, and the Representation of Monstrosity in Cinematic Horror." Horror Film Reader. Alain Silver & James Ursini, eds. Limelight Editions, 2000. 168, 184