The Thing is a 1982 American science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter from a screenplay by Bill Lancaster. Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There?.
A research team finds an alien being that has fallen from the sky and is starting to hunt them down. Things take a sinister turn when they realise that the creature can take the shape of its victims.
The film stars Kurt Russell as the team’s helicopter pilot R. J. MacReady, with A. Wilford Brimley, T. K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Joel Polis, and Thomas G. Waites in supporting roles.
A prequel film, also titled The Thing, was released in October 2011 to a $31 million worldwide box office gross and mixed reviews. The story follows the events after the Norwegian team discovers the Thing.