The Thing (1982)

Horror Mystery Science Fiction Directed by John Carpenter
→ Influenced 13 films ← Inspired by 6 films

In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form-changing creature wreaks havoc, creates terror... and becomes one of them.

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Films that influenced The Thing

← Inspired By (6)

Films inspired by The Thing

→ The Thing influenced these (13)

Sources

Influenced By

  1. Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell Jr. (1938)
    "This novella is the primary source material for *The Thing*. It tells the story of a group of researchers in Antarctica who encounter a shape-shifting alien. Carpenter's film is a direct adaptation of this story." The Thing %281982 film%29 Wikipedia
  2. The Blob (1958)
    "This film features an amorphous alien consuming everything in its path. The concept of a formless, ever-changing creature is mirrored in *The Thing*'s portrayal of its alien antagonist." The Thing %281982 film%29 Wikipedia
  3. Quatermass and the Pit (1967)
    "Nigel Kneale's 'ancient evil unearthed by scientists in an isolated installation' framework runs through The Thing's Antarctic setup." source
  4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
    "Don Siegel's paranoia-among-friends-who-may-not-be-themselves template is the spiritual ancestor of The Thing's blood-test setpiece and trust-collapse plotting." source
  5. The Thing from Another World (1951)
    "Directed by Christian Nyby and produced by Howard Hawks, this film is an earlier adaptation of Campbell's novella. While it takes liberties with the source material, its influence is evident in Carpenter's version, particularly in the isolated setting and themes of paranoia." The Thing %281982 film%29 Wikipedia
  6. Alien (1979)
    "Ridley Scott's film about a deadly extraterrestrial creature stalking a spaceship's crew shares similarities with *The Thing* in its themes of isolation, suspense, and the unknown terror of an alien life form. The success of *Alien* also helped revitalize interest in science fiction horror, paving the way for Carpenter's film." The Thing %281982 film%29 Wikipedia

Influenced

  1. Sinners (2025)
    "In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form-changing creature wreaks havoc, creates terror... and becomes one of them."
  2. The Hateful Eight (2015)
    "John Carpenter's sci-fi horror film shares thematic and atmospheric similarities with "The Hateful Eight," including a group of distrustful individuals isolated in a snowy environment. Both films also feature Kurt Russell and a score by Ennio Morricone." The Classic Sci-Fi Movie That Inspired The Hateful Eight Danielle Ryan SlashFilm
  3. Prince of Darkness (1987)
    "First entry in Carpenter's self-named 'Apocalypse Trilogy' — Prince of Darkness is the second; same cosmic-pessimism register and physical-horror staging." source
  4. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
    "Tarantino explicitly cited The Thing as the inspiration for Reservoir Dogs — paranoia among a group of men trapped together, identifying who the traitor is, single-location pressure cooker." source
  5. The Void (2016)
    "Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie's film is an explicit Thing tribute — practical body-horror effects, isolated setting, cosmic-evil reveal." source
  6. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
    "Dan Trachtenberg's bunker thriller leans on The Thing's paranoia structure — confined characters, who-can-be-trusted plotting, eruption of the cosmic in the ordinary." source
  7. The Descent (2005)
    "Neil Marshall's caving-horror inherits The Thing's isolated-group, body-horror, paranoia template — all six women trapped underground with something hunting them." source
  8. It Follows (2015)
    "Mitchell's horror inherits Carpenter's signature widescreen-static-frame style, pulsing synth-score, and aesthetic of cosmic threat in a banal landscape." source
  9. Get Out (2017)
    "Jordan Peele has openly cited Carpenter as a foundational influence; Get Out's body-horror-as-social-allegory continues The Thing's tradition of monstrous transformation." source
  10. Pontypool (2009)
    "Bruce McDonald's siege film inherits The Thing's epistemological horror — the threat is in language and identity, not just the body." source
  11. The Thing (2011)
    "Direct prequel by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. — depicts the Norwegian camp's encounter with the Thing immediately before Carpenter's 1982 film." source
  12. Annihilation (2018)
    "Garland's film carries forward The Thing's cosmic-biological-other premise — alien intrusion as a literal bodily reorganization." source
  13. Mickey 17 (2025)
    "The industrial grime and tactile universe of "Mickey 17" were influenced by John Carpenter's "The Thing."" After ‘Parasite,’ Bong Joon Ho could have played it safe. Instead, he made ‘Mickey 17’ Los Angeles Times

The Thing (1982), directed by John Carpenter, was inspired by 6 earlier films — including Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell Jr., The Blob, and Quatermass and the Pit — and has been cited as an influence on 13 later works, such as Sinners, The Hateful Eight, and Prince of Darkness. Check out the citations below.