I think there's a spy among us. In principle, the plot of the film is simple as 5 cents and is a transfer of the game to the Mafia in an unusual setting. There's a group of friends at the table, one of them is the mafia, and we'll figure it out in a variety of ways. I looked at all sorts of reviews that had a bunch of SRSGs and proved what a high philosophical muddled film it was. Well, that's crazy, in short. An owl strung on a globe. You know, there are people who direct their imagination to create works (not necessarily brilliant, but their own), and there are those who with their imagination serve the existence of these works for a long period of time. Talk about movies, find something new there, look for some details to conclude "Everything fits", in 30-40 years to release a video "What the film really was about". It might be nice, but I wouldn't do it for anything. No, it's just an ordinary monster movie, brutal, bloody, with a middle script, breakthrough special effects, good acting and no ending. I don’t like movies that don’t end where they started. But in general, it is not bad, it must exist, it does not cause me any protest or unnecessary questions. We wanted to shoot this and filmed it, clearly, tensely, with taste. It's a normal movie, no more, no less. Funny fact, by the way. The poster for the film was drawn by an artist who had no idea what the film was about, so he tried to create something as general as possible that could fit half the horror films. As a result, we have a kitsch poster with some diver, whose face glows brightly. Of course, there is nothing like that in the film. Carpenter was very sorry about this poster, and I don’t understand how it was allowed or why it wasn’t replaced. It's unprofessional.
I remember this movie regularly. Since childhood I have been a lover of horror, especially the old ones. When I got to this movie, I didn’t even know why I loved it so much, but when I saw the first monster coming out of the dog, I immediately realized it. This is a true classic, if not the founding father of the Body horror genre, who boasts of his quality of puppet animation to this day. The cast was pleased with how each character fits this science station. You see a whole team where each hero is unique. (Within the themes of horror, they are still killed here, respectively, they can not boast of any multicolor characters.) The plot is not intricate, with its holes, but it does not play a huge role here, yet most people remember this picture from the spectacular scenes of turning people into something. In conclusion, I will tell you about, of course, the huge legacy that this film left for the culture of cinema and horror. Similar ideas and methods are still remembered today.
Having made a name for himself on such classic films as Assault on the 13th Precinct and Halloween, John Carpenter decided to turn to the genre of fantastic horror. But unlike his previous projects, he decided not to make the film on an original basis. Carpenter was interested in the forgotten horror of the 50s, which told about an alien taking the form of people, and counted. That this idea can be presented more eerie and spectacular. And this is how the great director in the early 80s shot, probably, his best film in his career, namely the very “Something”.
The film takes place in 1982 in Antarctica. Here is an American research station, consisting entirely of a team of harsh men. One day, a dog from their Norwegian colleagues comes to the Americans. It would seem that there is nothing mysterious in this, but soon after the dog comes a helicopter with Norwegians who want to shoot the animal. However, the Americans did not allow this, as a result of which the dog remained in their pen. And that was a big mistake.
It turns out that this is not just a dog, but an alien who takes the form of any living creature. And now he does not mind eating the Americans and gradually destroy them. This organism is only afraid of fire, but at the same time, even if a couple of its cells remain alive, it can easily be reborn. The main thing is to get in touch with the naked body, and then be in trouble. Realizing the nightmare of the situation, the pilot McReady takes full responsibility and leads the fight against the alien. But to calculate the monster is not easy, because they can be anyone.
Carpenter put his heroes in a situation from which it is not easy to escape. There are miles of icy desert around the station, and if a storm starts, there is no escape from here by helicopter. Communication in the characters is limited, and other stations are extremely far away. The first third of the film clearly shows us that ordinary researchers now have to stand up for themselves and rely on no one. “Something” plays on the fears of claustrophobia and it turns out that the film is great.
There is no place in the film for passing jokes and unnecessary conversations. We are shown an exceptionally harsh male team, where they are not exchanged for small things. This adds to the atmosphere of tension. In addition, John Carpenter worked well with the selection of actors. The same McReady, played by Kurt Russell, is considered one of the most interesting horror heroes in the history of the genre.
My bottom line: "Something" is one of the most deserving fantasy horrors of all time. Maybe in the year of release the film Carpenter failed at the box office, but over time, a cult formed around it, and the story was replenished with a prequel. So the artistic values of this story are undeniable.
10 out of 10
One of the most important signs of a truly quality horror, in my opinion, is the test of time. In our age of technology, you can play anything on the screen and if the horror film, which was shot forty years ago, still keeps in suspense, despite completely different from real blood and very outdated special effects, then this is a really good film.
"Something" is just that kind of thing. He keeps in suspense, he scares, he makes you listen to every rustle that you hear on the other side of the screen.
The plot is wonderful. It's like a textbook. At some station in Antarctica, where there is only snow and ice around, and communication with the “mainland” works every time, employees of this research station will encounter something that has never been encountered before. And, of course, this is almost the perfect ground for the unfolding of the plot. Several men in what may be called a closed space are in mortal danger and there is nowhere to wait for help. And, of course, this whole situation creates suspicions in the minds of these people towards each other.
Even after many years, we can say that this is an exemplary science fiction movie. There is everything you need to spend an hour and a half with interest, tension and perhaps even a little chill. There is snow and snow and something unknown.
The film "Something" is an American fantasy horror film, released on June 28, 1982, directed by John Carpenter, the film adaptation of John W. Campbell Jr.'s science fiction novel "Who's Going?". Received the award "Golden Raspberry" for the worst soundtrack, plus, the award "Saturn" for the best special effects and best horror film. All awards were awarded in 1983.
Plot
The film is set in a polar research station in Antarctica. Polar explorers are faced with something previously unseen, over which bold decisions will have to be made in order to save humanity from the threat of extermination.
Personal opinion
A similar plot has already been seen in the 1979 film Alien by Ridley Scott. Anyway, now the movie "Something" is interesting. The film in general I really liked. Most of all I liked: heroes, special effects, makeup monsters. Plus well selected: plans, sequential installation, light. Here there are also cliché, about the separation of characters, frozen characters who bother before danger.
The meaning of the film
A film about mistrust, paranoia of people and their interaction with each other in a situation that is not very favorable for them. The moment of disbelief and paranoia is well shown in the scene when people explain who is who. When they start pointing guns at each other.
Recommendation
This film can be recommended to those who want to know what is a reference horror.
Aliens want to take over Earth at least since H.G. Wells. In the cinema, this scenario by the early 1980s outlived itself, stuffed with edges, body thieves and the like caused yawning. The script required refreshment like a Spielberg family story about friendship with aliens, not about war. And “Something” of 1982 is also a remake, albeit with its full story, intersecting with the original. And the compulsion to Ridley Scott is not empty talk. The application to fight the film Spielberg at the box office was expectedly unsuccessful, John Carpenter slightly recaptured the invested budget, not gaining and $ 20 million. Polar explorers, watched by the cool hero Kurt Russell, a bearded and hairy fan of whiskey and chess, get into a catastrophic situation at the Antarctic station, where a collision with extraterrestrial intelligence promises an absolute capture of the Earth in 27 thousand hours. They get into classic horror networks, where some are prepared for a cruel mess without the right to rest. They are forced to fight for the fate of humanity, when the rest of the world waits atrophied with a connection that just broke. And with the polar explorers of other countries - there are no more Russians, no Brits, nor the same nerdy Norwegians who engaged in incomprehensible archaeology in the midst of seventy-degree frost. One drunken pilot Macready and a dozen untrained scientists confront the threat. Of these, three men held a gun and would become John Rambo. Everything we have seen in dozens of horror films - the laws of horror are unchanging.
But, despite the above, Carpenter managed to make one of the most outstanding horror films in the history of cinema. Genre golden norm, where the authors were able to connect template sketches and logical flaws in a meditative, but really terrible, causing jitters picture, breathing new strength into the beaten idea. Alien civilizations no longer want to make meat grinders. They wait until people fail, 27,000 hours or mummification in an iceberg is better than a rash blitzkrieg. There is a war of evolution, a war of reason, where, as in a chess game, every move must be calculated for a long time. For tens of thousands of years, building a sarcophagus in the hope of enthusiastic searchers, Nobel laureates. And those were found - you can go crazy here in a few hours. Now they shoot something at the dog, blow up their own helicopter, burn down the base. A horror film at the macro level begins to come into contact with a disaster film: the continent forgotten by God is flooded with blood, charcoal and burning boards, the radio signal fades. Rescue ships are the dream of Noah’s Ark. Clocks of the simplest scientific achievements are scattered with ashes - even there is nowhere to live, because you can not share a kitchen and a bed with a creature. Too many X-factors (not listed in full) for everyday history. The original story “Who’s Going?” of 1938 is “meat overgrown”: now, on screen, it’s not easy to imitate “War of the Worlds.”
American polar explorers on their own. And, undeniably, it is a discovery, they are well held. Contrary to the genre cranberries, the characters in The Thing are not beyond brainless, like the victims of Michael Myers and the endless array of freak-masked killer maniacs. Moreover, their actions and mistakes are caused by instructions and regulations rather than stupidity. At the neighboring station, it was not the coffee grinder that broke, but everyone died and everything burned down, a distraught Norwegian wounded Bennings - an emergency occurred requiring investigation. So they sort it out by pulling organs out of a Siamese corpse. There's no NSA or Fox Mulder to help, so you have to get out on your own. It's hard to get out of your way when you're confronted by what seems like phantasmagoria. Dogs in infernal fear rip out Rabitz's net with their teeth to escape the degenerate undead, and the staff does not believe in very superstitious, no matter how Stevie Wonder hints. Literary nonsense leave teenagers, scientists do not like nonsense instead of evidence. But these ravings still come true, the testimony of twelve angry men abound for conviction and sentence. The death sentence is an exceptional measure against the monster: watching the assimilation of a dog’s cell and a creature on a computer is afraid of what to say about the human race. Bad and when R.J. did not grow up to Schwarzenegger, as well as the rest, and machis brutality won’t win. And cockroaches in Homo sapiens full.
Claustrophobia on a huge glacier and a cramped base. Antarctica closes to the scale of an elevator. The penguins have even run away – and they can’t stand the moral onslaught. How do you deal with the paranoia of survival? Yesterday's friend will be roasted under a flamethrower any minute, and you have no desire to mourn his fate. We have to evolve before our eyes, when the instinct of survival conquers sorrow and sentiment. Otherwise, this vile disgusting creature will kill you by thrusting a needle into a vein or flocking into your nostril. It is not enough to soak animals from a shotgun, the monster will be able to incarnate in anyone, bite off his hands at a convenient moment and growl terribly between the tense ambient Ennio Morricone. The battle of civilizations in the ass of the world is equated to hunting: sit and wait with a revolver for the key moment. John Carpenter perfectly juxtaposes the slow and at times dreary narrative with the fateful moments in which the antagonist will hatch on the screen - the pathetic drooling scum on spider paws created by 22-year-old Rob Bottin. It is able to take on the appearance of anyone, it is enough to release a gum-tentacle, splash jam and “embrace” the body. Doesn’t that mean losing, waking up too late? Blair, a senior biologist, had already accepted defeat in a fit of psychosis. Will you follow him, gentlemen?
They don't trust anyone. The creature successfully pitted yesterday’s colleagues on a research mission, they will not play pool together again. Explosive body-horror in front of polar explorers will contribute to madness, and the thing will prevail: upright walkers will chew themselves out. Here and in the open to kill the moveton; they have no way, if inside the shred of bodies, the smell of burnt bones and flesh, distorted faces, and outside the cruel cold and endless wasteland with the ocean at the edges. Protecting yourself with dynamite and a signal checker is the only way to survive at some point. The maximum distrust is understandable. How do you fight? Three years and the planet is in control of this nightmare. At least at the cost of their lives to overcome it is necessary that the Earth does not become a jungle of intestines. The smartest must come up with something, but the horror, the horror does not pass. You would rather live in ignorance... A maniac with a chainsaw can run around or demolish a shot once. Nothing will go either way. In the power of unreality, horror multiplies, the filmmakers do not leave the characters a chance for Zen. Even the ending will not calm you down, but vice versa. How can we hope for a happy end to the odyssey? Perhaps there is no hope when Childs does not give off steam? The ingenious final shots of The Thing will square the horror at the level of symbols, and John Carpenter seems to say that the fears in the tape are false and amalgam. And the real horror lies ahead.
8.5 out of 10
While watching "Something" made a strong impression on me. The film was released 40 years ago.
Let me tell you a little about the fate of the painting. The film was allocated a fairly serious amount for that time. The studio was waiting for a real hit. The only problem was that the film had to compete at the box office with Steven Spielberg’s Alien. Unfortunately, "Something" failed to attract viewers to theaters and failed at the box office. But after the release of the video, the film became a cult.
The film is based on John Wood Campbell Jr.’s novel “Who’s Going?” By the way, a few years ago, researchers of the writer’s work discovered the manuscript of an unknown novel entitled “Ice Hell”. It turned out that this work was a draft story. Ice Hell is now available to the public. I read this book after watching the movie. For its time, the novel turned out to be extremely atmospheric.
It's time to talk about the story. The film takes place in Antarctica. On the American polar station comes a dog, which with a helicopter tried unsuccessfully to shoot Norwegian polar explorers. The animal is sent to the kennel. But it soon turns out that it wasn’t just a dog. The station was hit by an alien who is able to absorb and create an exact copy of other organisms. But the heroes are no longer sure that among their colleagues there is no monster. The plot of the film was extremely tense. During the viewing it is really interesting to guess which of the polar explorers have already managed to copy. The director with the help of certain scenes only increases distrust of this or that hero. The only problem from the point of view of the script can only be considered not very worked out universe of the film. There is literally nothing outside the polar station. There is no secret of the alien’s origin. His UFO just landed badly and got stuck in the ice of Antarctica. To shoot successful sequels with such introductory problems. Of course, a prequel came out in 2011. But it was much weaker than the first part.
The tense atmosphere in "Something" is sustained to the very credits. The special effects were treated with full responsibility. The transformation of the monster still looks very creepy. It is hard to imagine how this was perceived forty years ago. The music for the film was written by Ennio Morricone. The title theme is very simple, but it is memorable and creates the desired atmosphere.
"Something" is a true horror classic. I liked the film more than the original source. I recommend it to all fans of the genre.
The thing {say with a corrugated, south pole whistle} ... the "girlfriend" of the alien (1982) ... flew for the "beloved", but crashed somewhere in Antarctica ... and then she was attacked by local human aborigines ... horribly... that they are with her a
They say that the plate fell thousands, hundreds of thousands of years ago - a lie. At the beginning of the film he falls with a flaming light. Such a machine easily broke the ice during the fall, melted the hot plate all under itself, and then the water from above froze again - so she deepened in an instant. So it fell exactly in the early 80s.
Oh, good old alien barbecue. The warmth of childhood spreads to the heart - yes, the post-Soviet children had a strange childhood ... the current generation and even more extraordinary in every sense. So bearded and old story that it already has a 'full remake' aka modern prequel. Interestingly, it’s time to make a remake for a century as the sunken ship of Cameron, and not just a young wizard (about what rumors mussel). Our story can be remake every 20 years, because it has everything from extraterrestrial themes to full-fledged horror and even a detective with the subtitle “Who is the killer!”... everyone “Get knives!” and show the blades – where the blood is there and the killer! Or the killer isn't the killer, but the killer inside! The story once came eerily terrible (by the standards of a child) computer game, where all the alien was given much more attention. But there is much more mystery in our history.
I've already written a movie review. Well, come on, she doesn't want to tell me about it - let the secret be a secret. We will be in the dark to remake our reviews in bundles. The local king of verification does not sleep, he has nothing else to do, we will give him a 24/7 job with a joint effort of 365. 366 days a year. You need such a calendar for a year immediately gift, you can right here like a movie and TV series for every day ... so that you can automatically set the desired number of hours of viewing per day or week, and the computer calculated on the basis of preferences a calendar for the year, although the content disappears sometimes, and reviews still hang.
_
Crossing something out this day. It wandered into a lonely station somewhere in the wilderness. What is it? Is there anything at all? Maybe it's crazy...someone's dreaming... collective madness. In the wilderness, where there are not so many people to talk to, where unknown people gathered to visit you on the screen ... to go crazy for them is a simple and quick thing, especially for those who are used to noisy and large groups of friends, but are afraid of loneliness ... long and sluggish. Noticed? horror generally love such a monotonous black, gray or white environment, locked rooms or deserted streets, snowy wastelands in the middle of the mountains, where there is no one but heroes, otherwise horror is no longer a horror... and there is a maniac running among them, waiting, taking victim after victim, brick by brick dismantles a human house. Want to build a choir on an alien planet and live there?
Or the creature is just looking for friends. Who knows her? She realized that you couldn’t just land on the lawn in front of the White House or start an expansion in the style of Independence Day – the end of such films, caught on signals from space, prompted Something to think through a more meticulous plan. It/they/she/he builds a chess combination to begin the conquest from a small territory that humanity has nothing to defend, even to master problematically. So began our XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
The virus (1998) hit us. Can we work together to protect the planet from danger? The team is small. This is the second stronghold of defense. The first, like the Norwegian border fell, now the Americans are going to work. If they do not cope, then for sure all the Russians will finish ... without the USSR there is nowhere ... probably, so Sputnik was born (2020) about the events of 1983 ... now everything is logical ... the circle ... the polar closed ... Although Antarctica is far from the USSR ... so it is ... our miracle, so before the fall something touched in space ... one eventually landed somewhere in the USSR. How is it!! And you, my lord of cinema, are too good for this world. You're something! Admit it! How long have you been working for extraterrestrial intelligence and trying to find out how to enslave us? They're among us -- she's so sure. But while watching with her help of the movie, only close to us not allowed.
But we're solving the mystery. Reading the records of the dead. We are looking for places where something has already been. It is funny that it did not cause any harm (almost) ... people themselves destroyed everything they could. And she is like a poor and miserable beast that escapes from terrible and dangerous people who shoot at her, throw grenades, etc. Poor thing. She has not yet been taught to live by the laws of the earth. Even MIB (1997) was not so tough on aliens... well, there are rules, some laws for aliens. You need kindness and affection for her. And then she will reveal to you in all her bloody glory with a wide mouth will smile in the style of the Alien (1979): sweet and kind (perhaps her puppy smile will be the most memorable nightmare in your life... the last in your life, most likely).
There may seem to be no relationship between the Hateful Eight and our Something other than musical, but there is. Same thing: a similar group of motley people is locked somewhere in the middle of the snow, among the heroes there is someone who may not survive all. There is something disgusting that will come out, will definitely come out ... you just have to talk it out.
Stunning sci-fi horror, which was a milestone in the genre.
It’s hard to overestimate the contribution ' Something' to the world of horror movies and the industry as a whole. The film went far beyond the genre, giving rise to many borrowings and imitations not only in the environment of cinema, but even video games. There are several reasons. This is the recognizable style of the picture - so cold and terrifying, but at the same time attractive; and impressive even to this day visual effects created by real masters of their craft; and the indescribable atmosphere of claustrophobia in a deadly confined space surrounded by ruthless alien beings.
The concept of alien creatures is quite simple, but it is beautiful. It is a previously unseen, ice-discovered form of life that requires constant absorption of new tissues. The survival of the aliens helps cunning ability to imitate the victims they killed. Of course, their opinion on this matter is not interested in anything, it lives strictly according to biological laws. The author of the original idea was clearly inspired by the animal world with all its abundance of parasites and their characteristic phenomenon of symbiosis. An already terrible situation is overshadowed by the situation of complete isolation of the research team at the polar station in Antarctica.
The ability of the aliens to disguise themselves as the organisms they absorb leads to a sharply growing sense of paranoia in all present, rapidly turning into general insanity. ' Something' was filmed by men and about men, and therefore the bloodiest moments look especially harsh, and, to some extent, unemotional. Perhaps this aspect is detrimental to the general drama, but certainly gives additional charm. But the soundtrack is difficult to justify, it seems to be woven from absolutely incongruous parts. Half sounds appropriate, perfectly amplifying the most spectacular scenes, the other - as if written for low-grade horror category Z. I really don’t want to watch the movie any less.
' Something' has incredible magnetism. Chilling darkness and discomfort, coupled with an irresistible desire to watch this movie again and again.
The final shots are designed in the spirit of the whole film, and simply magnificent.
A masterful work, from immersion in which you begin to feel uncomfortable, as if you are with these polar explorers there. The scariest movie of my childhood. No strangers and other “men in suits” are standing next to this creation. Fear, tension, distrust, the unknown.
I saw this movie for the first time. I have heard a lot about it, and even that many people almost elevate it to the rank of horror masterpieces. With the hope that I really missed something worthwhile and now pass the evening to a good movie, I sat down to watch.
Polar explorers from an American research station witness their Norwegian colleagues chasing a dog in a helicopter trying to kill it. As a result of coincidences, the Norwegians die, and the dog is taken to the station by American polar explorers. They do not yet know that this dog was tried to kill because it is infected with an unknown organism and now their lives are also under threat.
I don't know what everyone found in this movie. Definitely not a masterpiece. The usual average horror, of which they are now stamped on a dozen a year, and they, bypassing cinemas, are sent straight to video. For the 80s, of course, a very fascinating sight was, but now it does not look very, even in terms of the plot.
John Carpenter, who shot the famous “Halloween”, a little tired of slashers, and apparently decided between the second and third part of the adventures of Michael Myers to relax on the set of light space horrors. And, in principle, here genre affiliation swings more towards fiction than horror. At least I thought so. I don’t see space monsters as horrors.
The plot, oddly enough, did not start to swing long and tense, but began to develop quite cheerfully and hastily. From the first minutes, the action begins, and until the end of the film does not slow down. Narration does not slow down even frequent long dialogues, explaining to the viewer many nuances. It’s also interesting to watch.
The special effects are pretty good for 1982. Not "Alien", of course, but there is something to see. Finally, filmmakers found the right balance between animatronics and makeup. Now, 40 years later, it looks a little primitive, but, as they say, you need to watch films forty years ago through the eyes of forty years ago. Not bad for that time. And now the eye doesn't cut.
Of the cast, I only know Kurt Russell, and I think horror is a bit off his subject. It doesn’t look very organic in them. Too stone face for horror when you need to act in the frame. For two hours he waited for at least a scare or shock, but alas, a serene calm, when everyone else runs away in terror.
The soundtrack for the film was written by Enio Moriccone, and, surprisingly, slammed the nomination for Golden Raspberry. If I hadn’t read his name in the credits, I wouldn’t know who the author was. This is a very uncharacteristic style.
The movie is beautiful, but I don’t want to watch it. Despite the fact that he was elevated to the rank of cult, it is still not my thing.
5 out of 10
The most iconic film of Carpenter, with which the director is most often associated. Although Carpenter shot before and after this film a lot of smart tapes, but the most painful was exactly ' Something'. The movie failed in theaters and that’s not surprising. Watching the movie was hard without the risk of spitting out the burgers you had eaten. Therefore, the people went for a more pleasant and safe for the stomach of the alien. Nevertheless, now the film is deservedly considered cult, and the metamorphoses of realistic special effects are perceived more calmly.
So, something. This is one of those titles that fully reflect the essence of the main presumption of the film. It is a creature without a certain shape that can capture any organism from just one small part. And here there is a particularly fruitful ground for universal suspicion - who is who.
The action takes place on a rather cold pole of the Earth, where a base of polar explorers with an unofficial leader in the person of Macready is located, because he is a helicopter pilot and is extremely useful. Macready, who periodically destroys cheating computers and stores of alcohol, leads a very philistine life at the station without any special occupation. Women, as usual, in a purely harsh male team of polar explorers were not invited. But maybe it's for the best, given the subsequent mixing with the alien creature. The scale of the battle for the modest station will be truly epic, coupled with the horror of the possible contamination of the Earth.
In fact, the film perfectly creates conditions of paranoia and claims can only be to special effects Rob Bottin. But only given the secretive nature of the creature. Here the foreign invader very early reveals its essence and negates all camouflage. Also claims from the point of view of sciences like biology, physics and chemistry. Any organic matter fully obeys the laws of the material world and does not allow such rapid cell division or an increase in mass from nothing. But in this film, the flight of Rob Bottin’s fantasy was truly limitless, and as a result, the special effects master even ended up in the hospital. More paranoia could have been achieved if the creature had not manifested itself in the first place. But then the movie would have been very different. It is worth mentioning that the film Carpenter became the official remake of the old film "Something from another world" & #39; which the maestro qualitatively shoveled into a more scientific genre. There was also a prequel to the film, which in fact looked more like a remake due to the obvious similarity of the original canvas. There is also a game embodiment of the ideas of the film, which have already continued the original events in a free key.
As a result, the film, due to the modern alienation of society from each other and distrust among people, is quite topical. Special effects, although implausible from the point of view of biology, are quite frightening even today. The atmosphere of paranoia is so poignant that the film is literally hard to watch in a good way. It is also ridiculous to see incidents with awards for the Golden Raspberry for Morricone, who is an honored folk composer. A truly iconic film that deserves a competent continuation.
Before watching the movie, I didn’t expect much from him.
I imagined that at one point in the plot, the characters would start, in a typical horror style, blunt, put themselves and others in danger and ridiculously die.
But I was pleasantly surprised.
First, the quality of the picture and the atmosphere of cold and gloomy Antarctica. The lighting in some scenes (dark blue background and red light of false fire) pleases the eye.
Second, monster design. Due to the fact that in those days it was not possible to use computer graphics, monsters were sculpted live. And the result, I'll tell you, is very impressive. These are probably the worst monsters I've seen in movies. The closest similar analogue can serve only necromorphs from the game "Dead Space", only more eerie and humanoid.
Third, and most importantly, the characters behave like real sane people in almost all situations. I'll explain.
One of the employees of the center noticed a strange creature in a dog cage. In this situation, a typical character from other horror films would necessarily mess up: either stumble, then freeze in place as paralyzed, or some kind of stupidity that usually infuriates the viewer.
And then surprisingly, the character acts logically: runs away, notifies the others, and there the hero of Kurt Russell immediately decides to bring a flamethrower to this place (here I am of course high). And so in the whole story.
As a result, sensible characters and a cozy gloomy atmosphere made watching this film extremely interesting for me.
9 out of 10
39 Pisces came out of the ocean, their legs grew, and they began to walk. Primates came down from the trees, began to walk straight and began to talk.39
What is it like to be in Antarctica with a group of men? Around an immeasurable layer of white desert, outside the window is stable far beyond +2, the snowball breaks off and accumulates under the hood. A computer with installed chess always beats - uninteresting, colleagues are not sociable at all, dogs are all in a cage and sleep. Oh, wait! Here, another dog came running - not from ours, but behind her and the Norwegian (Swedish) with a gunshot on a helicopter flew aki that wizard - there was entertainment!! Yes, only the fairy tale has the peculiarity of quickly ending, replacing itself with a tin can, and the dog of that food was worth less. Everything breaks off, and on the radio they do not transmit the melodic flow of the stream from the mountains, the flowers dried up, the light flashes and almost went out. Carpenter’s 'Something' has been preparing its viewer for a very long time for the endless nightmare that it hides behind it from the very first chords (heartbeats); it seems that the director deliberately introduces his viewer into a state of some sleepy trance or frostbite, in order to bring him out of that slumber with a good amount of combustible mixture ... How their flamethrowers burn, what a fire they give away! Exactly Hell on a piece of earth! Who was this hell created by? Is it an alien creature that absorbs all matter and loves to play blindfolds in a sandbox of snow? At Carpenter for you there is always a portion of the supplement.
39 Stars fell down from the sky and my tears dripped into the ocean, now I am looking for the reason why you set my world in motion.
To be honest, towards the end of the action, I had the impression that it was going on much more than normal. Like a performance that didn't end with the claimed bears ali tigers. Poodles ran there, hummingbirds flew in, lizards crawled in - and they threw a couple of hours to the two hours indicated in the ticket. Seriously, ' Something' Carpenter does not go 1:40 - much more, rather 4 hours and 10 minutes; this situation of complete separation from civilization really washes the eye like a baby shampoo, and to distinguish the outlines of his friend is unlikely. And, in fact, it is necessary - yes, in this case it is even necessary, for your comrade may not be a comrade at all, or even a comrade of your blood enemy, but ' he is not a comrade himself' - this is a much more damned goose! As in one animated series it was - ' I am not your friend, comrade! I am not your friend, friend!' Pure paranoia covers those present, it seems that dry porridge still affected the minds, and now they are looking for something to profit from their neighbor or to tear away from him. And there is also a cunning alien degenerate, of course, hatched (I will not say how, but he hatches there), and this UFO-shnik is not the one that over Arnold jumped on lianas in ' invisibility cloak' - much more advanced, and on the ball combination in chess does not spread. Everything is very clear, strict and thoughtful. Look at him - how he behaves, it seems, on his planet he was given a solemn diploma with a red tint and an honorary diploma with a photo on the stand (I will add about the university), sending him on a free cruise to the Arctic resorts on the neighboring planet - a connoisseur! Although our brave soldiers with flamethrowers, of course, not to laugh that fun.
39 Because if you're not around, even the stars don't matter, I'm filled with fear. But that's only part of the problem.
And who is represented in the form of those bearers of the flamethrower on the shoulders, who is the brave one who refused the beach with a cocktail and sucks an icicle aki sherbet? Well, there are many of them, but all his beard bushy blocked Uncle Kurt - yes, he here and burns napalm more than all and more permissible, and speaks human language, and saves all who can - in general, the hero is a hero, and who is not a hero - he was already burned, here without ceremony. Kurt Russell is the stronghold of that raft, without it everyone would drown immediately, and even the director with his papers, he literally fastens everything around with his skillful handles and does not let you freeze to the pipe. And when you are cold, you cannot freeze, because fear will cover you immediately. How terrible is it ' Something' (and this is a horror movie)? Enough, rest assured, and keep the saucer ready so that the seal does not leak. Maniacs with machetes and baseball gloves have still not reached places, and there are no pythons at all, however, fear comes from other places, no matter how it sounds. Notice that there won't be a single screamer throughout the chronometer -- amazingly, but it is. Carpenter builds a building of horror on cement of human thoughts, when you do not understand who is next to you and whether you can trust him; when you do not see in your loved one; when blood is also an animate object. All this pressure literally fetters and tears off the brackets, and there is no way out, and this finishes completely - no matter how much you fight, but the transport will not come and take you away - it is late, and they do not walk in these places, because they never went. That science is fastened to the mustache - you can not tear it off, and if you look for something similar in another area, then immediately asks 'Faculty'Robert Rodriguez, duplicating ' Something' completely, to the slightest cage - just can not distinguish one from another! The game in ' Find 5 differences' is initially a failure here, because there are no differences (except, of course, the scene), there are even the same scenes (hello, Famke!), not to mention the conjuncture. So, if you suddenly want to continue the banquet - please, be kind, go to that university with dark corridors, there you will meet kind teachers and even Salma Hayek.
Finally, I will make a very unpopular judgment, but I think it is very cute and still disposed to itself: the prequel, mimicking the remake, 2011 release with Mary-Elizabeth Winstead - surpassed in all articles the original film; this is a rarity, therefore, and the value is no less ... Although this bloody-ice horror, I put the highest score - much higher.
9 out of 10
'I looked up at the gray sky, and I saw the response look of a thousand eyes'
Further collaboration between Carpenter and Russell
Ben Grimm, after being irradiated by a cosmic wave, turned into a Being... and, this is not the Thing, this is a cult adaptation from John Carpenter, where the effect of madness perfectly reflects the closedness of space, night investigations and can affect the viewer, even without resorting to special effects, because, firstly, they are from the 80s – wedded to this on the screen, and secondly, the story before the mystical episodes is very interesting and exciting.
The plot of the picture refers me not to the original work of John W. Campbell Jr. “Who is coming?”
? “I am the Archer, Commissioner of the Gargonites.”
And to the story of Howard Lovecraft “The Ridges of Madness”, where almost the same situation, is only attributed to the favorite author of “Necronomicon”. In the film adaptation of Carpenter, everything is crazy, alarming and intriguing from the first frames.
This is a polar station with working guys. From the first shots, the director demonstrates the conflict, while only interethnic, without explanation, only after the first key moment, the viewer can reconsider his views on the actions of the Norwegian team, and for now this is a strong statement that implies a fatal outcome. It is interesting that the first frames of the picture immediately resort to action, because so far everything is harmless.
The mystery is intriguingly transmitted, mysteriously strange phenomena open up before the heroes that cannot be explained. A group of people led by cheeky Kurt Russell witness strange phenomena, also discover the unthinkable. The presentation of such a scenario is perfectly executed, the atmosphere of horror and mystery does not leave you for a second, and a closed location surrounded by ice refers to Ridley Scott’s Alien.
The first terrible changes in the behavior of the inhabitants give one of the most memorable scenes, where the drama focuses on affection and great love, where horrors and experiences are combined. Of course, the demonstration of the abomination looked unpleasant (this is due to the creativity of the artists in special effects and the unlimited ability to create all sorts of game on the screens), but the meaning that this episode conveyed now turns the perception of the film and forces you to be in constant vigilance.
The horrors did not remain without a trace, now the intrigue affects all the inhabitants of the station, demonstrating as an effect of horror, how fear and the invisible presence of Something passes from one person to another. Suspicions, lies, quarrels that end not too much fun. It's a template for the '80s to leave a character alone, where obvious things immediately come. What can I do? So shot before, this formula brought the effect of horror from loneliness, from the inability to do anything or call someone for help.
The picture until the final works according to this scheme, giving distrust among the team and showing what a person is ready to go for survival. The magnificent ability of Something to be transformed by symbiotic intervention (like Venom) gives enemies among its comrades, and detective methods of investigation create good intrigue.
This picture, which will keep in suspense from the first minutes, raise questions about the actions of different people and until the end to hide the solution of Something. Kurt Russell as if for the fee from “Escape from New York” bought a couple of McDonald’s and amusingly picked up, but this image of a polar explorer fits his appearance. It is necessary to stock up on internal heat before going to the icy lands. David Clennon perfectly conveyed the panic attacks and horror in the eyes of showing the face of Something. Does the film deserve the most terrible status, as it is called everywhere? For his time, he brought panic to the audience, but this is a tense picture that scares not a monster, but the atmosphere.
In the wake of the success of Alien, Universal Studios also decided to release its alien horror film. As a basis, the writers took the novel by John V. Campbell Jr. "Who's Going?", and in the director's chair they put John Carpenter, who died out in Hollywood with his "Halloween."Something" came out at the same time with "Alien ET And critics with the audience preferred the film, where the alien is shown kind and friendly, and not where the crocosabra takes the form of the victims killed by her. However, after a while, people warmed their hearts, and now "" is recognized as one of the cult horror films.
If “The Fear Room” frightened me by the fact that the characters are locked in a steel bunker, then here, although the action takes place on a whole research base in Antarctica, the suspense caught up no less. The whole continent is in ice captivity, and contact with the big land is not so easy. And then another incomprehensible creature after a thousand-year hibernation woke up, and such a “need to update the wardrobe”, and begins to wet the polar explorers, taking the form of their victims. And among people there is distrust of each other, everyone begins to find out who is the most “something” under the disguise.
Since it is winter, too, and it is getting darker quickly, I turned on "" in the evening and sat down, wrapped in a blanket. And you know what? I remember that Freddy Krueger, Jeepers Creepers, Alien, although they caused some exclamation of “oh” in appearance, but did not scare me much. And because of the creature from the movie "Something" I was craving even to go to the toilet to drop ballast. This formlessness, this unnaturalness really makes me shudder. And no computer graphics! The scene with dogs and defibrilation - I can't imagine how they could do it so well!
The current level of tension in history is on par with Ridley Scott’s Alien. People at a research base in the middle of desert Antarctica are looking for a creature that masquerades as one of them. And when these polar explorers suspect each other, and do a blood test to identify the alien – it turned out “Ten black cubs”, but harder. Help create the atmosphere of the acting (Kurt Russell in the title role) and the soundtrack Ennio Morricone, which is unclear why nominated for the "Golden Raspberry".
Although in some aspects of the technical plan, the film is outdated, but for more than 35 years the tension makes you squeeze into a lump, and the time test of the film passed. And also this film will give a little instructive advice to all parents: if your child dragged some creature from a walk, grown into the ice, then in time to reason with the back of the head. It was not enough for you to then bite your hand on the elbow.
Do not go, children, in Antarctica to walk or My favorite horror film pro and aliens.
The eighties are the time of horror stories about aliens, abominations from other planets, alien hunters and other cute hearts (pun intended). Who's to blame? One enterprising Briton, who in 1979 sawed down the most popular film about a creepy alien, and made a lot of money from it.
All right, Sir Scott, I love and respect you, ' Alien' cult and classic, but this masterpiece by Carpenter, I like it better. Because now they don't take it off, and they'll never take it off again. Because it's an incredibly creepy sound. Because young Kurt. Because it's an unpredictable story. A favorite childhood film and love from the first frame.
And the plot is basically simple. There's Something That Woke Up After A Long Sleep And Wanted To Have Breakfast & #39 There is a group of brutal, bearded, and cool like Arnold Borisovich in ' Red Heat'. And cold, piercing to the bones of the cold ...
It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t seen or loved this movie. He is loved even by Tarantino and Morricone, seriously, ' The Hateful Eight' look. Mr. Stupilo created an homage to Carpenter's masterpiece.
Music. For me, the sound 'Something' one of the best in cinema. Immediately after 'Brother 2' and 'Terminator', yes. Tuntun, tuntun... Br, where is my dress and collection 'Smesharikov'?!
Arnie was friends with Cameron, Jackie was friends with Samo Hung, and Kurt was friends with Carpenter, and hell, how lucky he was to have him. One 'Escape from New York' what's worth it! It is a pity that they stopped working together after the cult ' Big Trouble in Little China', due to the fact that the film failed at the box office. Damn box office. . .
Macready is Russell's best role. A brutal bearded leader who burns monsters that imitate a human being is strong. Not a Vin Diesil and the Rock such legendary roles do not (although Diesel is Riddick, and even then, he is cool only in ' Black Hole')! Kurt Russell played as if it was not a stupid alien movie 39, but a serious Oscar drama by some Bergman!
Special effects. Now many will begin: outdated, stupid eighties, and so on.
Personally for me, special effects ' Something' cooler, stupid, children's graphics of all sorts there'Dumov' (so forgive me fans of the original game, the film and the truth stinks of waste products) and other modern type' cool' horror films about monsters, which consist of 85 percent of comp. graphics. The costume designer (or special effects artist, sorry, I don’t really remember) was only 22 years old! He deserves honor and respect.
It's not the effects or the graphics. Just John, Kurt and company shot a scary, interesting, soulful and incredibly cool horror. My favorite and dear. In the beginning I had 'Something' and only then 'Alien' and 'Predator' (there is someone on the tree...).
And after 'Something' I disliked Spielberg. If not for his ' Alien', 'Something' would not have to wait 20 years before deserved recognition and the status of classics.
Over. But it's time to put things right, Mr. Spielberg.'E.T.' It's certainly a well-known Mr. Hollywood movie, but it's VERY childish. All moviegoers mature in mind will choose 'Something'. At the same time, I do not want to offend fans of Spielberg’s canvas, just... The sinister Tuntun-Tuntun... It's really cool!
P.S. In the year of release, the tape received ' Golden Raspberry', anti-award for 'Worst Soundtrack'. Well, that year the judges were deaf-mute. Or patients at the Pescadero Clinic near Los Angeles (reference to ' Terminator 2'' if anything). . .
On the wave of success 'Alien' Universal studio decided to also release its horror film about aliens. The scriptwriters took the novel by John V. Campbell Jr. 'Who's Going?' as a basis, and John Carpenter was put in the director's chair, who died in Hollywood with his ' Halloween'. ' Something' came out at the same time with ' Alien' Spielberg, but the picture collected little at the box office. And critics with the audience preferred the film, where the alien is shown kind and friendly, and not where the crocosabra takes the form of the victims killed by her. However, after a while, people warmed up, and now 'Something' recognized as one of the cult horror films.
If ' Room of Fear' I was frightened by the fact that the characters are locked in a steel bunker, then here, although the action takes place on a whole research base in Antarctica, suspense caught up no less. The whole continent is in ice captivity, and contact with the big land is not so easy. And then another incomprehensible creature after a thousand-year hibernation woke up, and this ' it would be necessary to update the wardrobe', and begins to wet polar explorers, taking the form of their victims. And among people there is distrust of each other, everyone begins to find out who of them is the most ' something' under disguise.
Since it’s winter too, and it’s getting darker quickly, I turned on 'Something' in the evening and sat down with a blanket. And you know what? I remember that Freddy Krueger, Jeepers Creepers, Alien, though and caused some exclamation & #39; oh & #39; in appearance, but not particularly frightened me. And because of the creature from the film ' Something' I was craving even to go to the toilet to drop ballast. This formlessness, this unnaturalness really makes me shudder. And no computer graphics! The scene with dogs and defibrilation - I can't imagine how they could do it so well!
The upcoming level of tension in the story is on par with ' Alien' Ridley Scott. People at a research base in the middle of desert Antarctica are looking for a creature that masquerades as one of them. And when these polar explorers suspect each other, and do a blood test to identify the alien - it turned out ' Ten black cubs' but much bloodier. Help create the atmosphere of the acting (Kurt Russell in the title role) and the soundtrack Ennio Morricone, which is unclear why nominated for ' Golden Raspberry'.
Although in some aspects of the technical plan, the film is outdated, but for more than 35 years the tension makes you squeeze into a lump, and the time test of the film passed. And also this film will give a little instructive advice to all parents: if your child dragged some creature from a walk, grown into the ice, then in time to reason with the back of the head. It was not enough for you to then bite your hand on the elbow.
It’s hard to say anything new about a film almost forty years ago, so I’ll just try to explain why I like Carpenter’s The Thing.
Perhaps, you can spend hours singing praises to the special effects that glorified this film and which today shake the imagination, because you will not see anything even close in modern films of the genre of fiction, or in modern horrors drawn on the computer from and to. There is nothing difficult in putting a green screen on the back and sculpting a bunch of disgusting special effects that occur around and around in current cinema, so the output is very primitive tastelessness. It is much more difficult to try to create something like this, using only improvised means, which is why this film is unique and looks fresh after so many years - it has a soul, because it is the result of the work of all the members of the film crew, and not computer-drawn sweet shit. Something causes genuine fear, especially at the first viewing, because the viewer believes in what he sees, the alien looks convincing, it is not drawn and added during post-processing, it really looks like a living organism.
Amazingly conveyed the atmosphere of distrust and horror, which is felt even more clearly, thanks to the soundtrack of Ennio Morricone, which is not a very complex quiet melody with distinct beats that mimic the heartbeat. Sometimes when watching, you even forget that you are watching horrors, the detective component comes to the fore and only the sounds introduced into the Morricone film catch up with suspense, and the appearance on horror screens from distant corners of the universe makes blood freeze in the veins.
I can say with confidence that this is one of the most intelligent and tense horror movies I’ve seen. It is extremely sad that “Something” barely paid off from a financial point of view, because it is without exaggeration a cult movie.
10 out of 10
I love this movie. The horror film of the famous, American director John Carpenter turned out to be the most successful adaptation of the fantastic story 'Who's Going?'. As you know, this director is the king of horror films, and the film ' Something' one of his best works.
The film is incredibly creepy and gloomy, and most importantly interesting. The whole picture looks in incredible excitement and it is impossible to break away from viewing. From the film adaptation of 1951, this movie is sharply different, and the remake turned out to be chic.
Cold Winter, 1982, Antarctica. Here at the research base, American scientists will face something unknown. Something woke up in the ice - an alien, very aggressive creature that no one had ever encountered before. Far from the entire human world, scientists will have to fight a terrifying and sinister creature that brings death with it. . .
The film is shot atmospherically, and even now, for those who have never seen it, it will be interesting to watch. Carpenter is a master, and he knows how to scare the viewer, how to interest and easily present a terrible story. This film is really creepy, even if it is cruel. You do not want to approach something from this story even a few kilometers away, and you are very, very worried about the heroes from this dark story.
Personally, I love it when filmmakers stick to the book that the story follows. If in the film 'Something' 1951, besides men, there were also female heroines, then in the film of 1982 there is no such thing, and everything is observed, as in the story. Such important details convey the full spirit of the novel and its atmosphere.
One of Kurt Russell's most memorable and best films. He has never played for John Carpenter, but 'Something' my favorite picture of him. The American actor from Springfield is always amazing, and we grew up with his films. For this role, he went well and played clean. The rest of the cast was little known, but everyone played without a single note of falsehood, which was nice to see.
In this film, every little thing is impregnated with something creepy and cold. There is doom in everything, as if everyone is against the heroes of this story and ' Happy End' will not. And the atmosphere was gloomy, and the music even gets to goosebumps. In the selection of sinister melodies by the famous composer Annie Morricono, the opinion of critics and audiences was divided. Some thought they were successful, and some did not. In any case, the infamous nomination for the Golden Raspberry soundtrack received, and it was the only precedent in Morricone’s career.
For those who love horror movies and appreciate this genre, this movie is a must see. The film retains all the rules and charm of horror and carries a truly creepy and exciting story.
'Something' is a 1982 American, science fiction horror film. The result is a dangerous and truly ageless horror classic. The film is excellent, and deserves attention, as well as high praise.
Those wishing to familiarize themselves with this horror work of John Carpenter can ideally be advised to read in addition the story of John Wood Campbell Jr. “Who’s Going?” (in other versions of “Who’s There?”, “Something”), since many moments, including without the terrifying transformations of a faceless alien monster, can simply be incomprehensible the first time. Campbell, Jr., in his small science fiction revelation, briefly explained the psychology of a creature deadly to “local inhabitants.” Therefore, many inefficiencies that manifest themselves during the viewing will get a sense of their own integrity. This is just a little advice.
As for the film, John Carpenter shot his best work in the Post-Apocalyptic Trilogy (ideological sequels - Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness), showing horror in a literal sense. Horror, physically tangible. The horror in the very process of contact. Horror is formless, but taking shape. The horror inside the main polar heroes, trapped away from outside help alone with an invisible but living enemy. They don’t know what to expect or what to do next, as the situation in the film contradicts itself, leading to banal paranoia. This is the best part of the tape, allowing at the right time two genres – “horror” and “thriller” to go into interchangeability.
In addition to a skillful game with genres, the film was able to register the main characters well - people before or after "contact" with the alien. I’m not saying that Kurt Russell’s Macready is the best in the band. Yes, he is a born leader, reserved and cold-blooded in any situation, following the logic and calculating instinct of survival. But other “participants” were given a fair enough time to disclose them, so it is worth parrying all the actors.
It is also one of the first works of visual effects maestro Rob Bottin, who was only 22 years old at the time of filming. So experience is quite effective for creative growth.
In general, “Something” is a real visual and scenario model for everyone who wants to literally plunge himself into the world of cinema.
2019 is a time when the horror genre is experiencing not the best moments. No, guys, of course, you'll be reminded of the heterogeneous Astrals, Conjuring and all that esoteric crap, and you might be right to some extent that the horror genre exists in all of this, but try to ask for a moment, in what way do these movies make you feel afraid? What do they scare you about? Obviously, the first thing you say will not be the words "atmosphere" or "entourage".
The film “Something” is one of those exceptional horrors that primarily beckon not its unexpected twists or “Screamers”, namely, that perfectly recreated environment, the “atmosphere” of which can scare the hell out of anyone. The point is not even in the presence of an obvious alien antagonist, but in how much the heroes are hidden from the real world in snowy Antarctica, how much they are limited because of this factor.
Through acting, another interesting aspect of the horror of Carpenter’s creation emerges: trust between the characters. After the appearance of the alien parasite in the ranks of citizens with health categories A and B on the American research base, trusting a character is perhaps one of the main levers of pressure on the viewer. "Who is he really?" How did he get here?! What happened? Where is...! Why?! Who can you trust? – these questions will be asked constantly. At least for me, on the first viewing, a lot was hidden in mystery, and something still remains.
The animatronics used in the film is certainly one of the best parts of the film. I haven’t seen anything more disgusting. In a good way.
The music of Ennio Morricone also perfectly complements the atmosphere of despair and really catches up with suspense at some points.
In summary, I would like to say that horror is not the genre that should scare you with bundled-eyed devils from around the corner to the sounds of tearing violin strings, but primarily a genre that would give you a sense of what the protagonist is facing and to some extent could make you understand that you, yes, it was you who could be in his place. For me, this was the work of John Carpenter – the film “Something”.
9 out of 10
Carpenter is a well-known name. Someone, and he does not need to learn to film horrors and nightmares, because he knows how to do it. The remake does not stand nearby at all: well, they shot 30 years after the horrors, and there is no sense. You need to learn from the original.
I don’t think I need to say that there is something lurking in the ice of the Arctic that wants to colonize planet Earth. Here you can draw an analogy with "Alien", but if the second has a mind, then we see a terrible mutant who copies the host's DNA and creates copies of his own kind in the same guise. But brave scientists stand in the way.
Among them, few people recognize the bearded Kurt Russell, who is known for the film Elvis. In fact, he was too silent. The dialogue in the film is inconclusive. And this is the moment for which you can blame the writers, they did not shoot a silent movie.
There are a lot of special effects and this despite the fact that there was no computer graphics. Manually creating this is a masterpiece. It turned out not only terrible, but also a visionary movie about what obsessed people can do to us. A metaphor for drug addiction, alcoholism and self-admiration. A man can be the same if he wants to be like himself. The only way to stop it is to destroy it. Unfortunately, you will have to pay dearly.
John Carpenter films. John Carpenter's films never change. Even in later and not particularly outstanding samples, another idea lies on the surface. Each viewer is able to interpret this idea in their own way. From a slasher, a psychological thriller, a post-apocalypse, an action movie about vampires and a horror about aliens, the director builds his own idea, without foreign hands of help of a mental nature, not counting the vision of artistic and decorative elements and other technical developments, without which one person will be very difficult to cope with his filmmaking. "Something" transformed into its most memorable form from the cult story "Who's Going?", before this tape, there was another, not so frightening, not very authorly unique and not presenting courage per se. Carpenter followed a more decisive path, turning the literal original into an even more beautiful creation, amplifying the already paranoid effect, treating it like a professional shrink with distrust of his seemingly comrades. So an alien sketch becomes something more... Even the films about “Aliens” are not so multifaceted and deep, and in “Something” there is even “over-the-screen reasoning” that we generate in our minds, and not someone for us, and it is in this strategically effective way that one process, captured only while watching, flows into another, thereby coming into contact with the viewer.
Thanks to the realistic grounding, it will not be difficult to believe in what is happening. Mankind has been chasing sensations about the Green Men for quite a long time, and what we have not heard or seen in the last fifty years, if I may say so: a lot of eyewitness words, even there were people who were allegedly abducted by aliens and did different things with them, someone says that after meeting them, it becomes clear - they are divided into such clans with good and kind humanoids ... All this is not counting the numerous documentaries that try to literally introduce the fact of the existence of extraterrestrial (and sometimes even terrestrial, hidden in the depths of the ocean...) life. But, you know, it's all words, either fantasies or, more simply, euphoria and countless surprises from scratch. John Carpenter, without inventing stories and sensations, made a movie about aliens (well, or an alien, who is more convenient here), and it really did not turn out to be in demand among those people who were just waiting for the appearance of UFOs on planet Earth. Most preferred the cute alien from the family blockbuster Steven Spielberg, released in 1982, when, in fact, came out “Something”. Does this mean that Earthlings expect alien guests to “mimimi” instead of fangs and tentacles? Maybe. Much more interesting to look from all sides, and Carpenter chose the most spectacular. His aliens do not care, at all.
It all begins with the brilliant electronic music of Ennio Morricone, from the first seconds setting the mood of the unknown - snow suspense. Antarctica is the right place for events to unfold. When the first time you watch this film, seeing from the opening scene, how a dog runs away from a helicopter and the sight of a rifle on snowdrifts, you already begin to prepare for the bad consequences that will soon overtake a team of American researchers. When you watch it again, you just get an even better sense of how great the detail work is, because the Something here can take on the appearance of any person and any creature, almost completely copying the behavior of the absorbed subject. I am glad that there is no problem with experiments and other experiments. The creature from outer space does not require this, everything necessary to incite horror and spread the infection is already embedded in its genetic makeup, I would even say unpredictable genetic makeup. The topic of assimilation here is fully disclosed, the consequences of the compounds of an alien organism, generate unprecedented abomination, and the body parts of an already former person, meanwhile, become a divisive threat when the head, arms, legs or stomach begin to live separately from the absorbed carrier, turning into arachnid, tick-like or even shapeless monsters. It happens when one body joins with other bodies, thus forming a catastrophic global threat. With his transformation scenes, "Something" keeps in suspense every time. By the way, the spectacle is clearly not for the faint of heart. The splendor in general of the meat action, tied to the confrontation of terrible creatures that are not dreamed of in nightmares, is supported by live characters, even if nothing is known about their lives, their characters begin to reveal themselves in actions and behavior, as if they were guys from life who found themselves in the epicenter of terrorizing a space guest that once fell on the expanses of Antarctica.
Because of the theme "Who is yours and who is a stranger?", after half an hour from the beginning of viewing, the detective component appears, and the film begins to form a truly adult morality, supported by an adult rating. The case when the movie about monsters, presents a portion of reflections many times better than conventional drama, because some of these monsters, such are only in your eyes, but in fact they are people, by mistake, fateful event, general panic and misunderstanding, become the victim of a comrade trying to keep everything under control. And does the stigma of a killer matter in an atmosphere of chaos, when everything has gone too far, when all you have to do is try to survive, preserve humanity and not lose your mind? . .
The visual effects of the film are as high as the puppet, or in other words, practical. Rob Bottin showed an amazing imagination, using sometimes unexpected devices like mayonnaise, gum or corn to create a creepy thing. To help him in this difficult case, took Stan Winston, who brought the memorable scene with dogs to perfection.
Despite the box office failure, Carpenter's "Something" has a strong legacy, including the partially canonical comics that develop the ending of the film, there is a great prequel of 2011, which also failed at the box office, unfortunately, although it had everything: soul, suspense, amazing acting work, combining graphics and practical effects, a powerful soundtrack, and most importantly - attention to detail and a strong connection with the original. In 2002, the computer game The Thing was released, which is a direct sequel to Carpenter’s film, in short, the game is the real ideal of the project under license. The cult “Something” is special, some kind of native or something, it is not just one project, but a whole mini-franchise, and every fan feels at home in its various variations.
10 out of 10
I don’t want to talk about Spielberg and his Alien. Sorry, bearded, not today. I don't want to talk about Scott and his Alien. I don't want to talk about Hawkes and the original 1951 painting. This has been reported a billion times in other reviews. Only John Carpenter, only Kurt Russell, only a masterpiece from 1982.
Carpenter did absolutely everything and did something extraordinary. A very dark movie, a very brutal movie, a very scary movie, a very cold movie. No female characters! The place of action is Antarctica, that is, Carpenter leaves no chance at all. “Something” came out between “Escape from New York” and “Christina,” crazy to go.
If someone begins to mumble that there are no directors who could make several good films in a row (and in different themes - utopia-action, fantastic horror and Stephen King with a demonic machine), send him to John Carpenter.
The movie starts with a dog. The dog runs and a helicopter follows. The first thought in your head is, What is going on here, Comrade Carpenter? By the way, watch the scene very carefully. Carpenter really scared her out. She just shudders from the helicopter. I'm a cat man, but Carpenter has lost his fear. All for the sake of a masterpiece!
Made a dozen tough guys play! Of course, some of them only appear for a few minutes (you won’t remember them all). Still, the actor in this film at the maximum level. And not only Kurt Russell, who once again struck. What a cool uncle he is and how cosmically lucky he is to be Carpenter's friend. He played some great roles with John. One of them is in front of you.
But most importantly, the movie is too much. I watched it five times (to be honest, even on a cassette), I decided to reconsider - my eyes bulged out, my mouth opened, my phone turned off, do not interfere, watch "Something" and try not to blink. It's crazy interesting, and it speaks to John Carpenter's talent. In a word, master.
Of course there are a handful of people. Of course there is a monster. It seems like an ordinary situation for horror, but Carpenter makes you love your masterpiece, resist uselessly. A low bow for the ending. For the music, a low bow. A low bow for the atmosphere. Something is love to the grave, tough dude.
You have to watch. A great film by John Carpenter.
P.S.
In 2011, a prequel appeared, but that’s another story.
8.5 out of 10
The film became a classic in the genre of horror films. I first saw this movie almost 20 years ago, when I was a kid, it scared me, but I still watched it whenever it was on TV. Watching this movie later, I realized how atmospheric this film is!
The events develop in a research station in Antarctica, where eternal cold reigns, the nights are long and dark, the harsh climate in which it is extremely difficult to survive and here in this place the events of the film develop. The location of the film is perfectly selected, there are no settlements for thousands of kilometers, there is no place to wait for help, you have to rely only on yourself. The harshness of living conditions and the weather forces the main characters to spend a significant part of their time in confined rooms alone with a creepy, unknown creature ... the situation is aggravated by the fact that it is not known who is already infected, who can be trusted. There is nowhere to run, there is nowhere to wait for help. The film has a recognizable soundtrack, no matter what, it suits this film well, it only helps to plunge into the oppressive atmosphere of the film.
The creature itself looks really creepy and frightening, the infected turn into no less creepy creatures. In my opinion, no modern horror film has as many frightening creatures as this one. In the vast majority of modern horror films there are good special effects, graphics at a height, but often they come out not scary, monsters or creatures in them do not look creepy, and at best cause disgust. The behavior of the characters themselves does not look illogical, there is no desire to reproach any of the characters in any illogical actions, and this is a rarity for horror films!
9 out of 10
United States Lonely Research Base, Antarctica. The boring schedule of the day interrupts the unexpected visit of Norwegian colleagues from a neighboring base. In an effort to catch a running dog, unexpected guests force Americans to take up arms, which leads to very sad consequences. However, the most terrible thing will happen soon, as together with the animal, a formidable alien creature penetrated the research station, taking the appearance of its victims. So harsh guys, deprived of female warmth and attention, will have to protect themselves, and maybe even our entire planet, from the invasion of a deadly monster that can only multiply and kill.
Director John Carpenter shot a remake of the famous horror of the 50s, and thereby was able to prove to everyone that in some cases the originals are several times worse. Taking as a basis the old film and the novel on which it was set, Carpenter put a tense action that does not try to seem anything else. The film is frightening, makes you follow everything that happens on the screen without interruption. It's really interesting to watch what's happening, because the characters are real, real guys. They may not have a chic appearance, but they believe and understand that not everyone will live to the end.
The main role in “The Thing” was played by John Carpenter’s favorite, Kurt Russell. R.J. McReady in his performance became a collective image of tough guys from the 80s, who prefer to keep the situation under control, and when forced by the current situation, then without hesitation launches weapons. McReady doesn't say much, but it's easy to know what he wants. He respects his colleagues and is not afraid to argue. Russell played with confidence and dignity. Thanks to him, the film turned out to be colorful and moderately cruel.
No wonder 1982's The Thing became a classic. This film has managed to pass the test of time and something tells me that nothing like this in the genre will be removed. The reference story, frightening and at the same time fascinating to the very end, deserves attention and respect from the audience.
“Something” is a masterpiece of sci-fi horror cinema, which changed the vector of the genre, significantly influencing not only the entire film industry (for example, in “8”. Tarantino borrowed the narrative, atmosphere, stack of scenes and, of course, Kurt Russell from Something, but also from the developers of iconic computer games such as Doom 3 or Dead Space (notably, the film itself also became a pretty good game). However, like all great, decades ahead of history, "Something" was destined to be rejected by contemporaries - the picture barely paid off at the box office, and critics left no stone unturned from the film's aesthetic claim to be called art. The tape was unlucky - it came out at the wrong time and place. If in the late seventies, the generation of freedom, weed, and sex raised under Nixon was keenly interested in all forms of ugliness, fear, despair, and violence, the culturally oriented children of the Reagan Eighties categorically rejected anything like this. But time put everything in its place – by the end of the decade it turned out that idyllic serenity was only an illusion, which was soon dispelled by the uncompromising times of Bush – the truth of the thesis “homo homini lipus” was exposed in all its glory, the finally established capital plunged the world into a collective psychosis, rose from the ashes of existentialism, and man clearly understood that he was completely alone among billions of “aliens”. In "Russia" the film as a cult also contributed to the atmosphere of the nineties, "predatory embezzlement", which revealed a terrible moral ugliness of man. Thus, by the beginning of the new millennium, the tape became canonical, but for Carpenter, who had long lost faith in his own abilities, this was a weak consolation.
For a deeper analysis of the picture, let us delve into some analogies. First, the tape should be considered in the context of all the work of Carpenter, but first of all in tandem with another cult film of the director “Aliens Among Us”, created at the turn of the eighties as a kind of revenge of this hypocritical and blissful era of developed consumerism. The fact is that “Aliens” and “Something” are, in Hegel’s terminology, the opposites of one unity. What in “Aliens” unfolds exponentially, in “Something” is purely individual-personal, existential in nature. We can say that “Aliens” is a natural sequel to “Something”, which tells about what happened after the plague finally reached civilization (the paradox that the latter is the plague itself). Who is an incomprehensible alien who knows exactly, down to the smallest traits of character, to copy any form of organism? This is nothing more than the famous “simulacrum”. Jean Baudrillard, later popularized by The Matrix. An absolutely perfect copy, indistinguishable from the original, which no longer exists (in the film, for example, "The Thing" assimilates the original simply by devouring it with giblets). Here arises the question that has troubled philosophers for thousands of years – how to prove, including to himself, the existence and truth of his being? Carpenter’s answer is disappointing – it is best to treat the simulacra virus radically, i.e. with a flamethrower.
“Something” as well as “Aliens” are often seen as metaphors and allegories for various social problems, as a hidden criticism of the consumer society, the communist totalitarian system, mass xenophobia towards all sorts of “aliens” (terrorists, Asians and, of course, commies), as a reference to unconscious fears of the hidden threat of an epidemic of AIDS or cancer (especially since “Something” partly repeats the system of the latter’s operation), etc. Indeed, all sorts of fantastic fictions mostly originate from social realities and have a direct, direct connection with the latter. However, the greatness and beauty of the "Thing" lies not only in the most powerful allegorical component, but rather in the fact that it transcends the latter, leaving the sphere of immediate vital interests to the sphere of eternal questions of existence. Despite its fantastic form, the film is essentially extremely realistic and tells rather not about the struggle with the monster-simulacrum, but about the battle of man with himself and his own psychosis. A “something” may not be an objective being, but a phantasmatic projection of a mind that has lost its bounds—nothing changes. Therefore, we can safely say that a direct descendant of Carpenter’s film is Popogrebsky’s famous picture “How I Spent This Summer”, which tells us decisively about the same, but at the same time devoid of the “charms” in the form of the beauties of monster transformations, the creation of which took more than a year. “Something” is horror in the true sense, namely, “horror vacuI,” i.e., fear of something irrational, illogical, “alien,” the very madness that, as we know perfectly well, nests somewhere within us and within our neighbor, and this “thing in itself” is probably terrible and deadly.
It is especially worth noting how successfully expresses the very idea of a vacuum, the boundless emptiness of horror, the corporate stylistic decision of Carpenter. The vastness of empty, dead landscapes is reinforced by the emotional emasculation of the frame. The director, placing a group of people in an enclosed space, mentally distances them from each other into cosmic parsecs, while distance remains with respect to all the characters, even the truth of the existence of the protagonist Russell at one moment is questioned. Something takes shape thanks to the combination of the brilliant work of one of the best cameramen Dean Kandy, who has achieved, it seems, the highest level in the art of working with stedicam and uncharacteristically avant-garde for Ennio Morricone electronic music. The impeccable suspense of three geniuses of his business alone was confronted by a twenty-two-year-old boy named Rob Bottin. On his immature shoulders lay the arch-complex task of inverting the atmosphere and style of the picture - from the uncertainty of the mystical to the nausea of the tangible, from the anxiety of the unconscious to the chaos of the physiological, from the fantasy of the abstract to the chaos of the material. Bottin, with the characteristic maximalism for young men, laid himself out without a trace, applying all his knowledge, skills and talents and bringing himself to the hospital from exhaustion. His work turned out to be impeccable - none of the most perfect computer models can compare with a simple stuffed cow guts, plaster and lubricates inspired by Munch and Bosch. It is thanks to Botyn that "Something" acquires a final and unsurpassed integrity - his work, as it should, is too visually disgusting, chaotic and terrifyingly physiological even by today's standards - it is like a negative extreme for the horror vacui of the first part, which most sharply represents (and surpasses) our imagination, introducing the viewer into a stupor, playing on contrast with suspense, psychology and the paranoid atmosphere of the film. To this day, no one has surpassed Bottin. And it is unlikely to succeed.
The Thing is one of the most philosophical, deep and multifaceted horror films ever made. The depth of thought is combined in it with the perfection of form, metaphysical anxiety, rhythmically verified dance of the otherworldly, perfectly adjusts to the hyperreality of ugliness, the visibility of chaos, the nausea of existence. The themes raised in American cinema in the fifties found in the film of Carpenter its final and complete development. Then there are only self-repeats and sequels. “Something” is truly unique and exclusive, although it is a sequel, but not a simulacrum.