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It wanted to spread and knew his human body wouldnt make it; it was building a transport to get itself close enough to infect more hosts.
The Thing (1982)
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Leadsalad
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Gavinmad
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Rajaah
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The speculation about Childs (and the ending in general) is the main reason I still talk about the movie with people decades later. I love that it doesn't have a happy or neat conclusion where everyone turns out fine.
Personally I'm 50/50 on Childs' identity at the end of the movie. The breath theory doesn't work for me because you see other Things exhaling condensation elsewhere in the movie (most notably that one guy in the snow...Bennings?)
When Macready hands Childs a drink, note how the main theme of the movie starts playing right as Macready chuckles. That might mean that he just confirmed for himself that Childs is a Thing... or it could just mean that he's checkmated anyway. The movie opens with him getting checkmated by a computer, and what does he do? Pour his drink into it.
Though the main thing that makes me 50% sure Childs is a Thing: His jacket changes before the last scene. He's got a dark jacket on earlier while he's guarding the door. The movie makes it a point to show him no longer guarding the door, then pan the camera over to the basement doorway behind where he was (the basement we know Blair was lurking in). Then when he shows up at the end, different coat.
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Regime
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Yeah I hear ya on the breath but Bennings was in the process of changing (still human) and would breath while Childs had plenty of time to change. You do see just a tad bit of breath in the first still but never again. Either way fun to think about.
If you guys haven’t watched the directors commentary you are missing out. I own the 4k copy that was released only in UK I believe. It’s beautiful but it’s upscaled so not true 4k.
Kurt and John are the two best people to listen to. John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, Halloween (new 4k 40 year anniversary)and Big trouble is amazing too.
It is fantastic. Carpenter tends to lean towards Childs is the thing while Keith David assuredly says he wasn’t. Carpenter has also said it’s left to the audience.
P.S. I’m 50/50 too lol. I wanna believe Childs wasn’t because he showed emotion and anger at the end where the others seemed docile when talking.
Chukzombi
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ive heard the Childs theory years ago.. its an interesting idea, but ultimately pointless because the infected dog is still running around. Childs being a Thing isnt even a priority for Macready because he's dead meat either way.
Rajaah
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There was an infected dog un-accounted for? Pretty sure earlier in the movie they mentioned that they'd put down all of the remaining dogs that were exposed, and presumably torched them. We don't see it because we don't need to see that, but it's mentioned. I think.
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If neither of them is a thing, it’s a pretty fucked up ending they both freeze to death while they could have possibly escaped and lived ?
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Dog part that escaped the flamethrower was burned up later on during the camp blaze. It could have buried itself though but just going off of what Carpenter said it’s either Mac, Childs, or neither.
“The closest thing to a definitive answer may have come from cinematographer Dean Cundey, who said he and Carpenter used eye light to show who was human and who wasn't. If that's true, and you look closely, it's more likely the thing is Childs than MacReady.”
Read More: The ending of The Thing explained - Looper
However lol
Keith says fuck no. In fact he really thought he was human.
When I say 50/50 I’m 50% leaning towards they just froze to death. I don’t see how they could have lived. There is no way after they burned the camp.
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Sanrith Descartes
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Agree with everyone else. This movie is just done so really fucking well. Fuck the 2001 version. Couldn't finish it.
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Sanrith Descartes
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Chukzombi
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Attog
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I enjoy reading your theories but I have a feeling you are giving the props and costume folks too much credit on this one. If you could track them down today and ask them this they would laugh at you and tell you they shot those scenes weeks apart and just had a screwup on the costume continuity.
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The ones that ran out we’re not infected yet and we’re promptly killed by doc when he went crazy causing Clark to lose it.
the piece of dog that escaped into the attic could have buried itself but we are led to believe it burned up in camp. Who really knows and this is why this movie is so good.
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TBT-TheBigToe
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They couldn't escape and live, they were dead either way. There were no vehicles left and no where to go, they were fucked.
It doesn't matter if Keith David was a The Thing or not, Kurt wasn't living to see sunrise either way at that point. People try and diminish the ending by trying to prove that Keith David was a The Thing. It's kind of sad;
If Keith David was a The Thing then it means that Kurt failed, if he wasn't then it means Kurt saved the world. Keith David NOT being a The Thing is the HAPPY ending.
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TBT-TheBigToe
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Rajaah
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Yeah, I don't consider any of the comics to be canon.
I picked up the Thing video game for OG Xbox (there's also a PS2 version) for like $10 at a flea market a while back. Haven't played it yet because it requires digging the OG Xbox out of storage. It's also a sequel. I'll need to be in the right mood for it, because as I understand it, it's kind of a cumbersome game (though decent if you like the source material).