The Pinnacle of Sci-Fi Horror That Still Gives ‘The Exorcist’ Stiff Competition Gets Celebrated 41 Years Later

Whenever the conversation is about the scariest horror movies, 1973’s The Exorcist almost always comes out as the winner. But like I said, almost always.

In the years since the film, there have been many who have tried to oust him from the top tier but only a few have managed to be terrible enough to argue for him. The Exorcist‘s crown, and one such terrifying surprise is John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi horror flick, The thing.

The main actors in this film are Kurt Russell. The thing, saw a group of American researchers in Antarctica facing the terrifying extraterrestrial “Thing” that easily evokes other life forms and imitates them so smoothly, leaving the team unable to trust each other as the beast picked them off one by one.

Although released in 1982, it eventually achieved a cult following, topping every “best horror movie of all time” chart and influencing other films in the genre that followed (or at least tried to ) his legacy as a cold spine- slice of nightmares.

So today, June 25, exactly 41 years after its release, it is being celebrated once again for continuing to scare the living daylights out of everyone who cares to watch RJ MacReady Russell (or is it a Thing?) and his team trying. to win a losing battle.

It wasn’t just the storytelling that became a timeless classic in the horror genre – it was people in the 80s and it was a creature based film! Imagine the quality of visual effects that manage to frighten its audience.

🕷️ Happy anniversary to one of the greatest horror movies of all time… John Carpenter’s THE THING! 🥶 The film was released on this day back in 1982, and it’s a great achievement in terms of practical effects and storytelling that is unmatched to this day in my opinion. pic.twitter.com/zWPERy1vSl

— CAVITYCOLORS 🎃 (@CAVITYCOLORS) June 25, 2023

And come on, how can we forget the true star of the movie?

Well, to see that Rise of the Evil Dead I left laughing my guts out, it’s time to turn to him The thing and to be reminded of the horror of a good quality, leave-me-afraid-of-my-own-breath feeling. Old is gold for a reason.

About the Author

Apeksha Bagchi

Apeksha is a Freelance Editor and Writer at We Got This Covered. She is a passionate content creator with years of experience and can cover anything under the sun. She labels herself a devoted Marvel junkie (while secretly re-binging Vampire Diaries for the zillionth time). When she’s not kicking away typing on her laptop for hours, you’ll likely find her curled up on the couch with a murder mystery book and her cat curled up on her lap.