11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing, Ranked

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With a shapeshifting alien in their midst, the Outpost 31 crew from The Thing shine as one of horror’s most famous casts but who was the best of them?

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11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

Originally a critical and financial flop, John Carpenter’s The Thing has become a beloved cult classic with a dedicated fanbase that studies the film from top to bottom. It has become the inspiration for many other horror films that followed thanks to its use of claustrophobic tension and stellar practical effects.

One of the most important ingredients to making a good film is a cast of characters. Well-written characters are essential for creating horror and suspense, and the crew at U.S. Outpost 31 have become icons of the horror genre despite knowing very little about them. The question is, however, which ones stood out more than others?

11 Bennings

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

There is nothing particularly egregious about Bennings; he simply just gets the short end of the stick when he’s one of the first members of the crew to be assimilated by the Thing. He doesn’t appear to be unpleasant in any way towards anyone except maybe the dogs since he doesn’t respond well to one moving through his legs.

Other than that, the only thing that stands out about Bennings is the fact that he was shot by Lars in the opening encounter when the dog was chased into the outpost. Bennings does make for one of The Thing’s scariest scenes when he is assimilated by the creature.

10 Clark

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

Similar to Bennings, Clark isn’t given much to do throughout other than being another potential suspect as an imitation. Although we do get the sense that Clark is not that friendly with most of the crew and seems to care more about the dogs than his fellow crew members.

This helps in adding to the tension since he was the one that interacted the most with the dog that turned out to be the Thing. Clark’s lack of connection to the group makes them as antagonistic towards them as he is towards them; he’s even one of the first to want to kill MacReady once they suspect him to be a Thing.

9 Fuchs

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

The Thing was smart to quickly go after Fuchs as he shows to be one of the more intelligent members of the group. He was able to deduce facts about the titular alien much like Blair was, even suggesting that every member prepares their own meals and eats only canned goods to avoid infection.

Unfortunately, the scene leading up to his death is the most the movie gives of him. Prior to his off-screen death, Fuchs is seen mainly in the background. He seems to be a kind person but is sadly taken off the board early into the game in a rather mysterious way.

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8 Palmer

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

Of all the crew, Palmer is the most humorous with wisecracks in almost every situation they all get into. Even when horrific body horror transformations are happening with the Thing, he still manages to get a one-liner in there somewhere. At the same time, he’s one of the more unlikable members of the group.

He’s laid back but in a lazy and detrimental manner rather than a quirky one. As the film progresses, Palmer is more antagonistic and rude at the worst of times. This is one of many pieces of foreshadowing across The Thing. This acts as a subtle foreshadowingHowever, he comes off as just a human trying to survive the event until the shock twist that he’s been an imitation for an unknown amount of time.

7 Norris

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

When things are hectic and out of control, Norris remained one of the more sensible members of the group at Outpost 31. He was helpful and kept a cool head, he even showed his humble side when offered Garry’s gun to become the leader of the group.

Even with a weak heart, Norris kept going but it turns out that this heart condition was something that helped expose who, or rather, what he was. He was an imitation and he makes for one of the few reveals of a Thing that is both iconic and slightly depressing since he seemed to be one of the better crew members.

6 Nauls

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

The cook at Outpost 31, Nauls is a music-loving youth of the group who helps MacReady fight the Thing throughout the film. He’s even one of the final members to get attacked by the alien. Nauls also shows a willingness to protect the whole group as he was quick to cut MacReady loose from the guidelines once he suspected MacReady to be a Thing.

This turned out to be a framing but in the end, it was an understandable tactic by Nauls. Sadly, he met his fate at the hand of the Thing in the climax but he is the only crew member whose body is never shown to be killed or assimilated.

5 Garry

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

What makes Garry so interesting is the subtext and what’s implied about his history. Garry fired upon the Norwegians and it seemed to bring up bad memories as it’s said that he never expected to use his gun. This suggests that at some point he killed while in the military and it haunts him.

At first, Garry is the leader of the Outpost but he is one of the first to be suspected as a Thing. In an ironic twist of fate, he becomes one of the last survivors and even delivers one of the most famous and funniest quotes in The Thing about not wanting to spend the entire winter tied to a couch.

4 Copper

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

Another level-headed character that becomes the victim of paranoia is Copper. Copper is the medical doctor of Outpost 31 which made him perfect to not only operate on any wounded members but could have figured out who was an imposter. So the Thing frames him along with Garry as a potential imposter.

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Despite the crew suspecting him, Copper remains calm and presents his case without panicking, and is even okay with being secluded from the rest. He even offers to help in the process of drugging himself along with Garry and Clark. When Norris suffers a heart attack, he is the first to help but this, sadly, leads to his demise as the Thing emerges to devour his arms and make him die from blood loss.

3 Childs

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

One of Keith David’s most famous roles, Childs is the station’s mechanic and he suffers from a bad temper which does not help with the paranoia kicks in. However, at the same time, he makes a point that anyone in the group would have done the same thing which is correct.

He values the safety of the Outpost and the crew above anything else which makes sense in the scenario. So he is quick to want to eliminate any possible infection, even if that means chasing someone into the cold blackness of Antarctica. Childs’ animosity towards everyone is part of what makes the ambiguous ending so famous thus making The Thing still hold up today.

2 Blair

11 Best Characters From John Carpenter’s The Thing Ranked

In many ways, Blair was the smartest one in any room but that became a flaw once he learned the potential of the Thing and how fast it could spread across the Earth. Wilford Brimley was the only actor who did not get sick from the autopsy scene which helps solidify him as the perfect casting for Blair. It sent him into a frenzy and wanted to kill everyone thus leading to MacReady locking him in a shed.

It’s difficult to blame him for such actions, especially since he appears to still be smart enough to warn MacReady. It’s uncertain when it gets to him but Blair ends up becoming one of the most famous imposters when he turns out to be a Thing in the climax.

1 R.J. MacReady

Though he’s not a scientist or a physician, helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady, played by Kurt Russell, turns out to be the bane of the Thing’s existence. MacReady is intuitive and is just as quick to learn the patterns and how the Thing’s biology works in order to figure out the infamous blood test scene.

Even when thrown into the cold by the crew, he is quick to get back in and win himself back as the leader. When the crew fights with each other, MacReady is the first to put them back in line and make them work together to stop the Thing from winning through paranoia. In the end, he appears to be the victor and supposedly kills the Thing, depending on how one views the ambiguous ending.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-characters-john-carpenters-the-thing/

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