MovieChat Forums > The Thing (1982) Discussion > Where did you first watch The Thing?

Where did you first watch The Thing?

posted 6 years ago by ebhaynz (3724)
18 replies | jump to latest

I saw The Thing on opening night June 25, 1982! I remember me and my friends Ken and Wes went to the Blue Ridge Cinema East, we knew nothing about this movie except I think John Carpenter was on David Letterman and he showed a clip of the dog transforming into The Thing. Anyway, I remember waiting for the movie to start and we found a wallet with no money it..but later Wes searched deeper and found a $10 or $20 hidden behind a flap, lucky him! There were very few people in the theater with us that night so maybe it's true the horror genre was not a popular draw that summer. That summer was a big one for movies, I think I had already seen Poltergeist, Psycho 2, Star Trek 2, Rocky 3, ET, and maybe even Firefox. All these movies already and it was the first month of summer school break. So yeah, here we were 3 high school kids on opening night of what turned out to be one of the greatest horror films ever. We were pleasantly surprised, shocked, and somewhat terrified that night..I remember going home and telling my dad how great a movie it was..reliving the movie all over again!

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I think I saw it the following year on HBO.

[–] Indiscipline (764) 6 years ago

Yep, that's when I saw it. I was seven years old, so you KNOW I was creeped out.

[–] DarthRoger (867) 6 years ago

I saw it at the local theater (called the JOY Theater) in my home town. I was a teenager when it came out. This is still John Carpenter's masterpiece. The visuals, the music that winds up tension, the sense of foreboding and the solid acting... everything about this movie, I liked!

I also have affection for The Fog and They Live, yet they don't come close to The Thing.

[–] ebhaynz (3724) 6 years ago

I'm glad you mention how much you liked The Thing over The Fog and They Live, because I definitely agree with you! I love John Carpenter movies but from what I remember The Fog had a really long, long scene at the end where it DID NOT build up the suspense. Am I right on this?

[–] DarthRoger (867) 6 years ago

I thought The Fog was an excellent movie. I don't recall there being much of a long wait till the finale but maybe I've got more patience than others. It's got the look and format of an early 1980's movie, so some people might find it more drawn out than your more modern horror thriller. Still worth a viewing I think.

[–] PaladinNJ (21593) 6 years ago

Movie Theater

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

theater back in 1982

[–] Starman (412) 6 years ago

I saw it on VHS when I was 8, I was quite shocked, not scared per se as it's not a frightening a film like Halloween, rather shocked and disturbed, that tends to be scary only in nightmares it creates later on, a lot of people used to laugh at me that I loved the film, as they used to call it trash, even after so many years, lesson learned, I used to keep it to myself now that I love the film, I know it's not exactly a film most people watch or like, it would flop today the same like back then. It's not a film for the masses the same like Blade Runner, which also most people tend to stay away from even today, not surprised its sequel was as much popular as the original too, yet ratings make it seem like everyoine loves it. The real world of an averge joe outside the circle of film nthusiasts look quite different.

[–] bozo_500 (13241) 6 years ago

funny to think both decades later follow ups to Thing and BR bombed... the makers were under the misguided notion that because both had become cult classics after having initially bombed both financially/critically the prequel & sequel would hit big... nope . both were comparable $ wise to the originals (and in Things case the prequel was critically panned like the 82 film)

[–] crc32 (2584) 6 years ago

I was still 4 years old when the thing was in the movies. I saw it around age six on VHS.

[–] ebhaynz (3724) 6 years ago

I'm fascinated that you saw The Thing when you were only 6 years old!

[–] crc32 (2584) 6 years ago

Just turn the volume real low and nothing could scare me. Alien was actually the movie the frightened me as a child. I wasn't expecting it to be a horror film.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I watched it on a VHS in my mum and dad's room.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

I was eight when it was released. Probably saw it a year or two later on cable.

Scared the heck out of my ten year old self!

[–] Mrmojo4700 (21579) 5 years ago

Same here. I think I was about 10 when it came out and I did not see it in the theater. I saw it on cable a couple of years later. Sometime along the way I got a VHS copy and it became one of my favorites.

[–] seal412 (336) 5 years ago

Believe it or not I was a kid in a hotel in Pakistan. We were visiting our family for Xmas(go figure). I was browsing and looking for something in English and boom there was the Thing on tv.