From John Carpenter‘s ‘The Thing’, released in 1982

Growing up, I was not allowed to watch R-rated features. Around age 12, the reins were finally loosened a bit for fare like ‘Stand By Me’. And although that tenet was upheld with formidable resolve, there were a few key moments when I was given a glimpse behind the curtain.

The first time I attended a comic book convention was around age 10 (?). We had a good look around the trade floor and turned to exploring the rest of the hotel. We came across a small ballroom. Inside, the lights were out and a 19″ television set on a wheeled cart, hooked up to a top-loader VCR was showing ‘The Thing’. When I say ‘we’, I mean my father and me.

He sat down, so I sat down. Now, I was terrified of my father so I dared not say a word. Surely, he knew this movie was rated ‘R’. Why were we just sitting there? The beginning is fairly tame. Right? Were we going to walk out at the first sign of intense, graphic imagery? Carpenter was already known as a ‘pornographer of violence’. But, no. We sat there and watched the entire film. I felt pride that I was allowed this indulgence, that enough was thought of me that I should be allowed. This was adult science fiction and I was in the club.

Today it is widely considered classic horror in film as well as science fiction, essential and John Carpenter’s most accomplished and elegant work. Not only does it introduce you to exactly why Kurt Russell is bulletproof these days, exposing another vein of gold through film, but you have Ennio Morricone‘s powerful score, Rob Bottin‘s triumphant special effect work (which absolutely still holds up and makes a real case for practical effects over CGI) and an introductory visual point of reference for the influential fiction of H. P. Lovecraft.