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CREATORVC has a history of creating massive documentaries that delve into different corners of the horror genre. Many of their endeavors are large-scale docs that cover a variety of films from a specific timeframe. The entries of the In Search of Darkness series are all massive in scale, but focus on each individual film for only a few minutes before moving along to the next offering, while The Thing Expanded takes a deep dive into a single piece of film history.
It’s a challenge. Is it possible to sustain interest in a single film over a five-hour period? You would be tempted to say, “Yes, obviously. I love The Thing. It is not possible to spend too much time talking about a movie that I adore so fervently.” But really, it’s not that easy! Taking the time to thoroughly examine the many facets of a beloved film’s production and history, and doing so in a way that doesn’t travel over the same territory multiple times or spend too much time on one topic, is a challenge.
But with the ongoing interest in film history and the rise in deep-dive videos on YouTube, we have arrived at a place where such a thing is not only possible, but welcomed, especially when it is focused on a film as important and as provocative as John Carpenter’s sci-fi masterpiece The Thing. This film took a long time to find its audience, but, now, the film is being heralded as the classic that it is, and having an immense documentary that looks over every facet of production is a welcomed gift.
Directed by Ian Nathan, The Thing Expanded exhaustively covers every aspect of the film that you would ever want to see in a documentary. We learn about the origins of the film as an adaptation of the novella “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr., how John Carpenter boarded his first studio endeavor, and all of the careful, thoughtful work that went into bringing this story to life—both in front of and behind the camera.
We are treated to an impressive array of panelists from the production, including cast members like Kurt Russell, Keith David, Peter Maloney, Joel Polis, Richard Masur (among others), producers Stuart Cohen and Larry Franco, and John Carpenter himself. Their recollections guide us through the film’s inception, its (at times) rough shooting schedule, and the artistry that went into all of the beautiful images and stunning practical effects that we see onscreen.
Because the makeup and creature effects are one of the major stars of the film, I was excited to see that we spend a solid amount of time with special effects artists Margaret Beserra and Ken Diaz. They discuss what went into the iconic creature effects and how effects legend Rob Bottin paved the way for some of the amazing work that was part of genre films for the next decade. Even though Bottin didn’t participate in the documentary, Nathan still carved out a chapter to talk about him, specifically. We heard from those who worked with him how he would approach a project and then just let his imagination fly. We get to spend time celebrating some of the other movies that he had lent his talents to over the next decade, before learning about some of the industry sinkholes that likely contributed to him eventually stepping away from the spotlight.
The film takes us through The Thing, almost scene by scene, and breaks down the various elements that contributed to this film being the colossal giant that it is. Along our journey, we listen to the panelists discuss the suspense, the paranoia, the way the characters interact with one another and how the isolated setting of Antarctica impacts them, both individually and as a group. We spend a lot of time breaking down key scenes and what makes them play so well.
The documentary is both a love letter to The Thing and a collective memoir of the people who made it happen. We hear stories about the onset challenges, different versions of key scenes that were storyboarded or filmed before finally being discarded for something different. The cast gleefully recalls the filming process for the scenes that still have audiences talking 40 years later, like the blood test. We even hear a fantastic yarn about one time at the beginning of the shoot when Kurt Russell saved the entire cast from dying in a bus accident as they were driven up a mountain to the Canadian filming location.
Above all, though, hear the pride that they all feel from having worked on such an important film. Famously, The Thing was massively misunderstood and overlooked upon its initial release. Audiences just didn’t get it. It took a long time for people to begin to reevaluate the film and see it for what it is. And John Carpenter, noted curmudgeon that he can be, seems to have finally found peace with the journey that the film took. Yes, he would have loved for it to have been a huge success right out of the gate, but, as he says in the doc, he remains proud of the film. He is proud of how it made him double down on his own dedication and his own vision as his career took him forward to other projects. He appreciates the value and the importance of not bending or compromising that vision.
The Thing Expanded is a fantastic deep dive into everything we know and love about The Thing and an opportunity to connect with the people who made it and hear them share their stories, memories, and differing interpretations of the film. Does every film need a 5-hour doc? Probably not. But for a film that struggled for years to find its audience, that didn’t get the level of respect that it deserved back in the day for the masterpiece that it is, The Thing absolutely deserves the royal treatment. We’re making up for years of it being overlooked and underappreciated. So grab your warmest sweater, a bottle of whiskey, and hunker down for the story of how this magnificent film came to be.
Score: 5/5
