Daily Dialogue — July 18, 2013

CHILDS: Did you kill it?

He looks as weak as MacReady. A beat.

MACREADY: I think so.
CHILDS: What do you mean “you think so?”

Both men speak guardedly and stare at each other suspiciously.

MACREADY: Yeah. I got it. (refers to Childs’ condition) Pretty mean frostbite.

Childs steps back, keeping his distance. He indicates his puffy white hand.

CHILDS: It’ll turn black again soon enough. Then I guess I’ll be losing the whole thing… (refers to feet)… Think my toes are already gone.

MacReady, carrying the bottle and glass, limps over and sits down behind a gaming table. There is a chess set and
several decks of cards. The two men continue to eye each other.

CHILDS: So you’re the only one who made it.

MacReady begins setting up a non-electronic chessboard.

MACREADY: Not the only one.
CHILDS: The fire’s got the temperature way up all over camp… won’t last long though.
MACREADY: Neither will we.
CHILDS: Maybe we should try and fix the radio… try and get some help.
MACREADY: Maybe we shouldn’t.
CHILDS: Then we’ll never make it.

MacReady puffs on his cigar. He reveals a small blowtorch from under the table and places it beside him on top.

MACREADY: Maybe we shouldn’t make it.
CHILDS: (beat) If you’re worried about anything, let’s take that blood test of yours.
MACREADY: If we’ve got any surprises for each other — we shouldn’t be in any condition to do anything about it. (beat) You play chess?

They regard each other for a moment. Childs painfully sits down across from MacReady.

CHILDS: I guess I’ll be learning.

MacReady grins and hands the bottle to Childs. Childs smiles back and takes a healthy swig.

EXT. COMPOUND — NIGHT

The fires smolder on. Bright embers dance in the
blackness — pushed by the soughing wind.

FADE OUT.

— The Thing (1982), Bill Lancaster (screenplay), John W. Campbell Jr. (story)

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is horror scene, suggested by @JaimePrimak. Today’s suggestion by hobbs001.

Trivia: The words spoken by the pilot on entering the camp are actually understandable for Norwegians. Albeit broken Norwegian, the line goes: “Se til helvete og kom dere vekk. Det er ikke en bikkje, det er en slags ting! Det imiterer en bikkje, det er ikke virkelig! KOM DERE VEKK IDIOTER!!” This translates to: “Get the hell outta there. That’s not a dog, it’s some sort of thing! It’s imitating a dog, it isn’t real! GET AWAY YOU IDIOTS!!”

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary from hobbs: “Always loved “The Thing” remake from 1982. If you’re going to make a horror movie why not really go for it? Jaw-dropping gore (particularly for its time), suspense, claustrophobia, paranoia…what’s not to like? Most of the elements are present in the 1951 original, so “Alien” was a lot less original than it may have seemed.

Just when you think things might have finally been resolved, we have this final scene. Taken in context it’s just about the perfect ending for what’s come before. For anyone who has somehow managed to miss this horror classic, the subtext in this scene involves the fact that the alien monster is able to replicate any living creature (and kill the original), and will look exactly like that creature until it chooses to reveal itself. A major plot element is the potential for this alien life to take over the entire planet should it escape the confines of the remote base in which the action takes place.

The script excerpt is slightly longer than the actual scene — less is more once again. The paranoia and the possible horror of what may happen in this scene is representative of much of the movie.”