The Thing, 1982

John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of those movies I force my friends, lovers, and family members to watch—because many of them, especially older people in my family, only know it as the 1982 film that was critically panned for what critics said was an over-reliance on gore and shallow characters. Nowadays The Thing, which follows a group of men living on a remote Antarctic outpost after encountering the “Thing,” an alien life form that subsumes and then becomes other organisms, is considered one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, and rightfully so.

Carpenter’s effective establishment of place—an icy, remote outpost and its cold, industrial interiors—makes you feel as alone as the researchers, and the incredible yucky and tactical practical effects are still effective today. Then, of course, it’s led by two of the most iconic actors of the time: Kurt Russell and Keith David, who turn out stellar performances as two men unsure of who to trust, as any one of them could be the Thing. An absolute masterclass in sci-fi horror filmmaking, from perhaps the best to ever do it. — Alyssa Mercante