The Thing end scene. What are your theories?

OK so the more I read about this and think about it, it's probably one of the most confounding endings to a movie ever. It's like a perfect puzzle. Absolutely brilliant. Why did it appear Childs wasn't breathing? Why did Macready give that weird little chuckle when Childs drank the whiskey? Was it actually a molotov cocktail Macready gave him to drink, proving that Childs was the thing? Was Macready actually the thing, laughing because he just infected Childs? Were they both things, unaware of each other? (I like this because it flips the paranoia the humans have had in the movie back around on the aliens).

Why did Childs ask "are YOU the only one that made it?" Instead of "are WE the only ones that made it?"

We suppose that the thing is just wanting to hibernate in the cold until a rescue team arrives. That lends some credence to the theory that Macready was the thing, since he didn't want to try to fix the radio equipment, but to sit there and freeze to death.

If Macready was the thing, the first question I have is why did he just blow up the Blair monster? But if you remember, earlier during the blood test scene, it's supposed that each cell of the thing will act to defend itself. Macready might have blown up the monster at the end just to insure his own survival.

The most intriguing thing to me as I rewatch it, is the look that Macready gives Childs just as he's handing him that drink. Then the chuckle he does as Childs drinks it. Is he handing him gasoline to drink and watching for a reaction? Even if it is whiskey, Childs should be afraid to drink after anybody else, for fear of being infected. But that may not matter since if he is human, he's about to freeze to death anyway. Does Macready realize Childs is a thing, and just basically says "good fight" and decides to sit and share a drink with it? He's done for anyway. Why not? That could be why he says "if either of us has a surprise for each other, I don't think we're in any shape to do anything about it."

I had another thought that I haven't read anywhere else yet, and it's about what Childs says to Macready. He says "how will we make it?" Everybody assumes he means how will we survive? What if, they are both things, and the "it" he's talking about making is another UFO (since the one Blair was making was just blown up). Maybe that's why Macready says "maybe we shouldn't." idk, but it's food for thought.





There are a lot of theories and a lot of evidence for each theory. What do you think was happening there?

 

No idea but its one of the best films of all time.

 

I haven't watched it enough to form a theory. In fact, I just watched it for the first time at the theatre last weekend. I did know about Blair before watching it, thanks to a McFarlane Movie Maniacs figure. Other than that, everything else was a surprise. I pretty much leapt out of my seat during the blood test part.

 

I love this movie so much. But to answer your question, he was the Thing. He wore a wedding ring throughout the whole movie, and the only scene he's missing it in is the scene at the end.

 

John Carpenter talked about this in the Commentary on: Thing, The Widescreen Collectors Edition for DVD.

If I remember correct the alternative ending was that McReady makes it back to civilization but he's the thing.

It sounded like the Studio already wanted to string him up by the balls, for making such a hard-edged No-Shit Alien film, that he said, "You know what? Fuck it, we'll just leave it all unsaid."

And that's the ending you see.

Kurt was selling the breath more that David I think.

For posterity sake, this is the copy you want:





The behind the scenes stuff is great. Shit like this opening Title


They did it with a fish tank full of smoke, a plastic trash bag stretched in front to the title cut out, with a big ass flashlight behind, then they burned the trash bag away to reveal the lettering!

Watch the letters you'll see the plastic trash bag melting.

Cool like a motherfucker!

Watching Carpenter's stuff, and listening to him describe the process makes working in movies sound so cool.

 

They both sit there and freeze to death

Doesnt really matter if one is the thing or not

 

Wasn't the original thing frozen yet still alive? Thought I'd remembered that from the remake that ties into the '82 version.

If so, and the one of the two who was the thing wouldn't freeze to death either, I put my money on McReady since he was the one who wanted to wait it out.

 

Who, Macready?

No the thing won't freeze. It'll just hibernate until someone or something else shows up. At least that's what the characters hypothesized. Which kind of pokes a hole in the Childs is the thing theory. Since he was awol during that final battle, if he was the thing, he could've just walked away.

 

I much prefer the way they left the ending, honestly.

And I've seen how they did that title sequence before, and it's so simple but looks so great. And yeah once ya know how it's done you can see the garbage bag melting away. Simple practical techniques > any amount of cgi.

 

I really dont think either are the thing tbh

 

I think the most obvious answer was that Chiles was the thing and McReady was not.

 

Perhaps the thing wants to make sure their are no human survivors?

 

yeah that could be why he came back. and why he said "are you the only one that's left" the way he did.

A lot of people might say if Childs was the thing though, he was wearing a flame thrower, he could've just fried Macready. But it does look like the flame thrower might be out of fuel, too.

 

Well he also knows that at that point, MacReady is fucked. Maybe he just wanted to see him slowly freeze? Or maybe the camera cuts before he makes his move?

 

But Macready saying "let's just wait here awhile. See what happens." That could imply he was the thing. They estimated that the UFO the Norweigians found had been in the ice for 100,000 years. And when we first see the thing, it's a wolf/dog. So imo, Macready saying "let's wait awhile and see what happens" and them both nodding and agreeing, might imply that they are in fact both things.

 

I always assumed it was Macready. I've only seen it once, though. I might just have to do a Carpenter marathon this weekend.

 

I think that was kind of a cool game of chicken MaCready was playing with the thing.

 

Possibly. Or maybe the camera cut before Macready (as a human) made HIS move. A lot of people think he gave Childs not whiskey, but one of those molotov cocktails, to drink. And when childs drinks it and has no reaction to the taste, Macready chuckles. It's a weird chuckle though. Could mean "yeah, I knew it. You're infected." Or it could mean "yeah, I'm fucked." It's just so perfectly done, it's impossible to tell for sure.

Remember earlier when Macready is playing chess on the computer, and he loses and gets pissed and fries the circuit cards by pouring whiskey on them? Calling the computer a "cheating bitch." Well the movie can be looked at as a big chess game. And macready still has whiskey (or gasoline?) at the end. Maybe he was about to torch childs. Maybe he was just saying "good fight" to his opponent at the end, sharing a drink.

 

Honestly in my head I like a version where they are both not the thing, but can't trust each other at all at that point, so they freeze to death instead of helping each other. Basically the thing had created at atmosphere where trust cannot be had between two people, taking away humans greatest weapon, teamwork.