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My name is listed as a supporter in the credits for the movie, The Thing (1982). Directed by John Carpenter, it's my favorite movie in the horror genre, and the 4K version is superb!

Set in Antarctica, The Thing opens with a husky being pursued by two Norwegians into a US research facility. After the Norwegians are killed, the US team discovers the scientists at the nearby station apparently went mad after digging an alien artifact out of the ice. The husky reveals itself to be an entity that can copy any living organism and starts assimilating members of the base. MacReady (Kurt Russell) fights to discover who is still human before the thing copies them all, threatening life on earth.

The Thing takes its time developing a situation in which any character could be non-human. We know from the husky that the thing is able to copy the appearance and mannerisms of any living thing. Carpenter focuses on the dog at certain points, sitting under the base's pool table or wandering the corridors. There’s nothing unusual on the surface, but the audience’s privileged knowledge about the situation (we know we are watching a horror movie and have surmised that the husky is not what it seems) invests these moments with an uncanny tension. The dog's movement is studied for signs of the unnatural and, while there are no special effects involved, it becomes a sinister presence. The human characters in the story are unsuspecting at this point, with the significant exceptions of MacReady and Blair (Wilford Brimley), who will be key players in the climax of the film.

The audience is placed in the situation of having a sense of the other before the characters in the story. This is mirrored when the husky is put in the kennel with the other dogs. Like the viewer, they share an innate ability to see beyond surface appearance and immediately start growling at the interloper, which leads to the first transformation of the thing. Paranoia grows in the camp. “If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know it’s really me?” asks Childs (Keith David). The viewer has already considered this disturbing "what if" scenario. At this point the film cleverly turns suspicion on the character with whom we are most identified.

Cailee Spaeny in Alien Romulus is pretty when she wakes up!

Jack Nicholson presenting producer Clint Eastwood with the Oscar® for Best Picture for "Unforgiven" at the 65th Academy Awards® in 1993. Introduced by Billy Crystal.