History YMMV / TheThing1982

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The film is packed with terrific animatronic and makeup effects which have held up magnificently. In fact, the effects are so spectacular, it's sometimes been criticized by both fans and critics for overshadowing the rest of the film.

* NightmareRetardant: While most incarnations of the Thing are frightening, the infected [[spoiler: Norris]] has such a disproportional face that it looks downright comical.

* NightmareRetardant
** While most incarnations of the Thing are frightening, the infected [[spoiler: Norris]] has such a disproportional face that it looks downright comical.
** Most of the creatures become this when you realise one very important thing, probably due to budget constraints, but still, most of the creatures are almost completely immobile, only the [[spoiler: Palmer]]-Thing and the Head-Thing seem to be capable of movement beyond a few feet once exposed.

** Two of the main characters are [[UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh Mac]] and [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows]], with the former even being introduced destroying a computer (the computer being a redressed Apple II computer that was used for the prop). The way that the latter [[spoiler:dies (being frozen in fear before having his head devoured by the Palmer-Thing)]] is often compared to him experiencing a literal HeroicBSOD.

** In the defibrillator scene, when the Thing bites [[spoiler:Copper]]'s arms off, his arms just sort of break off ''above'' where the Thing's teeth are sunk into them, rather than being cut through by the teeth. Also, just before this happens, you can see that [[spoiler:Copper]] is about to apply the defibrillator to [[spoiler:Norris]]'s chest in a long shot, but in the shot where the attack actually happens, he's shoving the paddles into [[spoiler:Norris]]'s belly, well below where a defibrillator would be used.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The film is packed with terrific animatronic and makeup effects which have held up magnificently. In fact, the effects are so spectacular, it's sometimes been criticized for overshadowing the rest of the film.

* RemadeAndImproved: [[VindicatedByHistory It took a while, ]] but this film is often pointed to as one of the few horror remakes that managed to not only live up to but exceed the original in quality, and given that the original already enjoyed a good reputation, that's tall praise.

* {{Narm}}: The scene where the Thing bites off [[spoiler: Copper's]] arms held up the worst over time, looking extremely cartoony by modern standards.

** Did [[spoiler:Fuchs try to burn the Thing after discovering [=MacReady=]’s shredded clothes but fail in the process? Did he burn himself before the Thing could assimilate him? Or did the Thing burn him before he could tell anybody the truth?]]

** At the start, Nauls is funkin' out to Music/StevieWonder's "Superstition", until Bennings, inexplicably, yells at him to shut it off.

** With the ''massively'' memetic popularity of ''VideoGame/AmongUs'' with its similar premise of a murderous alien "Impostor" mimicking "Crewmates", comparisons to The Thing are widespread an practically inevitable, with memes surrounding the Thing's attempts at misdirection as "acting sus" or joking that Among Us became so popular they made it into a movie.

** Those who support the [[spoiler:Childs was turned into a Thing]] ending theory claim that it's because [[spoiler:Childs doesn't have visible breath despite MacReady's breath being plenty visible]]. In truth, [[spoiler:Childs' breath is actually visible, just the lack of lighting on him makes it harder to see. The scene where Bennings-Thing is cornered outside is also has visible breath, so whether or not one has visible breath is no proof of one's status as a Thing]].

* FirstInstallmentWins:
** Out of Carpenter’s ''Apocalypse Trilogy'' of this film, ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'', and ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness'', this movie is universally regarded as the best of the three, whereas the other entries, [[VindicatedByHistory while retroactively vindicated as some of his better work]], still don’t hold a flame to what Carpenter accomplished in 1982.
** Subverted with regards to the film it remade, with many fans holding it to be an [[EvenBetterSequel Even Better Remake]], but played straight with regards to [[Film/TheThing2011 its 2011 prequel]].