The Thing: Trust No One

The Thing is grotesque. Check. It turns up in a remote location. Check. And the humans who discover it are isolated from the rest of the world. Check.
All systems are go for a gratifying horror flick."The Thing" doesn't disappoint. But as gross as the alien monster is — and it is horrifying — it's what this movie tells us about ourselves that's even scarier.
Let's time travel back for a minute. It's 1951 and "The Thing" is in theaters for the first time. Considered a cult classic, it had all the requisite elements. Even more frightening than the slimy, growling monster, however, were the effete scientists in the movie. Back then, the atom bomb and its mushroom cloud were fresh in our minds. And then there was Dr. Freud, telling us stuff about ourselves that we didn't want to believe. It stands to reason that we'd distrust these guys.
In the remake, everyone is suspect. No one can be trusted. And as a statement about life in the second decade of the 21st century this is about as chilling as it gets.
Happy Halloween.