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Connor Thomas

Dr. Stephanie Hassan Richardson

ENGL1103

14 October 2021

Unknown Sci-Fi Terror: The Simplicity of The Thing

In 1982, John Carpenter released his sci-fi horror film The Thing, an adaptation of the

1938 novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr. and the second after 1951’s The Thing

from Another World. Considered a modern classic among horror fanatics, the amazing practical

gory effects, the chilly and tense interactions between the characters, and the fear of the

unknown relating to the alien make for a suspenseful and eerie film that is tonally dark and

visually frightening. The theatrical poster, designed by Drew Sturzan, capitalized on the

unknown of the alien. Surrounded by a black background, the phrase, "The ultimate in alien

terror,” at the top of the background and blue credits at the bottom, the central image contains the

design of a man wearing heavy clothing with a light coming from his face, surrounded by an

abstract background and the title of the film with Carpenter’s name above in the middle.

Utilizing stark color choices, a simple characterization, and a strategically placed tagline and

title, Sturzan captures the unknown nature of the titular alien while alluding to the horrors that

awaited them with unfortunate circumstantial consequences as a result.

           Sturzan designed the poster with three stark colors, black, white, and blue. Typically,

black represents power and elegance, but it also can represent mystery, evil, and the unknown.

Evil and the unknown are key themes in The Thing. The alien itself is not friendly by any means,

and the researchers have no clue what or who the alien is and whom it inhabits. The surrounding
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black outline brings the central image and the humanoid figure to focus, coated in black without

a clear face. The figure adds to the unknown factor of whom this figure is by showing that

whoever he is, he cannot be trusted since he could be the titular alien. Supplemented with this

theme is the color white, which shines from the face of the humanoid figure.

White is typically a symbol of purity and holiness, the complete opposite of what the

alien is. The alien is an evil, grotesque, shapeshifting, assimilating, and replicating creature

capable of taking on the mannerisms and features of the body it takes over. However, the poster

only shows a white light coming from the hood, signifying that the figure has been taken over by

the alien rather than showing the actual form. This tactic keeps the alien shrouded in mystery and

an unknown state to viewers who have never seen the film and merely the poster or central

image. Black and white, two colors that are complete opposites and create a disturbing feeling,

are combined to convey the distrustful nature attached to that image, unlike the last color, blue.

Blue has no underlying meaning in the poster, only combining with white to serve the

background of the central image. With the film set in Antarctica, Sturzan uses blue and white to

draw an abstract background that emulates the icy cold of the arctic from where the team of

researchers battles the alien. Though the core colors add to the tone, the overall poster relies on

the image and the accompanying tagline and title.

           A man is against an arctic background with a white light coming from his face. That is the

overall visual image. It is as simple as a poster can become without being an ordinary

background. In that simplicity, however, there is a mystery to be unfolded. What is the alien,

how has it inhabited the body of this man, and what is the end goal for this creature? A

straightforward image visualizes these burning questions. In addition, the man is in an inhuman
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stance, indicating this man is not to be trusted, a striking theme of the film. However, that image

alone is not enough.

The tagline, “The ultimate in alien terror,” declares that these questions will be answered

horrifically, similarly formatted and working for the poster similar to the classic tagline in Alien,

another sci-fi horror film based around an alien creature: “In space, no one can hear you scream.”

In addition, the title is under the man, signifying that the man may be the Thing. With the image

above the credits, the implication is that man is the main character MacReady, played by star

Kurt Russell, who receives the only acting credit in the credits below. The tagline and title

combine with the design to ultimately attempt to persuade people to see the film, like any movie

poster. Unfortunately, in 1982, that hindered the theatrical release.

By circumstance, two weeks before the release, another alien-centric movie was released,

E.T. The poster had the finger of E.T. and a human touching, implying a friendship, and

according to Ryan Lambie, a writer for Den of Geek, that hindered the film as “that movie’s

warm, gentle view of extraterrestrial life was diametrically opposed to the nightmarish excess of

Carpenter’s.” After the friendly E.T., the monstrous and horrific Thing brought a stark contrast to

that film, resulting in the failure of the film. Despite a now-iconic image and tagline, the poster

ended up being a persuasion tactic against the film rather than for it.

           Even with the failure, The Thing’s theatrical poster is iconic. The limited color choice,

characterization of the humanoid figure, and tagline all capitalize on the film and help paint the

mystery of what the Thing is and what it does to humans, showing a striking teasing image to a

horrifying creature. All these years later, The Thing remains a staple of the sci-fi horror genre,

and though the poster only teases rather than shows, that tease gives viewers enough of a hint to

the wonderful horror that awaits them upon viewing.

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Works Cited

Alvin, John, poster designer. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Universal Pictures, 1982.

Gipps, Phillip, poster designer. Alien. 20th Century Fox, 1979.

Lambie, Ryan. “John Carpenter's The Thing Had an Icy Critical Reception.” Den of Geek, 26

June 2018, https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/john-carpenters-the-thing-had-an-icy-

critical-reception/.

Sturzan, Drew, poster designer. The Thing. Universal Pictures, 1982.