After a string of low-budget hits that made more money than major studio imitations, independent filmmaker John Carpenter was embraced by the Big Boys in Hollywood and given oodles of cash to create this remake of one of his favorite all-time movies, 1951's "The Thing." Rob Bottin was recruited to do make-up effects.

The result is a mixed bag—not as good as Carpenter's earlier efforts, but infinitely superior to a lot of the low-brow sci-fi horror stuff being produced today, particularly the crap produced by Carpenter in the 1990s.

Russell, fresh from his Snake Plisken role in Carpenter's "Escape From New York," is part of an American team in the Antarctic that is infected by a monster that takes on the shape and form of the people it kills. The suspense is pretty intense and when the monster transforms from a person into a grotesque sum of everything and everyone it has taken over—from dogs to people—the effects are startling and impressive, even by today's standards.

For the first time, Carpenter opted not to write and perform the score. Veteran composer Ennio ("The Good, the Bad and the Ugly") Morricone took over those duties and crafted a soundtrack that sounds remarkably like something Carpenter would produce.

The movie is recommended, but it's no classic.

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