Kurt Russell wasn’t the only one terrified in the icy tundra of Antarctica when The Thing premiered in 1982. Audiences showed up in droves for the John Carpenter classic and in a unique thing to come out of the success of the film -- it became the rare quotable horror flick.
Russell’s R.J. MacReady certainly had his hands full with the shape-shifting creature that threatens to kill everyone in the remote facility. Check out some of our favorite The Thing (1982) quotes.
Childs: What do we do now?
MacReady: Why don't we just wait here for a little while... see what happens... | permalink
Clark: I dunno what the hell's in there, but it's weird and pissed off, whatever it is. | permalink
MacReady: I know I'm human. And if you were all these things, then you'd just attack me right now, so some of you are still human. This thing doesn't want to show itself, it wants to hide inside an imitation. It'll fight if it has to, but it's vulnerable out in the open. If it takes us over, then it has no more enemies, nobody left to kill it. And then it's won. | permalink
Palmer [As Norris' head grows legs and tries to walk away]: You gotta be (expletive) kidding. | permalink
Childs: You're gonna have to sleep sometime, MacReady.
MacReady: I'm a real light sleeper, Childs. | permalink
MacReady: Somebody in this camp ain't what he appears to be. Right now that may be one or two of us. By spring, it could be all of us. | permalink
Garry: MacReady, I know Bennings, I've known him for ten years. He's my friend.
MacReady: We've gotta burn the rest of him. | permalink
MacReady: I dunno, it's like this: thousands of years ago this spaceship crashes, and this thing, whatever it is... gets thrown out or crawls out and it ends up freezing in the ice.
Garry: So, the Norwegians find it, and they dig it out of the ice...
MacReady: That's right, Garry. They dig it up. They cart it back to their base. It gets thawed out, it wakes up, probaly not the best of moods, and... I don't know, I wasn't there!
Childs: How could this motherfucker wake up after thousands of years frozen in the ice?
George Bennings: And how can it make itself look like a dog?
MacReady: I don't know. Because it's different then us. Because it's from outer space. What more do you want from me? Ask Blair! | permalink
MacReady: Hey, Sweden! | permalink