Name: The Thing (1982)
Start: 2025-10-19T18:30:00-04:00
Location: Tampa Theatre

13th Annual "A Nightmare on Franklin Street" series
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1h 49m / R / Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
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All is still at a remote American research base in Antarctica until a helicopter comes roaring over the horizon. Dispatched from a nearby Norwegian base, the helicopter is pursuing and attempting to shoot a fleeing dog. That’s weird! The helicopter lands, and the passengers accidentally blow it and themselves up trying to K*ll the dog with grenades. They really hate that dog. A few of the Americans take their own chopper back to the Norwegian base to get some answers, but they find that it has been burnt to ruins and all the occupants are dead. Meanwhile, one of the American researchers lets the dog into their own kennel. Quick show of hands, does that sound like a bad idea? Gold star for you; the dog is actually an alien life form capable of killing, assimilating and imitating other living beings nearly undetectably. Who is already compromised? Who can you trust? How do you know?
How many people must love a movie before it stops being a cult classic and becomes just a classic? There can’t possibly be any room in the cult left for The Thing, now generally accepted as one of the best horror films ever made. Loosely adapted from the same John W. Campell story as 1951’s The Thing from Another World from director Howard Hawks, The Thing almost didn’t make it out of development. If Alien hadn’t been such a success in 1979, it might have been shelved. If Halloween hadn’t been such a success in 1978, John Carpenter never would have been attached. And if Carpenter hadn’t been such a Hawks fan, he probably wouldn’t have felt inspired to up his game.
This screening will feature a special introduction by horror expert Will Jones, a writer and filmmaker who has made numerous award-winning short films and has written for publications such as Fangoria, TIME, and Forbes.

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VIEW the rest of the 2025 “A Nightmare on Franklin Street” series lineup at https://tampatheatre.org/movie-categories/nightmare/
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Support for the 2025 A Nightmare on Franklin Street series is provided by the following sponsors: “Mummy & Me” screenings are sponsored by Tampa Electric. Additional support is provided by First Florida Insurance Brokers. Promotional support is provided by Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine and Scaradise.