I dig Bill Lancaster's writing style. It's very precise and easy to follow. Efficient action lines and great use of secondary headings. Even though there are large blocks of descriptions in places, it doesn't feel too heavy. I really like the opening of the script. Much better than the movie. We're really thrown into the action right away and it's a nice build until the Norwegian is shot. I like how we don't meet MacReady until page 9. In the film, they intercut the opening action with MacReady playing chess and it slows down the pace and diminishes the suspense. MacReady comes off as a “character” in the script with his inflatable companion and Hawaiian music, and in the movie he's more of a straight up “tough guy.” There's a really exciting set-piece in the script that I don't think is in the movie, around page 60 where they leave the station on snowmobiles and get attacked by the dogs. I like that they left for a while. It still makes it “contained” since they can't leave the continent anyway. In the movie, they don't leave the station, I believe, after returning from the Norwegian camp. There's a growing sense of uneasiness and distrust in the second act and Lancaster did a great job of building that conflict between the men. It made me question what had I read and I tried to remember details - was he in the room with the dogs, was that guy alone, who is infected, etc. Overall, this was a fun read and his descriptions of The Thing and the deformed dogs and men are really well-written. Watching the film now thirty years after it was made, the special effects come off as campy, but reading the script, I found myself imagining everything really vividly. The script holds up - it hasn't aged that much. In the script there's a scene with Blair looking at the cells through a microscope. In the movie, it was done with Pong-like computer graphics and feels laughably dated.

Haven't seen this movie since I was 10 or 11 years old. I was hooked into the story right away by juxtapostion of the behavior of the characters/the action/and the description of the setting.

I'm behind on this one and just finished Act One. Background: I remember "The Thing From Another Planet" pretty well. Never saw the 1982 version, so this is all new to me. Echoing Teddy's points, the opening is really strong. Let me make two points: * Curiosity: The script makes great use of this as a means of pulling the reader into the story. Why are the Norwegians shooting at a dog? Why is the dog trying to escape them? Why is the one surviving Norwegian relentless in his pursuit of the dog? What is MacReady's deal? What happened at the Norwegian camp? These and other questions cause us to hook into the story right away. * MacReady's introduction: Great example of character introduction through action. I'm already totally hooked by this story. Look forward to finishing the script.