To answer my own question, I think The Fly is better overall, but The Thing has one of the best endings in history.
This is what Mostarda would do to panchyprsss: Leave him screaming and squealing like a broken-arm-Chuvalo-BITCH
Maybe I didn’t get it but from my recollection The Thing’s ending was inconclusive. And for the record, as much as I love The Fly, The Thing is one of my all time favorite sci-fi flicks.
The Fly is just too gross ... Cronenberg is always a bridge too far for my poor stomach The Thing is nauseating in places but not as consistently so I found it enjoyable enough
The Fly plays out almost like a Greek tragedy, which is why I hold it in high regard. Jeff Goldblum always manages to play a likable, charismatic character, and his entire physical and mental being is slowly consumed by the instincts and DNA of the fly. Cronenberg masterfully makes the deterioration slow - almost like Goldblum is dying of cancer. It gets a bit gross towards the end, but the final scene is also pretty tragic. I consider it a sci-fi classic. The Thing is a classic also, but there's no character in The Thing you actually care about. Kurt Russell's character is simply a bad ass, not really a sympathetic figure.
The Thing's ending is very inconclusive, which is why it's great. The audience is left to guess whether or not Childs is the The Thing.
Cronenberg has proven that his movies don't have to be gross sci-fi flicks to be great. Don't forget, he made Eastern Promises and A History of Violence, two GREAT crime movies.
Agree totally but I just can't watch The Fly... too much gore for me ... Cronenberg's movies would make a great diet tool for people with weak stomachs
You seen Videodrome? One of the of his weirdest movies... but also one of the most intelligent and relevant.
While unlike clogg I didn't hate The Fly, I didn't like it either. Watched it once and thought was extremely overrated. 'The Thing' is a freaking classic. Awesome film that magnificently captures the paranoia and isolation of these characters. Great film. John Carpenter's best film that did the unimaginable: made audiences forget the original 1950 classic by Howard Hawks. Not a small feat.
