‘The Thing’: John Carpenter Says We’re All Wrong About the Ending

John Carpenter says nobody has figured out the ending of The Thing. After 44 years of people inspecting eyeballs, breath, and a bottle of booze, apparently we’re still missing something.

Speaking with Reece Feldman in an Academy interview, Carpenter dismissed the theories surrounding his 1982 horror classic.

“Every idea people have is not the right one. I know the right one.”

Asked whether anyone had guessed correctly, he added, “It’s right in the movie too. There is a big clue. No one has guessed it.”

Okay, but how many possibilities can there really be?

The Thing ends with MacReady, played by Kurt Russell (Escape from New York), and Childs, played by Keith David (They Live), sharing a drink among the ruins of their Antarctic station. Neither knows whether the other is still human.

One could be the Thing. Both could be. Neither could be. So what exactly are we missing?

The popular theories involve Childs’ barely visible breath, the light in their eyes, or MacReady secretly handing Childs gasoline to see whether he notices. None provides a confirmed answer, and Carpenter specifically rejected the eye-light explanation in a 2023 ComicBook.com interview.

Another theory connects the drink to Fuchs’ earlier warning about possible contamination through food. If MacReady is infected, could sharing the bottle be how he gets Childs?

Maybe. But that assumes MacReady has become the creature, and the movie never confirms that the drink infects anyone.

There’s a simpler possibility with some production history behind it. Producer Stuart Cohen wrote in his account of the ending that screenwriter Bill Lancaster believed both men were human. Cohen agreed, although he couldn’t confirm Carpenter felt the same.