The Thing (1982)

I look at Walter Hill and John Carpenter as the same guy with schizophrenia; a master of action, one half often toiling in westerns, and the other specializing in horror (ironically, Carpenter's biggest inspiration is westerns, particularly his idol, Howard Hawks).

From the mid-70s to late-80s, these guy were the two leading genre filmmakers in American cinema. Their gritty, pulpy, stylish exploits defined the time period. If you stretch it, you can draw several thematic comparisons in their filmographies.

Assault on Precinct 13 - Trespass

The Warriors - Escape from New York

Streets of Fire - Big Trouble in Little China

Which brings us to Southern Comfort and The Thing. Both are superior efforts about a group of men isolated from the outside world and dealing with an increasingly-hostile external threat. Both are highly atmospheric, making the best of their respective settings by capitalizing on their claustrophobic potential. They're ensemble films sans women. Perhaps their greatest achievements are the ways they almost surgically detail the inner-workings of a tightly-concentrated group, and use the threat almost as a catalyst to trace its gradual disintegration. The films are elevated by the performances of many wonderful character actors, with the presence of T.K. Carter further reinforcing the connection.

The two films differ fundamentally in one crucial sense: Southern Comfort trades on the "where is it?" concept, while The Thing takes the "who is it?" approach.

They're widely recognized by fans of both filmmakers as arguably the apotheoses of their respective talents. I love em both.

"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino