Legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has set a bar that few can match, but that’s only because of the core films that inspired him to create the hits he’s given us over the years. From do-or-die World War II missions to bloody affairs involving ninjas and assassination squads, there have been a variety of genres that Tarantino has delved into (and others, for that matter), but one genre he’s only scratched the surface of is horror. He both wrote and starred in “From Dusk Till Dawn,” then crushed the slasher with a high-speed vehicle in “Death Proof,” but what might come as a surprise is how one of the greatest horror films ever made had such an influence on much of his career.
During an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the host and his guest shared their immense love for John Carpenter’s chilling body horror classic, “The Thing,” with the director explaining what got under his skin and stayed there for decades. As it turns out, some of Tarantino’s greatest works contain the DNA of Carpenter’s remarkable remake, whether it’s the story or even some of the film’s creative forces that end up contributing to his own projects decades later.
Reservoir Dogs was powered by The Thing
Tarantino remembers the first time he saw the nightmare unfold at Outpost 31 and how much it shaped his later ideas. “I’m not scared in movies. ‘The Thing’ I was scared in…”, speaking of the cult classic that was a box office bomb upon its initial release. “I was scared, and it made me want to put a microscope on why I was actually scared during this movie.” It was here that Tarantino revealed his discovery. “It’s pure paranoia. They’re trapped in Antarctica, in this shelter, and so the paranoia bounces off all four walls until it has nowhere to go except through the fourth wall to reach the audience. I started to feel exactly what they were feeling.”
It was this growing fear that Tarantino felt over Carpenter’s film that he tried to replicate and reapply in his directorial debut, setting him on the path to becoming the revered filmmaker he is considered to be today. “I was like, I need to have this aspect that is in ‘The Thing.’ I need to trap these bastards in this warehouse, and no one can trust anyone else…and I want the paranoia of what’s happening in this warehouse to bounce off the walls and hopefully, like in ‘The Thing,’ it will spill over into the audience.” He certainly achieved that, as well as a huge success that would see Tarantino not only include this kind of tension in future films, but also use the talents of “The Thing” in his own films.
The Hateful Eight shares some of the stars and sounds of The Thing
In 2015, Tarantino gave us what still feels like one of his most underrated entries in his filmography with “The Hateful Eight.” The film brought together an impressive cast, including Tim Roth, Samuel L. Jackson, future “Fallout” star Walton Goggins and “The Thing” star Kurt Russell – who would reunite with Tarantino for their second project together. Much like Russell’s ’80s thrill, “The Hateful Eight” would also see a gang of shady characters forced together in a snowy location, with trust and deception changing with every moment.
Tension and paranoia weren’t the only things from “The Thing” to appear in Tarantino’s ninth film, as the music also came from the ingenious musical mind of composer Ennio Morricone, who also worked on the 1982 sci-fi horror film. Additionally, the music we hear in Tarantino’s film includes unused music from Carpenter’s film, with the director opting for synthesized music instead of what we ended up hearing 33 years later.
It’s these additions that demonstrate how far Tarantino has come and how his name is as respected as Carpenter’s. But while there’s no doubt that the young filmmaker displayed talent throughout his time behind the camera, he never managed to scare audiences by turning someone’s decapitated head into a hell spider. It’s up to you, Quentin.
