MacReady quotes from The Thing (1982)

MacReady

Somebody in this camp ain't what he appears to be. Right now that may be one or two of us. By spring, it could be all of us.

MacReady

Also... When this Thing turns... it turns slowly at first. I think we can handle it in that state. But if it ever got to full power... from what I saw of that Norwegian camp... well, I just don't know... It would probably take it an hour or more to get like that. So no matter what anybody's doing, we all return to this room every twenty minutes. Anybody gone longer than that... anybody trying to leave... we kill 'em.

MacReady

Okay, Sanchez, you come with us. Norris... you stay here... (refers to tied-up men) Any of them move - you fry 'em. And if you hear anything, anything at all you let loose the siren. We all meet back here in twenty minutes regardless. (pause) And everybody watch whoever you're with. Real close.

MacReady

Watching Norris in there... gave me the idea that maybe every part of you bastards is a whole. Every piece of you is self-sufficient, an animal unto itself. When a man bleeds it's just tissue. But blood from one of you Things won't obey. It's a newly formed individual with a built-in desire to protect its own life. When attacked, your blood will try and survive - and crawl away from a hot needle say.

MacReady

Blair's been busy out here all by himself.

MacReady

Yeah, well **** you too!

MacReady

I'm gonna hide this tape when I'm finished. If none of us make it, at least there'll be some kind of record. The storm's been hitting us hard now for 48 hours. We still have nothing to go on. [turns off tape recorder and takes a drink of whisky. He looks at the torn long johns and turns it back on] One other thing: I think it rips through your clothes when it takes you over. Windows found some shredded long johns, but the nametag was missing. They could be anybody's. Nobody... nobody trusts anybody now, and we're all very tired. Nothing else I can do, just wait... R.J. MacReady, helicopter pilot, US outpost number 31. [turns off recorder]

MacReady

I know I'm human. And if you were all these things, then you'd just attack me right now, so some of you are still human. This thing doesn't want to show itself, it wants to hide inside an imitation. It'll fight if it has to, but it's vulnerable out in the open. If it takes us over, then it has no more enemies, nobody left to kill it. And then it's won.

MacReady

Hey, Sweden!

Dr. Copper

They're not Swedish, goddamn it, they're Norwegian.

Magnesium of some type... or some kind of strange alloy. And those poor dumb bastards had to go and blow the hell out of it.

MacReady

So what do you make of it?

You know damn well what we both make of it.

MacReady

No chance it could have been some new kind of test craft?

Seismic activity has been pushing this from way down for a long time... This ice it was buried in... It's over a hundred thousand years old.

Childs

Okay now, Mac, run this by me again. Thousands of years ago this rocket ship crashes, right...? And the...

MacReady

Look, I'm just guessing...

Childs

Well, go on.

MacReady

... So it crashes, and this guy, whoever he is, gets thrown out, or walks out, and ends up freezing.

Childs

I just can't believe this voodoo bullshit. You believe this voodoo bullshit, Blair?

Palmer

Happens all the time, man. They're falling out of the skies like flies. Government knows all about it... Chariots of the Gods, man... They practically own South America. I mean they taught the Incas everything they knew.

Childs

So, MacReady, come on now. These Norwegian dudes come by... find him and dig him up...

MacReady

Yeah, they dig him up and cart him back. He gets thawed out, wakes up and scares the shit out of them. And they get into one hell of a brawl...

Childs

Now how's this mother****er wake up after thousands of years in the ice, huh?

MacReady

I don't know how. Because he's different than we are. Because he's a space guy. What do you want from me, anyway. Go ask Blair.

Childs

You buy any of this, Blair?

Blair

It was here... got to that dog... It was here in this camp...

Garry

So...? So what? It's over with.

Bennings

Well, isn't it?

MacReady

How you doin', old boy?

Blair

I don't know who to trust.

MacReady

Know what you mean, Blair. Trust is a tough thing to come by these days. Just trust in the Lord.

Dr. Copper

Somebody got to the blood... sabotaged it.

MacReady

Was it broken into?

Fuchs

No. Somebody opened it. Closed it. And then locked it.

MacReady

Well, who's got access to it?

Dr. Copper

I guess I'm the only one.

Garry

And I've got the only key.

MacReady

Would that test have worked?

Dr. Copper

I think so.

Somebody else sure as hell thought so.

Childs

You're gonna have to sleep sometime, MacReady.

MacReady

I'm a real light sleeper, Childs.

Childs

So you're the only one who made it.

MacReady

Not the only one.

Childs

Did you kill it?

MacReady

Where were you Childs?

Childs

I thought I saw Blair... went out after him... got lost in the storm. The fire's got the temperature way up all over camp. Won't last long though.

MacReady

Neither will we.

Childs

Maybe we should try and fix the radio... try and get some help.

MacReady

Maybe we shouldn't.

Childs

Then we'll never make it.

MacReady

Maybe we shouldn't make it.

Childs

If you're worried about me...

MacReady

If we got any surprises for each other... I dont think were in much shape to do anything about it.

Childs

Well... what do we do?

MacReady

Why don't we just wait here a little while? See what happens.

MacReady

I don't know. Thousands of years ago it crashes, and this thing... gets thrown out, or crawls out, and it ends up freezing in the ice.

Childs

I just cannot believe any of this voodoo bullshit.

Palmer

Childs, happens all the time, man. They're falling out of the skies like flies. Government knows all about it, right, Mac?

Childs

You believe any of this voodoo bullshit, Blair?

Palmer

Childs, Childs... Chariots of the Gods, man. They practically own South America. I mean, they taught the Incas everything they know.

Garry

So, come on now, MacReady, Norwegians get ahold of this... and they dig it up out of the ice.

MacReady

Yes, Garry, they dig it up, they cart it back, it gets thawed out, wakes up - probably not the best of moods - I don't know, I wasn't there!

Nauls

Which one of you disrespectful men been tossing his dirty drawers in the kitchen trash can, huh? From now, I want my kitchen clean, all right? Germ free!

Childs

So how's this mother****er wake up after thousands of years in the ice?

Bennings

And how can it look like a dog?

MacReady

I don't know how. 'Cause it's different than us, see? 'Cause it's from outer space. What do you want from me? Ask him! [motions to Blair]

Childs

You buy any of this Blair?

MacReady

All right, we gotta find him. Nauls, why don’t you come with me and we'll go outside. Palmer, you and Windows check the inside.

Palmer

I ain't going with Windows. I ain't going with him, I'll go with Childs--

Windows

Hey, **** YOU, Palmer!

Palmer

I ain't going with you!

Childs

Who says I want you going with me?!

MacReady

ALL RIGHT, CUT THE BULLSHIT! Windows, you come with us. Norris, you stay here. Any of them move, you fry them. You hear anything, anything at all, you cut loose on the sirens. We all meet here in 20 minutes regardless. And everybody watch who you're with, real close.

Blair

Nobody gets in and out of here! NOBODY! You guys think I'M crazy! Well, that's fine! Most of ya don't know what's goin' on around here, but I'm damn well sure SOME of you do!

MacReady

Christ!

Childs

He got most of the chopper and the tractor. And he's killed the rest of the dogs.

MacReady

Garry, wait a minute, wait a minute. Now, Childs, go around to the map room door. Talk to him.

Childs

Yeah.

MacReady

Norris, get a table from the lab.

Blair

D'ya think that thing wanted to be an animal?! No dogs make it a thousand miles through the cold! No, you don't understand! That thing wanted to be US! If a cell gets out, it could imitate everything on the FACE OF THE EARTH! AND NOTHING CAN STOP IT!

Childs

Okay, Blair. Come on, man, you don't wanna hurt anybody.

Blair

I'LL KILL YOU!

MacReady

Blair... he got back inside and blew the generator. In six hours, it'll be 100 below in here!

Garry

Well, that's suicide!

MacReady

Not for that Thing. It wants to freeze now. It's got no way out of here. It just wants to go to sleep in the cold until the rescue team finds it.

Garry

What can we do? What can we do?

MacReady

Whether we make it or not, we can't let the Thing freeze again. Maybe we'll just warm things up a little around here. We're not gettin' outta here alive. But neither is that Thing.