The Thing From Another World

After the demise of the Classic Monsters, Hollywood horror entered its second golden age in the early '50s with the sci-fi paranoia thriller. One of the first, and still one of the best, The Thing From Another World is a hugely influential shocker that, though light years away from John Carpenter's remake in terms of scope, tone and effects, remains a tense and exciting affair. At an Arctic station, scientists dig up a being that is frozen in the ice, a seemingly indestructible "intellectual carrot", which quickly escapes and begins to terrorise them. Although officially directed by Christian Nyby, legend has it that producer Howard Hawks had more than a hand in filming, and many scenes flow with such pace, wit and skill that they could only be the work of someone as good as Hawks. Make no mistake, this is one of the greats. Keep watching the skies. [Paul Greenwood]