MovieChat Forums > The Thing (1982) Discussion > Two things about Bennings assimilation t...

Two things about Bennings assimilation that confused me.

posted 8 years ago by agentdc7
13 replies | jump to latest

1. It's hard for me to believe the slow moving thing was able to get Bennings. I'm guessing the split face thing slowly starts reassembling itself, very slowly crawls on the floor, and then grabs a hold of Bennings' foot and drags him over to assimilate him according to the [bright red] blood trail. It was hard for me to fill in the blank and picture how Bennings was assimilated. It's like picturing a sloth sneaking up on me and putting me in a choke hold.

If it grabbed his foot, he could possibly get away or scream for help or chop it off. But the most logical way I could guess was the split face thing made a lasso tentacle (like Palmer thing) and grabbed his face and then dragged him over and assimilated him.

2. Casually taking the split face corpse outside to burn it well done. I'd be afraid to get anywhere close to it seeing that it was clearly still alive. There's probably some pieces of the thing still waiting inside. Just picking up the split face corpse, it could probably do the same thing to them as it did to Bennings.

[–] Alex_RM7 8 years ago

Well you pretty much answered your own question. It cannot be known for certain, but your guess makes sense.

[–] cokezero99 8 years ago

1. Yes, that's an issue but I can imagine a couple explanations based purely on imagination. Firstly, we know that even a little of the matter of a thing is enough to infect another person. What if it somehow squirted fluid at him? Secondly, what if he was curious and after completing his task, decided to go look at this thing (which he thought was dead and thus harmless); bending over it to examine this fascinating thing closely, it gets him.

2. Yes, true. I wouldn't want to get close to it. But it must be done. It must be burned and so you have to take it out. They took a risk? That's the best explanation I have.

[–] quint88 8 years ago

They could have plausibly burnt it inside, put out the flames for transport, and burnt it in the pit. At least thats what'd i'd insist on if i was there

I also wouldnt have let Windows wipe the scaple clean on his clothes in the blood test scene, but i guess that wasnt a problem either

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] quint88 8 years ago

hahaha sequel idea.

The Thing: Age of Abercrombie.

[–] cokezero99 8 years ago

I also wouldnt have let Windows wipe the scaple clean on his clothes in the blood test scene, but i guess that wasnt a problem either

Ah! This scene drives me crazy every time. Even if there was no danger of being infected by a hideous creature, that is just unclean.

[–] redskinsjeff44 8 years ago

It always bothered me that Windows nonchalantly wiped that scalpel on his pants. It's like using an addicts dirty needle. And nobody questioned it. That's so nasty. So dangerous.

[–] Jetfire1959 8 years ago

What if it somehow squirted fluid at him?

That's what it did to the dogs early on. I assumed that's how it got Bennings.

The louder paranormal "debunkers" argue,the more terrified they are it's all true.

[–] Jetfire1959 8 years ago

Remember the assimilation of the dogs? It sprayed some of them with its fluid, which is basically part of itself. That's how it got Bennings.

The louder paranormal "debunkers" argue,the more terrified they are it's all true.

[–] TheSonomaDude_Returns 8 years ago

I was gonna debunk this, but it actually kinda makes sense. The fluid in the dog scene was some sort of immobilizer, and probably a form of acid. This can be assumed in the dog scene when we see a dog without its flesh, although it's never actually been proven or said for fact that the dog got that way because of the fluid, or if that was even the same dog. Bennings doesn't look melted or without flesh, though he is very pink/red, which could be irritation from the fluid spray.

[–] Jetfire1959 8 years ago

It obviously had immobilizing properties, but the spray is just part of the organism IMHO. It's sort of like bio-nonotechnology. Every single cell is a tiny creature unto itself. Once the cells contact living flesh they begin "digesting" the animal/human.

The louder paranormal "debunkers" argue,the more terrified they are it's all true.

[–] zozogogo 8 years ago

I always find it amusing that Thing-Bennings already had a new set of clothes on when they found him. I just imagine the thing struggling to fit those giant unfinished monster arms through each sleeve as quickly as possible... =P

[–] scochs-1 8 years ago

zozogogo - LMFAO, picturing Bennings/Thing doing that is HILARIOUS!

IMDB - Because some Trolls need more than just a bridge