Five Chilling Films Every ‘The Thing’ Enthusiast Should See

T.K. Carter, best remembered for his portrayal of Nauls in John Carpenter’s cult classic, passed away on 9 January 2026 at the age of 69. He was discovered at his residence in Duarte, California. Police have ruled out foul play, though the precise cause of death remains undetermined.

For those who appreciate the creeping dread and psychological unease of Carpenter’s Antarctic thriller, there’s a wealth of similarly unsettling cinema to explore. Here are five films that capture the same sense of paranoia, transformation, and existential threat.

Paranoia and Doubles: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Philip Kaufman’s reimagining of the 1950s original transplants the action to San Francisco, where Donald Sutherland’s health inspector begins to suspect that people are being replaced by emotionless duplicates. Brooke Adams and Jeff Goldblum round out the cast, lending the proceedings a sense of mounting unease. The film’s atmosphere is thick with suspicion, as trust between friends and neighbours steadily erodes. The ending offers little comfort, delivering a final blow that lingers long after the credits roll.

Available on Prime Video

Isolation in Space: Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror follows the crew of the Nostromo as they respond to a mysterious signal, only to find themselves hunted by a relentless extraterrestrial. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley emerges as the unlikely survivor, while the rest of the crew are picked off one by one. The film’s claustrophobic setting and slow-building terror will feel familiar to anyone who relishes the tension of Carpenter’s work.

Available to rent on Prime Video

Transformation and Tragedy: The Fly (1986)

David Cronenberg’s take on the classic tale sees Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, a scientist whose experiment in teleportation goes catastrophically wrong. Geena Davis plays the journalist who witnesses his gradual, horrifying metamorphosis. The horror here is as much emotional as physical, with the transformation unfolding in agonising detail. Fans of body horror and slow-burn dread will find much to admire.

Available on Apple TV

Unravelling Reality: Annihilation (2018)

Alex Garland’s adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s novel stars Natalie Portman as a biologist venturing into ‘The Shimmer’, a mysterious zone where the laws of nature seem to have come undone. The film’s threat is elusive, its characters’ motivations increasingly blurred, and the boundaries of identity called into question. It’s a heady mix of science fiction and psychological horror, with visuals as striking as its ideas.

Available on Apple TV

Cosmic Dread: Prince of Darkness (1987)

John Carpenter returns to the director’s chair for this unsettling tale of a priest and a group of scientists investigating a canister of swirling green liquid hidden beneath a Los Angeles church. Donald Pleasence and Victor Wong lead the cast, grounding the film’s outlandish premise with committed performances. The sense of impending doom is palpable, and the film’s refusal to offer easy answers only heightens the unease.

Available to rent on Apple TV

Which of these will you be queuing up next?