Escape from New York (1981) vs. The Thing (1982)

I finally saw these classic John Carpenter films, both starring Kurt Russell. See who wins after the cut. (SPOILERS)

Escape from New York

The rap sheet.

Escape from New York has a 83% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. It received 4 Saturn Award nominations, including Best Science Fiction Film and Best Director. The Thing has a 79% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. It received 2 Saturn Award nominations, including Best Science Fiction Film.

Winner: Escape from New York

The setup.

In The Thing, a group of scientists is exposed to a creature that replicates the makeup of its victims, leaving them to determine who has been attacked and who is untouched, so that they can destroy it. In Escape from New York, an imprisoned war hero named Snake Plissken is charged with rescuing the U.S. President, along with the valuable contents of his briefcase, from the Manhattan Island prison, in exchange for a full pardon.

Winner: The Thing

The Thing

The execution.

Both films are dark, grim thrill rides. Escape from New York has prisoners battling each other with guns, knives, bats, and fists in a massive prison city. The Thing has scientists using flame throwers and explosives against the various forms of the creature.

Winner: The Thing

The ending.

In The Thing, the last two survivors sit in the cold as their camp burns down around them, waiting for something, anything, to happen. Were they rescued, or did they meet a much worse fate? In Escape from New York, Plissken walks off into the night after he destroys a tape with nuclear weapons information. The tape is gone, but has the day been won?

Winner: The Thing

The wild card.

Escape from New York has Ernest Borgnine and Harry Dean Stanton, and it also has a brilliant electronic score written by Carpenter himself. The Thing features a haunting (Razzie-nominated?!) score by Ennio Morricone, and it even has Keith David and Wilford Brimley in the cast.

Winner: Escape from New York

The Thing

Winner: The Thing beats Escape from New York 3-2

Ratings: Escape from New York - ***1/2, The Thing - ****