An Early The X-Files Episode Is Almost An Exact Copy Of John Carpenter's The Thing

One of the earliest episodes of The X-Files — season 1, episode 8, “Ice” — was a sly remake of John Carpenter's sci-fi horror masterpiece The Thing. A lot of The X-Files’ classic standalone “Monster-of-the-Week” episodes were influenced by iconic horror films. Season 4, episode 2, “Home,” is a slasher about a murderous family inspired by The Hills Have Eyes and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Season 6, episode 7, “Terms of Endearment,” subverts the story of Rosemary’s Baby with its tale of a demon snatching an unborn child from its mother’s womb.

The series’ premise of two agents working in the FBI’s underground supernatural affairs division gave the writers the freedom to explore every horror trope and subgenre under the sun. The X-Files even did an episode parodying Cops with a werewolf on the loose: season 7, episode 12, “X-Cops.” The X-Files was taking inspiration from horror cinema from the very beginning. In just its first season, the show presented a stealth remake of The Thing, complete with a snowy research facility and a parasitic alien entity.

The X-Files Season 1's "Ice" Is Very Close To John Carpenter's The Thing

They're Both About An Alien Parasite Infiltrating A Snowbound Research Facility

“Ice” sees Mulder and Scully going to a chilly Alaskan research facility to investigate the mysterious deaths of its inhabitants. While inspecting the isolated facility, they’re shocked to learn that it’s home to an alien parasite that sends its hosts into fits of rage. This is very similar to 1982’s The Thing, in which a team of American researchers at an isolated facility in Antarctica fall prey to an alien parasite that wants to assimilate them. The episode even looks like The Thing, because it shares the same production designer, Graeme Murray.

Carpenter’s movie was a remake of Christian Nyby’s 1951 film The Thing from Another World, which was itself an adaptation of John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella Who Goes There?. It’s possible that the character of Campbell in “Ice” was named after the author. On the DVD bonus features for The X-Files season 1, series creator Chris Carter acknowledged the influence of The Thing on “Ice.” He noted that the episode was “inspired by The Thing,” although writers Glen Morgan and James Wong wanted to avoid the comparisons.

How The X-Files Changes The Thing's Premise

The Parasite In The X-Files Has Different Intentions Than The Thing

The key difference between The X-Files’ “Ice” episode and The Thing is the parasite’s intentions with the people it infects. In The Thing, the alien entity wants to assimilate everyone in its path (and the scientists determine that, if it got out, it could assimilate the entire human population alarmingly quickly); in “Ice,” the parasite sends its victims into an uncontrollable fit of rage. In that sense, it’s more like the virus from George A. Romero’s The Crazies than the entity from The Thing.

The X-files takes the police procedural formula and applies it to sci-fi mysteries. Conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder and skeptic Dana Scully team up to solve cases surrounding alien invasions and other unexplained, paranormal phenomena.

Cast Gillian Flynn , David Duchovny , Robert Patrick , Annabeth Gish , Mitch Pileggi

Seasons 11

Streaming Service(s) Hulu , Disney+

Showrunner Chris Carter

A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter's 1982 film is a remake of 1951's The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.

Writers Bill Lancaster

Runtime 109 minutes