that nightmarish blood test scene or the sight of a head detaching and scuttling away from its body, in John Carpenter’s “The Thing,” is believing that all of the skin-raising horror at Outpost 31 starts with a panic-stricken husky trying to outrun a helicopter. After all, what possible danger could a lone dog pose compared to an erratic Norwegian helicopter pilot firing off rounds without warning? And yet, it’s thanks to the incredible performance by Jed the wolfdog, that we immediately buy into the first act of the 1982 classic (which still stands as one of Carpenter’s best works). Jed lingers and slips through scenes just enough to show that all is not right with this canine that’s wandered in from the cold. His presence is partly due to training and partly to his initial animal instincts kicking in, which Carpenter and the cast on set noticed, making him a valued star.
In a documentary for the film, star Richard Masur, who played the dog handler Clark, talked about how if Jed ever felt uneasy, he’d switch to a lupine state, going eerily quiet and giving an intense stare. “He did everything like a wolf,” Masur explained. “He would never bark. He never growled.” Indeed, Jed was a silent film star of a different kind. Following his appearance in what’s rightly remembered as one of the greatest body horror movies ever, Jed would even go on to lead a solid career, achieving a legendary four-legged status right up until his passing in 1995.
