The Thing was released just before AIDS became a national story in 1982 so it couldn't have been a direct metaphor. But this was Reagan and cold war espionage and rampant homophobia times. A lot of horror films of the 80s were metaphors of the alien "other"The Thing was released just before AIDS became a national story in 1982 so it couldn't have been a direct metaphor. But this was Reagan and cold war espionage and rampant homophobia times. A lot of horror films of the 80s were metaphors of the alien "other"