[3] In total, Morricone produced a score of approximately one hour that remained largely unused but was later released as part of the film's soundtrack.

[6] In 2012, Morricone recalled: I've asked [Carpenter], as he was preparing some electronic music with an assistant to edit on the film, "Why did you call me, if you want to do it on your own?"

In 2011, Howarth and Larry Hopkins restored Morricone's score using updated digital techniques and arranged each track in the order it appears in the film.

[9] A remastered version of the score was released on vinyl on February 23, 2017; a deluxe edition included an exclusive interview with Carpenter.

The EP contains Carpenter's contributions to The Thing's score; he re-recorded the music because the original masterings were lost.

[11] All music is composed by Ennio Morricone.Andy Beta of Pitchfork gave the soundtrack a score of 7.2/10, writing "it's on this motif that the film's frost-tipped dread is most closely felt—so it's a shame that, after four minutes, it suddenly lurches back into an overstated organ theme.

"[12] Richie Corelli of Horror DNA gave the soundtrack a 5/5 star rating, summarizing that "what matters is this: Ennio Morricone's music for John Carpenter's The Thing is an icy, alluring work of art.

"[13] Chris McEneany of AVForums gave the album a positive review, saying "This is cold, bleak music with a dark sense of impending doom... yet it's also a shivery delight of spectral suspense and sepulchral beauty.