Creating Tension: The "Oh shite, We're All Going to Die" Scenario

Furthermore, it's also the Bill Paxton Complex, "Oh we're fricking dead. fricking toast."

In thinking about the contents of my new fandangled sig image (props to Carpenter's The Thing of course. Fits my name, right? and Thanks timdillinger!) I was drawn to small parts of the film. Not only the seemingly cool LSU reference (I think that's the film where Russell has something LSU on), but also the little things.

So if you remember correctly, Russell's character Macready sits at a very awesome old school computer terminal and types in a probability scenario. The computer, in wondrous 80's style, spits out what seemingly is a QBasic animated blob and some stats. Basically, not only is there a high chance that someone else has been claimed by "The Thing," but also if it gets out of the base, the world is pretty much screwed.

Now, lest we forget, this same position of old school computer using QBasic and ascii animation is used to spit out stats in Ridley Scott's Alien. Again, the computer decides that there is no chance for survival.

Looking back on two of the greatest science fiction films in history, where does this need to blatantly spell out doom through a computer so necessary? Would their tension be any less without it? Can't we infer from Ash's speech about the "perfect organism," that they are all dead anyways? Or from the "spider-head" in The Thing, it looks virtually unstoppable.

I hold both of these films in high regard, they made my top 5 of the science fiction voting, but I see each weakened by this "exact determination of failure."

Now, don't get me wrong, for many movies this works, particularly in dystopian/apocalyptic films, or films where the exact degree of failure is needed (The Andromeda Strain).

Thoughts?