Stephen Colbert's Lord of the Rings nerdery is well documented, but did you know he's also a huge fan of John Carpenter's The Thing?

In the Late Show video above, while interviewing the horror film's legendary director, Colbert describes The Thing as his "possibly his favourite film" and "definitely his happy place".

"I'm absorbed by that film like the monster absorbs its victims," says Colbert, before asking Carpenter about the movie's often-debated ending.

"People think that they know who, at the end of the film, is The Thing," Colbert says. "Now I don't want to know if, for instance, the character Childs [played by Keith David], who people speculate on, is The Thing. But I do want to know – on behalf of myself and other people who care – do you know? In other words is there an actual answer to the question, is Childs The Thing?"

"There's an absolute answer to that question, I do know the answer to that question," responds Carpenter.

"Can I figure out that answer merely by watching the film?" is the next thing Colbert asks.

"If you watch it really carefully, and you send me a cheque in the mail," says Carpenter, "I will tell you."