The Thing (2011)
Prequel to the 1982 John Carpenter sci-fi horror about the titular Thing, a shapeshifting alien and one of movie’s most iconic monsters.
Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scott Pilgrim vs The World) travels to Antarctica for the expedition of a lifetime: she joins a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice. Inside she discovers an organism that seems to have died in the crash eons ago. When a simple experiment wakes the alien, Kate must join the crew's pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton, Animal Kingdom), to keep it from killing the group off one at a time.
- Director:
- Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Eric HeissererRonald D. Moore
- Cast:
- Mary Elizabeth WinsteadEric Christian OlsenJoel EdgertonAdewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Reviews & comments
That THING you do...
Being a huge fan of Carpenter's original (remake!) THING, I went to see this expecting the worst - and came away pleasantly surprised. It's no CITIZEN KANE, sure, but it's a sold, well-made action / sci-fi / horror that's only let down by a less than subtly wrought script. Still, as a homage to Carpenter's (far better) movie and as a bit of escapist...
The Thing after the thing, but before The Thing
As I thought this was a remake I was quite prepared for a bit of a let down, however it pleasently surprised me. I enjoyed the horror side, and in this pre-quel/remake the director/writers focused on the effects as much as the storyline. This made for an interesting movie and the acting (if a little static at times) wasnt o.t.t considering the setting. I...
Not Quite The "Thing"
An odd entry to the box office, "The Thing" is not a remake, but a prequel made close to three decades after the original. It takes someone with utter confidence in the script and direction to think that a prequel would work better in this day and age rather than that of a remake, so it's disappointing to see that it doesn't quite get there. In...
Blasphemy!
It's a reasonably safe bet to say that very rarely will a remake of a film meet the standard set by an original, as of course if the source material was bad in the first place, a remake would likely not even be considered. The number of times a remake is better than the original can probably be counted on one hand. Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven and...
Not bad
Firstly, thanks to flicks for providing the free viewing. I am not a fan of horror films, nor did I know much about The Thing franchise, this meant that I had a very low expectation for this film. All in all, it is an okay film. I quite enjoyed the sci-fi elements but remain unconvinced about horror films. I found the first half to be more enjoyable than...
It's hard for me to find a horror I like...
because I'm so critical of them. I love me a decent fright, but most horrors just don't deliver and leave me a little disappointed. WELL, The Thing delivered. It almost loses a star from me for a couple of slow moments - but it made up for them with it's amazing special effects. Some sweet gore, it's truly fantastic. I have to say, I was dubious about...
Prequel but really a remake
If you haven't seen the orignal film you'll get plenty of enjoyment out of this prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 orignal "The Thing". The Thing itself is gruesome, and a great monster that taps into everyone's fear of being attacked by something thats almost human but not quite. There's also a few great scenes where suspense and paranoia builds...
Great Prequel
Thanks to the good kids at Flicks for the preview! I really enjoyed The Thing - and not just because I'm a fan of Mary Elizabeth Winstead ;) Some good humour in there helped lighten the mood at times, while the rest of the film kept us on edge, waiting for the monster to come screeching out at us! Just like when we were kids. Would have liked a little...
Village Voice
pressJohn Carpenter should approve of this reasonably respectful and tough-minded prequel to his 1982 The Thing.
USA Today
pressA cinematic hot dog: It's full of body parts, but you won't get much from consuming it.
The New York Times
pressIn the annals of redundant remakes, The Thing is a particularly irritating example.
Roger Ebert
pressIt has a lot of gory Gotcha! moments, and many scenes in which an endless supply of Things are incinerated by flame throwers.
New York Post
pressThis creature splatter is excellent stuff but the director has no interest in the splatterees.
A.V. Club
pressFor a film that takes place in such a cold locale, it all feels awfully warmed-over.
Village Voice
pressJohn Carpenter should approve of this reasonably respectful and tough-minded prequel to his 1982 The Thing.
USA Today
pressA cinematic hot dog: It's full of body parts, but you won't get much from consuming it.
The New York Times
pressIn the annals of redundant remakes, The Thing is a particularly irritating example.
Roger Ebert
pressIt has a lot of gory Gotcha! moments, and many scenes in which an endless supply of Things are incinerated by flame throwers.
New York Post
pressThis creature splatter is excellent stuff but the director has no interest in the splatterees.
A.V. Club
pressFor a film that takes place in such a cold locale, it all feels awfully warmed-over.
That THING you do...
Being a huge fan of Carpenter's original (remake!) THING, I went to see this expecting the worst - and came away pleasantly surprised. It's no CITIZEN KANE, sure, but it's a sold, well-made action / sci-fi / horror that's only let down by a less than subtly wrought script. Still, as a homage to Carpenter's (far better) movie and as a bit of escapist...
The Thing after the thing, but before The Thing
As I thought this was a remake I was quite prepared for a bit of a let down, however it pleasently surprised me. I enjoyed the horror side, and in this pre-quel/remake the director/writers focused on the effects as much as the storyline. This made for an interesting movie and the acting (if a little static at times) wasnt o.t.t considering the setting. I...
Not Quite The "Thing"
An odd entry to the box office, "The Thing" is not a remake, but a prequel made close to three decades after the original. It takes someone with utter confidence in the script and direction to think that a prequel would work better in this day and age rather than that of a remake, so it's disappointing to see that it doesn't quite get there. In...
Blasphemy!
It's a reasonably safe bet to say that very rarely will a remake of a film meet the standard set by an original, as of course if the source material was bad in the first place, a remake would likely not even be considered. The number of times a remake is better than the original can probably be counted on one hand. Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven and...
Not bad
Firstly, thanks to flicks for providing the free viewing. I am not a fan of horror films, nor did I know much about The Thing franchise, this meant that I had a very low expectation for this film. All in all, it is an okay film. I quite enjoyed the sci-fi elements but remain unconvinced about horror films. I found the first half to be more enjoyable than...
It's hard for me to find a horror I like...
because I'm so critical of them. I love me a decent fright, but most horrors just don't deliver and leave me a little disappointed. WELL, The Thing delivered. It almost loses a star from me for a couple of slow moments - but it made up for them with it's amazing special effects. Some sweet gore, it's truly fantastic. I have to say, I was dubious about...
Prequel but really a remake
If you haven't seen the orignal film you'll get plenty of enjoyment out of this prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 orignal "The Thing". The Thing itself is gruesome, and a great monster that taps into everyone's fear of being attacked by something thats almost human but not quite. There's also a few great scenes where suspense and paranoia...
Great Prequel
Thanks to the good kids at Flicks for the preview! I really enjoyed The Thing - and not just because I'm a fan of Mary Elizabeth Winstead ;) Some good humour in there helped lighten the mood at times, while the rest of the film kept us on edge, waiting for the monster to come screeching out at us! Just like when we were kids. Would have liked a little...
Share