The Thing (2011)John Carpenter's The Thing from 1982 is among my favorite films which bear the distinction of being a "cult classic". When I heard that a prequel was being developed, chronicling the events that lead up to this classic, I was overjoyed. In fact, as a design major, I composed a movie poster for the prequel film for one of my assignments. Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. (and, no, I don't know how to pronounce that), The Thing (2011) introduces more than simply a dry rehash of the events that took place before; it is a love letter to John Carpenter's own remake of Howard Hawks' The Thing From Another World.
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While The Thing (2011) is principally an account of the dire fate which befell the Norwegian team of researchers in the Antarctic--based at the same camp the researchers of John Carpenter's film visit--the story follows Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a paleontologist from Columbia University recruited by the arrogant scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen) to journey with him into the frozen continent, telling her only that a "structure was found" and a specimen. Shortly after their arrival, they visit the dig site and begin the process of excavating the frozen remains of the alien. Kate and Sander clash in their methods of handling the remains of the life form. When Sandor wants to use a drill to take a tissue sample, Kate counters that they don't know the condition of the find. And in private, Sandor scolds her for questioning him in front of the others, introducing the theme of sexism in a professional setting into the film, one of the newer additions differentiating this film from its predecessor--mostly because The Thing (1982) had no women in it. This reoccurs throughout the film when Kate, through her keen perception and deductive reasoning, discovers important elements about the alien and how to identify its victims. And, yes, the alien certainly takes victims; just as in the preceding film, the thing lurks within others, disguising itself as members of the team, replicating its prey, taking its place. The alien only makes its presence known when pressed, and for much of the film, we can only guess as to who is human...and who is not.
While you might expect that if the film follows the story of the unfortunate team of Norwegians, that the entirety of the film would be in subtitles. True, the film does break into Norwegian, but it is primarily in English. Though the boys' club of Scandinavian researchers tries to include Kate--even if not all of them seem to respect her scientific prowess--she does make a friend in the American pilot, Sam Carter (Joel Edgerton), a tough and direct, but reasonable guy reminiscent of the main character from John Carpenter's film, Kurt Russell's R. J. MacReady. Carter's portrayal as being similar to MacReady is but one of many knowing nods not only to the preceding film, but to 1980s sci-fi horror. Perhaps obvious enough to fans of other gruesome sci-fi horror films with strong female leads with flamethrowers, Kate Lloyd had certain behaviors and characteristics modeled after Sigourney Weaver's character from the Alien series, Ellen Ripley. Of course the most specific nods to The Thing (1982) come in the form of subtle visual cues and nods to its predecessor, moments from the film and shots fans will remember: the ax embedded in the door at the Norwegian camp, the empty ice bed wherein the alien slept for one hundred thousand years, even the infamous grenades from the beginning of the 1982 film are all revisited. As a result, watching The Thing (2011) becomes even more rewarding for obsessed fans of the cult masterpiece--it's a twisted kind of treat to see just how that weird kind of "two-faced" alien that MacReady and the others found came to be. Even nods to the Howard Hawks classic can be found. As my brother observed, Sandor is reminiscent of Dr. Carrington from that film, with his arrogant and obsessive approach to science at the expense of his humanity. For a film series that deals in ambiguity as the great primer for its nightmare fuel, some might take umbrage at the greater detail afforded to some of the sci-fi elements that remained only hinted at in the 1982 film. For instance, the presentation of the spaceship interior might make some feel that the portrayal did not do their imaginations justice. However, I think that this is one of the fundamental shortcomings of the nostalgia that people have for things that they consider sacred cows, and this is doubly dangerous territory for cult films, since the most rabid fans can build up lofty expectations that can never be achieved by mere mortals. The film is a great send up to a beloved classic--one, I might add, which also was met with mixed reviews when it debuted and did not fare exceptionally in the box office. So I hope that time is more generous with the most recent entry into this series, and that some day--even far from now--we may get yet another entry into the disturbing tale of the monsters that come from outer space...and the ones that lurk within.
Recommended for: Fans of John Carpenter's The Thing, and for any fan of a tense and bloody sci-fi/horror film with disgusting monsters leaping out when you least expect it, and the paranoia that comes with not knowing who you can trust.
While you might expect that if the film follows the story of the unfortunate team of Norwegians, that the entirety of the film would be in subtitles. True, the film does break into Norwegian, but it is primarily in English. Though the boys' club of Scandinavian researchers tries to include Kate--even if not all of them seem to respect her scientific prowess--she does make a friend in the American pilot, Sam Carter (Joel Edgerton), a tough and direct, but reasonable guy reminiscent of the main character from John Carpenter's film, Kurt Russell's R. J. MacReady. Carter's portrayal as being similar to MacReady is but one of many knowing nods not only to the preceding film, but to 1980s sci-fi horror. Perhaps obvious enough to fans of other gruesome sci-fi horror films with strong female leads with flamethrowers, Kate Lloyd had certain behaviors and characteristics modeled after Sigourney Weaver's character from the Alien series, Ellen Ripley. Of course the most specific nods to The Thing (1982) come in the form of subtle visual cues and nods to its predecessor, moments from the film and shots fans will remember: the ax embedded in the door at the Norwegian camp, the empty ice bed wherein the alien slept for one hundred thousand years, even the infamous grenades from the beginning of the 1982 film are all revisited. As a result, watching The Thing (2011) becomes even more rewarding for obsessed fans of the cult masterpiece--it's a twisted kind of treat to see just how that weird kind of "two-faced" alien that MacReady and the others found came to be. Even nods to the Howard Hawks classic can be found. As my brother observed, Sandor is reminiscent of Dr. Carrington from that film, with his arrogant and obsessive approach to science at the expense of his humanity. For a film series that deals in ambiguity as the great primer for its nightmare fuel, some might take umbrage at the greater detail afforded to some of the sci-fi elements that remained only hinted at in the 1982 film. For instance, the presentation of the spaceship interior might make some feel that the portrayal did not do their imaginations justice. However, I think that this is one of the fundamental shortcomings of the nostalgia that people have for things that they consider sacred cows, and this is doubly dangerous territory for cult films, since the most rabid fans can build up lofty expectations that can never be achieved by mere mortals. The film is a great send up to a beloved classic--one, I might add, which also was met with mixed reviews when it debuted and did not fare exceptionally in the box office. So I hope that time is more generous with the most recent entry into this series, and that some day--even far from now--we may get yet another entry into the disturbing tale of the monsters that come from outer space...and the ones that lurk within.
Recommended for: Fans of John Carpenter's The Thing, and for any fan of a tense and bloody sci-fi/horror film with disgusting monsters leaping out when you least expect it, and the paranoia that comes with not knowing who you can trust.