Where to watch The Thing
1 1/2 Stars
The plot involves a group of scientists in Antarctica that have been assembled to examine the lone alien survivor of a crashed spaceship. When the creature escapes it begins impersonating every life form within reach. This prequel attempts to employ the stomach turning special effects of the 1982 film yet ignores story and character for too many drawn out scenes of dismembering, skinning and body organs flying about. Many familiar beats are present, most notably a sequence in which the alien infested member of the team is determined through a mouth check for missing teeth and not a blood sample as in the Carpenter version.
This is now the third screen incarnation of the plot first seen in the Howard Hawks film then boosted by Carpenter and finally transmuted into this subpar concoction. Outside of a few shots that are nearly identical to its predecessor this 2011 version is a pale imitation. Lacking the clever touches and ambiguous conclusion that made Carpenter’s film so intriguing.
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Eric Christian Olsen
Never seen the original so to me this was entertaining. A little slow but “The thing” looked damned cool with peoples heads hanging off the body and stuff.