John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) and The Thing (2011)

[CrazyRalphLives]

Double Review:

'John Carpenter's The Thing' (1982) and 'The Thing' (2011).

Both of which are based on John W. Campbell's novella, 'Who Goes There?' (1938)

I'm going to start with the newest film, since it's a prequel to Carpenter's film and fresh on my mind.

'The Thing' (2011)

8 out of 10.

Story: An international team of scientists and researchers gather at a Norwegian Research Base in the Antarctic after the discovery of an Unidentified Spacecraft and Being are discovered in the ice. Once thawed, the shape-shifting thing escapes and assumes the form of those it devours, and invades the team one by one. Trust issues ensue.

While not as skillfully directed as Carpenter's film and has some less-than-impressive special effects work, this prequel is honestly not as bad as critics and the online community claim. When I saw this in theaters, I do not believe that I was aware that it was a prequel, or if I did, I at least expected something a little more half-assed when it came to telling the story of the Norwegian Research Base. I was pleasantly surprised that it established that it was set in 1982 right off the bat, and as it went on, I continued to be impressed by the effort the filmmakers behind this film put it to make it align with Carpenter's film. I give this movie big props for every amount of detail that was put into making sure everything matched what the characters in Carpenter's film discovered when they went to the Norwegian Base.

My only complaints about this movie is the use of computer generated effects versus practical, and I felt like this needed a different title or subtitle -- anything that could have indicated that this was a prequel and not just a remake of a remake.

I very much enjoy this movie as a companion piece to Carpenter's movie.

'John Carpenter's The Thing'

10 out of 10

Story: The crew members of an American Based Research team located in the Antarctic attempt to investigate the circumstances surrounding the destruction of the Norwegian Base after a surviving member of that team opens fire on their camp in an effort to kill a dog (it's not really a dog, though. It's the shape shifting being.) -- their investigation intensifies as it becomes apparent that this being has infiltrated the team.

This is an expertly crafted, and very suspenseful, sci-fi/horror film that just works on all levels: the special effects are uncanny; the story and directing is deliberate in building suspense and atmosphere that builds on paranoia and mistrust within the group dynamic. The benefit of not having a prequel that tells the story of the Norwegian Base is that it gives this film and these characters a real sense of mystery, and allows you, the audience member to take the journey with these characters as the events unfold. I really can't say enough positive things about this movie.

[Jason]

I went in expecting to hate the 2011 version. The CGI was shit and the entire aura of 1982 was built on practical effects. Was pleasantly surprised at how good the rest of the 2011 version was, though.

[Monster]

I think a lot of people criticize it for not being as good as JC's The Thing, but how could it be? It's not a very reasonable expectation. Just because it's not as good doesn't mean it's not good. I like it.

[Tiggnutz]

CGI was sometimes bad but all in all 2011 was a good film. John Carpenters The Thing is about as good as it gets I love every second of it. I still do not think the effects have ever been matched and its 40 year anniversary is coming up fast.