Universal’s The Thing is an odd mixture of a prequel/remake of John Carpenter’s 1982 film, which itself was a remake of the 1951 sci-fi feature The Thing from Another World. In many ways, this new film, directed by newcomer Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. and written by 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street co-writer Eric Heisserer, plays like a bastardized version of Carpenter’s film as things tend to play out in very much the same way they did 29 years ago and yet just as each scene is about to be a complete carbon copy it changes course, and not necessarily for the better.
Beyond the plotting, there’s a noticeable lack of intensity and absolutely nothing to fear as the glossy CG thrills offer more of a video game wonderment rather than atmospheric thrills. This isn’t to say this is a bad movie, it’s just sort of an average one that really doesn’t do much to involve or connect with the audience, though they certainly look good trying.
Van Heijningen Jr. and his production team did their very best to recreate the sets and locations from Carpenter’s film and have done so with amazing accuracy. In that sense, the film’s coda was one of my favorite pieces of the entire feature as it ties the two films together even if a few continuity errors do sprout up along the way.
This prequel begins as a group of international scientists head to Antarctica to explore an alien ship believed to have crashed and been buried beneath the ice for more than 100,000 years. The find becomes even more intriguing upon the discovery of an alien preserved in the ice, and as anyone that’s seen Carpenter’s film knows, the alien doesn’t stay frozen forever. After it busts free, the shit really hits the fan as this “thing” can absorb and replicate any living creature. Meaning anyone in the camp can be “the thing”.
In its transformative phase the creature holds many of the same characteristics as those from the Carpenter film, only they’ve been amplified and “perfected” with computer graphics. As fake as the effects in Carpenter’s 1982 feature looked, the same can be said for the modern era’s digital equivalent, but for different reasons.
For me, the difference between a CG creature and a practical puppet is in the way my mind differentiates between the two. The fact a practical puppet is there on set and is a real thing the actors are reacting to, for some reason, registers as more frightening for me. It gives it a sense of reality and existence. Comparatively, the glossy perfection of the CG creature somehow renders it harmless in my eyes, making it something to examine rather than be afraid of.
To the point of practical over CG, the best parts of this film are the moments when the CG creature isn’t on screen. Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a paleontologist who slowly begins to figure out just what the alien is doing when she finds discarded, non-biological pieces of the people the alien is attempting to replicate. For example, when she finds five or so bloody teeth fillings on a bathroom floor and a shower slathered in blood you’re talking about one of the more frightening scenes in the film as the implication of what she finds is more frightening than the computer generated end result.
Other moments, such as when Kate’s performing an autopsy on the remains of one of the creatures, are equally disturbing because you know she’s cutting into something “real”. But when I see a two-headed creature created entirely in the computer, running after these characters it’s no scarier than the last time I saw a similar creature in the lackluster 2009 PG-13 thriller The Unborn.
All things considered, 2011’s The Thing is more of a passing curiosity. It’s a mild exploration of events hinted at in Carpenter’s original and hopefully a film that will encourage modern day audiences to seek out the far better 1982 feature. The characters here lack in personality and the actors aren’t doing much more than going through the motions, fulfilling their character’s obligations to the plot rather than taking part in the event.
I didn’t dislike this movie as much as I was left unmoved by it. The ending leaves a lot to be desired, but, like I said earlier, the scene that plays during the film’s credits will bring a smile to the face of any fan of Carpenter’s feature. In fact, watching this prequel urged me to watch Carpenter’s The Thing as soon as I got home. If for no other reason, I hope today’s moviegoers do the same because there is no harm in finding a way to introduce new audiences to a horror classic.
