My Rating: *** out of ****
Slight Spoiler
It would be a hard task to remake John Carpenter's The Thing, which in itself was a remake of the 1950's film, The Thing From Another World. Carpenter's film remains the best of his career, a claustrophobic, paranoid little thriller that contained groundbreaking special effects. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's the equivalent of remaking Jaws or the Exorcist, but it's not too far off either.
The 2011 version of The Thing is not technically a remake, it's a prequel to Carpenter's film. Still, the story is virtually the same and, to this viewer, everything was stacked against this film. While there was some passing interest from me, my expectations were not high. It seemed like it was exactly the same from John Carpenter's film except that it would contain CGI and more modern effects. Still, I wanted to see it anyway just for comparison.
So, finally, how did it hold up? Surprisingly, it came through just fine. It's not an equal to Carpenter's film but it's certainly a better-than-average horror film, which is all you can ask for today. It does nothing to tarnish the reputation of Carpenter's film and doesn't seem like a carbon copy, even with it's many similarities.
There's no disputing that the story is virtually the same, except that you do learn more about the origin of the creature. One aspect I liked with this film is that you learn the alien cannot replicate inorganic materials, such as fillings and nose rings. This is an important tip throughout the film and will have you looking more closely at the characters.
One part of the film that you can't help but compare it to the original is the effects. A lot has changed in the 29 years since the last film and a decent amount of CGI is present here. It's, for the most part, tastefully done as the alien designs are very grotesque and mostly faithful to the original designs. It's a very gory film but not in excess. At times, the filmmakers are a little too showy but it's far from the problem it could've been.
In conclusion, The Thing is a worthy prequel to a near-masterpiece of horror. No, it's not a necessary film that had to be made but it pays its respect to Carpenter's film without duplicating it. That in itself makes it worth watching.
Slight Spoiler
It would be a hard task to remake John Carpenter's The Thing, which in itself was a remake of the 1950's film, The Thing From Another World. Carpenter's film remains the best of his career, a claustrophobic, paranoid little thriller that contained groundbreaking special effects. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's the equivalent of remaking Jaws or the Exorcist, but it's not too far off either.
The 2011 version of The Thing is not technically a remake, it's a prequel to Carpenter's film. Still, the story is virtually the same and, to this viewer, everything was stacked against this film. While there was some passing interest from me, my expectations were not high. It seemed like it was exactly the same from John Carpenter's film except that it would contain CGI and more modern effects. Still, I wanted to see it anyway just for comparison.
So, finally, how did it hold up? Surprisingly, it came through just fine. It's not an equal to Carpenter's film but it's certainly a better-than-average horror film, which is all you can ask for today. It does nothing to tarnish the reputation of Carpenter's film and doesn't seem like a carbon copy, even with it's many similarities.
There's no disputing that the story is virtually the same, except that you do learn more about the origin of the creature. One aspect I liked with this film is that you learn the alien cannot replicate inorganic materials, such as fillings and nose rings. This is an important tip throughout the film and will have you looking more closely at the characters.
One part of the film that you can't help but compare it to the original is the effects. A lot has changed in the 29 years since the last film and a decent amount of CGI is present here. It's, for the most part, tastefully done as the alien designs are very grotesque and mostly faithful to the original designs. It's a very gory film but not in excess. At times, the filmmakers are a little too showy but it's far from the problem it could've been.
In conclusion, The Thing is a worthy prequel to a near-masterpiece of horror. No, it's not a necessary film that had to be made but it pays its respect to Carpenter's film without duplicating it. That in itself makes it worth watching.