THE THING (2011)

The Thing (2011) Movie Review

A team of Norweigian researchers discover an alien spacecraft buried deep in the ice of Antarctica. After bringing in a team of specialists, including American paleontologist Kate Lloyd (horror vet Mary Elizabeth Winstead, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Final Destination 3), they discover the creature inside is still alive--and very deadly. This prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 film of the same name was released in 2011 and was a major disappointment in the box office--I saw it on a three story screen when it was released, and after picking it up on DVD for a couple dollars a few days ago, I watched it for the first time since--I liked the movie when I saw it in the theater, and I liked it just as much the second time around. While not a terribly scary film, it is filled with unsettling visuals.

She looks unsettled

Winstead makes a likable and believable hero, and Ulrich Thomsen turns in a very good supporting performance. This movie is somewhat rare in that it has "big budget popcorn flick" written all over it, yet maintains enough blood and carnage to keep the gorehound satisfied. Many of the death scenes are violent and quite unexpected, which only adds to this appeal. As someone who hates being cold, I would have liked to have seen them play more on how deadly simply being outside in that environment could be--this seemed like an obvious addition, yet it is not explored nearly enough--fortunately, there is more than enough going on in the film to make up for that. The filmmakers did an outstanding job in making this a fitting prequel to the 1982 film--fans of that movie will delight in seeing the groundwork laid out for many scenes we see in the John Carpenter classic. No, The Thing is not a great horror movie, but it is one I enjoy watching and recommend.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 8

The Thing Red Band Movie Trailer