The Thing (2011)

In 7 words or less: outer space thingy kills in the snow

What's it all About? This is a prequel to the excellent 1982 John Carpenter film of the same name. It basically tells the story of a Antarctic based Norwegian scientific research team who discover an alien spacecraft buried under the snow. They also find, frozen in a block of ice, a mysterious creature. oooooo. It then turns into a snow-based slasher flick.



Best bits? It looks cold. I mean really cold. The film makers did a good job of conveying the setting and I actually put on another layer of clothing while watching.

Did it make you think thoughts? Sure did. The Johnny Carps original Thing flick (although having said that, his was actually a remake of the 1951 version) is a classic. This 2011 incarnation is not. First of all we have an almost exact replica of Carpenter's film. They find the monster, the monster escapes, they work out what the monster is doing and they even devise a test to tell who is who really amongst the cabin-fever exuding scientists. It's all well and good making a homage pic, unless you're Gus Van Sant and you remake Psycho shot for shot, but this isn't a remake. It's a prequel for heavens sake. Why would you make it exactly the same?

As with all horror/slasher films we get the usual tact of people going off alone despite the fact that that 1 minute earlier they all agree to 'stick together'. Fools. The lead female (Winstead) who was excellent in Scott Pilgrim is seriously miscast here and stumbles and bumbles through her supposedly graduate scientist role. Of bigger concern though is the fact that I was bamboozled by the actual abilities of the creature. They didn't seem to match was happened the 1982 (sequel) film. Hhhmm, confusing.

Would you watch it again? Why would I watch this when I can revel in Kurt Russell's sublime portrayal of R.J MacReady in John Carpenters classic?

Rating (out of 100%): Don't bother is my advice. A wasted opportunity rating of 40%