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SOUND OFF

Sound Off: Matthijs van Heijningen's 'The Thing' - Your Thoughts?

by Alex Billington
October 14, 2011

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? The Thing has a long history. Its origins are in John W. Campbell's short story "Who Goes There?"; there's a 1951 adaptation; and there's John Carpenter's beloved cult classic 1982 version. In theaters today is Matthijs van Heijningen's prequel to Carpenter's film, also titled The Thing, telling the story of the Norwegian camp that first discovers a creature from another world in the ice. So how is it? Is it a worthy follow-up to Carpenter's classic? How are the effects? What about the characters and performances? Once you've seen it, leave a comment and tell us your thoughts on The Thing!

To fuel the fire, while there are some good moments in this new The Thing, overall I was honestly let down. It felt like it was missing a lot, some pieces that would've made it feel a lot more complete. First things first, I was absolutely shocked by the overuse of CGI when everyone kept saying it was supposed to have lots of practical effects. Beyond that, the creature moments aren't even half as scary as the one in Carpenter's 1982 film. And the "test" isn't that great either, nor is it conclusive since it doesn't even "work" on half the people. The performances are good (especially from Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the amazing Lars, played by Jørgen Langhelle), that helicopter crash early on was awesome, and seeing inside the ship was cool, but the rest of it was a let down. It's a Hollywood mess, unfortunately. And I really wanted to enjoy this movie.

What did you think of The Thing prequel? A worthy, thrilling follow-up or complete disaster? We will remove any comments that indicate you have not seen the movie, as this area is meant to discuss the film only once you have seen it and can talk about your thoughts. Please keep the comments civilized!

Test out our poll for the movie above - vote for your thoughts once you've seen the movie! Trying this out.

Related categories: Discussion, Hype, Sound Off

Stephen

A noble effort. Yes it borrows heavily from Carpenter's masterpiece, but it hold it's own quite well. I especially liked how they chose to end the film. Great job Matthijs!
Rsalkeld08

Felt likeI was watching the 1982 version all over again theyshould have made it a double feature for the younger crowd.

Jericho

TOTALLY FUCKING AGREE...both with you AND Alex. i think the movie would have been amazing if it was premiered as a double feature.....it would be the first in a while

CrAzy Olyphant

THE THING is one of the best horror films I've seen in years! It's also the best Prequel I have ever seen. First time director Matthijs Van Heijningen does a pretty good job at connecting this film and the John Carpenter's CLASSIC 1982 film. Same goes for the authentic sets and musical score. Great transformation scenes that are pretty intense! It annoys me that 90% of the creature effects are CGI but It's cheaper for the studio so what can you do. Hopefully this will be a hit at the boxoffice so they can continue the story with a sequel. It's not better than the last film but it sure is Fun!
Xerxexx

I'm glad Winstead is getting praise.

http://twitter.com/hgpataki todd flanders

Yeah I wish she would take her clothes off.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5111584 Nate Carroll

Such opposite opinions, I'm going to believe Alex. Thanks for saving me money.
Anonymous

I'm a huge fan of John Carpenter's film, so I had a hard time not thinking about it during this, but overall I thought it was enjoyable. The acting was good and the creature effects were cool. I liked how they tied it into the original at the end
Armeetapus16

I chose to see this movie with the lowest expectations possible and just wanted to have some fun. The original is my favorite horror movie to date and I knew there was no way this film would ever match the caliber set my the 1982 version. I emerged very pleased with what I saw, it was thrilling, exciting, and tied perfectly to the '82 film.
http://www.facebook.com/xCloudbox Maggie Foster

I really enjoyed how the very end tied to the very beginning of Carpenter's The Thing, no gap left us to wonder, with the dog and Lars and other little things. I'm glad they tied in who became that two-headed thing we see at the beginning of the original. You can tell they didn't want to offend by getting all the details right, including the set. Winstead's performance is great. But other than her, I didn't care much for the rest. Not because of their acting, just the character. I just didn't feel connected to any of them. Some of the effects I thought came off a bit goofy and I thought people just died too quickly. The suspense of the whole "who is really who" was rushed through but I suppose they wanted to stand apart from the original. That being one of my favorite horror films, I always wondered the Norwegians' story, and now I know. Not something I would pay to see again, but I give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.
Bryant Addonisio

It was truly a prequel... It was on par with John Carpenters version, The CG special effects weren't the best they could have been, but if was just as scary as the original i saw in the theater in 1982. I went home and immediately watched the Carpenter version on bluray 150" HD projector basement Theater and it was seamlessly done. Bravo!!! now I will have a "Thing" Set I can look forward watching again and again. All the naysayers out there lighten up! It was worth the money. and I never go to the movies anymore, but I had fun!
Chazzy

Reading this has made me feel better. All the critics are ragging on it, saying it copies the original too closely... and I feel fine with that. I'm super excited to see it.
Rp1n

It was a really bad film. But then again what did you expect? Fox makes cheap films with 2nd rate filmmakers.

Armeetapus16

It was made by Universal

SowYau

Alex said " the "test" isn't that great either, nor is it conclusive since it doesn't even "work" on half the people. " I thought it is tad better than 1982 version test because it reveal the subject as either the alien or non-conclusive as alien. It helps heighten the tension. one group as human vs the other group indefinite alien.
Mitchexpress181

Not as good as the 1982 version, but did we really expect it to be? However, it was better than I thought - especially after reading all the negative reviews. I was simply hoping it didn't suck - and it didn't disappoint. Held my interest the entire movie and was very entertaining. Liked how they tied in the missing pieces from the 1st one. Very good job!

Anonymous

I liked it too Mitch--again, it wasn't as good as Carpenter's film, but....it was still a solid film, and it didn't wipe its feet on the 1982 movie. It worked well as a prequel--and it held my interest. The cast was also great. Oh, and in terms of the negative reviews....Carpenter's film received similar critical left-rights back in 1982. I guess some things never change (no pun intended)....

Anonymous

Not the 82 version great but I enjoyed it. Some are being a little hard on it. It gives one there monies worth.
Urge

The credit sequence was the best part. The girl gets way too much screentime, and her story is vague.
Anonymous

I liked it a lot. Is it the original? Of course not, but as far as modern horror movies go, this one has a lot going for it: solid acting, a good tense vibe, decent effects and it folds in quite neatly with the original. One of your gripes is for the 'test', but I though that it's inconclusiveness was part of the tension, and made it feel more real. In the absence of a definitive test, this was the best that they could come up with under the circumstances, and it effectively narrowed the list of suspects down by half. If you can keep your expectations in check, you could do a heck of a lot worse in a horror film.

Anonymous

You said it, fazha. Good points.

FamilyGuy

Rental. Definitely a $1 Redbox Rental. Save your money. I'm going to spend my money on some of the coolest games coming out in the next 3 months.

Anonymous

Heck, I'm renting them--the games, I mean. But I already put my money down for THE THING, and I wasn't disappointed. Just sayin'.

Maxxx

i enjoyed because it wasn't in 3d
http://www.facebook.com/Tyban Tyler Bannock

I loved it. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. But maybe that's because I saw the original Thing when I was a kid. It's one of the best prequels I have ever seen.
Shockwindow

Did anyone else pick up on this one being a "copy" of the original? Very much the same, but on the inside, very different...

Hatorri Hanzo

I haven't see it yet but are you saying it is a copy of the 1951 orginal or the superior 1982 John Carpenter version?

Anonymous

Hmmm....I'd guess it was the 1982 film, but that was a REMAKE (that word again) of the 1951 film. He is right somewhat...this prequel had a couple of similar "beats" to Carpenter's film, and the ending does tie in directly with it (but watch the credits to find out!). But overall, I still liked it.

hombreZOO

I thought it was a solid film, was very cool to revisit all those scenes from the Carpenter one, the room with the iceblock, the burnt two headed thing, yeah I had a lot of fun, it had some of those crappy cliches that kill such a great effort, but still was good, the test is very original in my opinion and gave room to more speculation and honestly credit to the director, even if he ripped off a lot of the Carpenter's structure, not everyone could have pulled that off like this guy did. It will never compare to Carpenter's masterpiece but man, movies like that will never be made again, the budgets that make possible a decent mainstream film these days, specially a creature horror one are huge and sadly Hollywood like many other artforms these days it's not vanguard oriented, it's more about profit, so I have to be honest and grateful that even with that profit mentality a few decent, good and great films come out once in a while thanks to a brave Hollywood mogul. Those Blade Runner, Alien, Thing and BTILChina days are gone. Long live MacReady.
Croniccris

holy shit a poll.....what is this...comicbookmovie.com???

http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

What's wrong with a poll? We've actually had requests for polls before, just thought I'd try one out... Is it so bad?

Bryant Addonisio

Well unless your poll is made up, then it doesn't represent the true feeling of the film, most people i talked to and by reading these posts most people thought it was above average and entertaining, But inevitably you have the immature self righteous know-it-all's telling people not to see a movie. the Thing was well made, not perfect but by what standard do the naysayers judging by? The 1982 "thing" has always been on my to 20 list of best Sci-fi movies, but for Gods sake I could rip apart that movie also, its all about the Suspension of dis-belief! This version was fine! There might be too many choices in your poll, 5 choices in my opinion might be enough. "Just OK" and "Mediocre" is essentially the same and recommend or not is a thought. Thanks -B

http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Thanks for the feedback. So your complaints are that I have too many options and they're not clear enough? Beyond that, the voters are going to make whatever decision they want, we can't help that, and we have these comments for anyone who has more to say than just one word.

Anonymous

Alex, the poll was all right. I liked the film--sorry that you didn't--but at least you saw it before bringing the critical hammer down.

Flo Bro

If the alien can't duplicate inorganic matter then how can it have the same exact clothes as the person it just tore to a bloody mess? Lol
Lonely_spy

The new take on The Thing, as a prequel, delivers exactly what you expect. Extremely creepy creature effects, great sound effects, a sense of loneliness and paranoia. Great cast, and to be honest, even though it heavily borrowed from Carpenter's movie, it holds quite well on its own.

Anonymous

And don't forget--as awesome as Carpenter's film was, it was still mauled by the critics back in 1982 and the viewers left it to die at the box office. Even though it's well-regarded now, nearly thirty years later, there still are a lot of people who haven't seen it. If this prequel brings renewed interest in the 1982 classic, that will be a good thing. And strangely enough, the critical jabs taken at the 2011 prequel are similar to the criticisms leveled at the 1982 film.

ha1rball

Yeah I really enjoyed this movie Alex! tisk, tisk....
Joshster

what happened with the girl at the end of the movie?
Deaconblue2u

I read all of the rants and raves and not one of you mentioned the biggest loose end that could lead to interesting sequel. At the end you see Kate looking with vacant eyes though the wind shield of the snow cat. We know it grabbed her and so much like Ellen Ripply peeking out of the side of her helmet fully knowing at the end of Alien that she was scant seconds away from sudden death wakes up our Kate has similar moment as the creature which is trying to capture her in the ship seems to fail and we her peeking with the same fear and anticipation at the thermo bomb laying a few feet beyond grabs it but the Thing pulls a little switcheroo on her and we see it come around and get her from the opposite side. So the director who borrowed heavily on the Ellen Riply persona to create the Kate character utilized the same facial expressions and same quick survival driven mind and reactions let along the scene where she is literally looking into the face of sudden absorption and lets it fly, leaving what we think is the end of the Sander/Thing character. Now that I have spit that out let me return to the loose end of Kate at the very end before the Easter egg laden credits that lead into the John Carpenter film a fairly seem less manner. The director does not provide any answer as to whee our fair Kate goes after her ordeal. She is left alone and in the John Carpenters Thing we are left with Mac and Childs alone with the line "what happens now" and with each suspicious of the other drinking from the a bottle of scotch presumably till they both freeze to death. But Kate is left alive in the snow Kat and hence I already began to pen a sequel moments after the film credits of the prequel began to run. I think that might have been the intention of the director and production company when they got the funding for this film but the sequel would only be made if it reaches a specific monetary level in the box office and then in DVD and Streaming revenues. So how come not one of you mentioned anything about what happens to Kate. Carpenter is brilliant as are the special creature effects by Rob Botin who I understand is working secretly on the next phase of creature effects that are non CGI. So let us presume Kate makes it too the Russian camp in a very cold and shocked condition but highly agitated condition. Thus we are left to believe that first she must convince the Russians that her story is plausible and then we have the potential of a sequel that could literally run parallel to end of Carpenters film. But this sequel I have in mind would take this film into the same pressure and paranoia that made Carpenters film work and this one merely hint at such. I think that something was cut from this film and it what the director and screen writer let the editor leave on the cutting room floor.
Deaconblue2u

I mentioned in my comment that not one of you mentioned anything about what happened to the Kate character but I missed the last comment before my own, kudos to Joshster. I realize that I missed your mention of such. I wish you would elaborate on what you surmise could be the next direction Kate would take her world threatening knowledge. This loose end left me wondering so I began to pen a sequel. Only time will tell if my hunch is right or maybe I will send the director a treatment teaser.
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