The prequel (not a remake!) to the John Carpenter film is an interesting, if somewhat pointless, journey through familiar territory. It’s certainly enjoyable (and loud) and it’s not just a mere rehash of the Carpenter film (well, not all the time, at least) throwing in some new and surprising aspects to the story of an extra-terrestrial visitor.
It’s quite obvious that director Matthijs Van Heijningen and writer Eric Heisserer have taken care to ensure that the details tie in with that of the Carpenter film (also called ‘The Thing’) and, for the most part, succeed. They are guilty of creating new plot holes which remain unresolved, however.
The cast including Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton are very good even if they are filling in some familiar roles of the sci-fi genre. Likewise the plot is largely familiar (but, after all, what exactly can ‘the Thing’ itself do that’s totally new and that doesn’t break consistency with the Carpenter film? The same question can be asked of the human actions) though there are times when they take a new angle where you thought they were merely going to copy details from Carpenter’s plot. Sad to say it’s quite easy to lose track of all the characters in the confusion of events only for them to reappear to the viewer’s surprise. The claustrophobia, atmosphere and tension that Carpenter created so well is not so effective here although a little time is taken to get into the plot and acquainted with the (primary) characters (something almost totally alien in today’s cinematic world). Likewise the musical score is adequate though never matches that of Carpenter’s film. Indeed the music pays homage to the 1982 score at times, especially at the finale which leads into ‘The Thing’ of 1982.
‘The Thing’ itself begins as a barely seen silhouette, with brief glimpses once it comes to life. As the film progresses, however, more and more of the creature and its manifestations are seen and they do not have as much impact as that of the 1982 film. The creature’s forms are also almost run-of-the-mill by today’s standards and are reminiscent of a few other creatures from several other movies. Its final quasi-human form does look a trifle atypical Hollywood monster but serves to tie in with the Carpenter creature. The effects also have lost the viscous, horrific quality of those of the original (which still stand up today) and I wonder if this is perhaps because we are so used to seeing such things in numerous movies.
One of the more original aspects of this film is that we see the interior of the alien craft, usually something that never fails to disappoint. Whilst some of the design details of the interior are familiar to sci-fi fans the situation in which we find ourselves inside the ship it is also a nod to the original story and my main complaint with the film, and this goes for the alien craft, the Norwegian base etc. is that it’s too well lit: We see far too much and not just of the creature. Perhaps on Blu-ray and DVD we can alter the brightness and contrast to create a more atmospheric movie?
This is by no means a bad film, and certainly better than much of the pulp that Hollywood disgorges, but it cannot really match Carpenter’s 1982 film. That said it's an enjoyable horror/sci-fi flick and a person could see a lot worse at their local cinema (*ahem* Twilight).
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