It’s no understatement to say that John Carpenter is quite the legend of horror in cinema, with many superb films to his name. The Thing, a brilliantly inventive and groundbreaking 80s horror, is one of them. Even today it still has legions of fans and the effects manage to send a chill down the spine – so of course, a remake/reboot may be viewed with sceptical eyes. Therein lies a problem that plagues many remakes in that people have strong attachments to the original and so, look harshly on the new version.
Whilst this isn’t the place for THAT debate, The Thing is a very decent film, and definitely worth the watch. The premise sees a number of scientists including Mary Elizabeth Winstead travel to antartica to study a lifeform, which turns out to be pretty deadly. As in the original, it can assume the form of anyone it infects and in doing so, goes through some pretty horrific transformations. The idea still stands up today but this movie is actually set before the Kurt Russell film, with different characters.
There are many similarities though – not least in the story structure – but the effects and creepy vibe succeed in keeping the movie interesting throughout. Whilst there is a lot more cgi than before, it still looks great and the effects team have certainly taken advantage of the alien’s unique skills.
It moves along at a brisk pace and is, for the most part, made up of paranoid scenes mixed in with out-and-out gore goodness. Sure, the original is still a classic piece of cinema but this new version doesn’t make that void – it’s a (slightly) different and modern update on a truly great premise. Diehard fans of the original may find it to be lacking in originality, but as horror remakes go, it’s a fine effort.
