Thing, The [2] (2011) [Blu-ray]
Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

From the producers of Dawn of the Dead comes the chilling prelude to John Carpenter's cult classic film. When paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) travels to an isolated outpost in Antarctica for the expedition of a lifetime, she joins an international team that unearths a remarkable discovery. Their elation quickly turns to fear as they realize that their experiment has freed a mysterious being from its frozen prison. Paranoia spreads like an epidemic as a creature that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish in this spine-tingling thriller.

User Comment: *** This review may contain spoilers *** Charles Pieper from United States, 1 October 2011 • Just came back from a preview screening of the new 'The Thing,' a prequel to the 1980s film 'The Thing,' which, is itself a remake. Hahah...

I am a HUGE fan of the 80s 'The Thing' so I was rather nervous about this 'prequel.' It seemed just a remake, but with CGI, and a female lead….

HOWEVER….It's surprisingly really good. It is NOT just a beat for beat remake of the remake, AND it contains some excellent practical monster effects early on.

REALLY GOOD MONSTERS. As in straight up LOVECRAFTIAN beasties...

And when the creatures do go more digital the designs are so lurid and insane and horrendous that it worked for me. It feels right and is super gross....Great sound design...drippy, snarly stuff....Good bass heavy ominous soundtrack as well.

So yes, consider me very pleased and very surprised.

(ALSO: Do NOT immediately get up when the credits roll or you will miss awesomeness that connects this film into the 80s one....)

I really was surprised and enjoyed it a lot. I feel that fans of the original remake (man that sounds silly to write) will be pleasantly surprised and enjoy this prequel as well!

Summary: Thing Prequel review!

User Comment: *** This review may contain spoilers *** lepperling from United States, 15 October 2011 • This movie has been out for like 2 days and all I've read are reviews from those self-proclaimed "loyal fans of the original" (and by original, I don't mean "The Thing From Another World") that feel betrayed or disappointed or whatever. I myself happen to be a student of "old-school" horror and I am DEFINITELY a loyal fan of Carpenter's classic, and I thought that this movie held strong for itself. It's like all those people out there that complain that "The Godfather Part 3" was terrible, when in reality it was a good movie on its own. Compared to the rest of the series it was weak, but, like this movie, was good on its own. Yes, we get it. Its not the original. It doesn't keep the creature out of sight as much. Okay, get over it. Keeping the audience guessing was "in" in the late 70s/early 80s, and I loved that. Thats why it worked in "The Thing", "Alien", etc. But its 2011, and as much as I miss the suspense and guessing games of those times, we're in a new era where films sadly use more CG and flashy scenes than character development (by the way, where was the superb character development in the original? both films are HORROR movies about a group of people we know nothing about as we watch them try to survive. Did we really ever learn anything about Kurt Russell's family? or what Keith David's favorite football team was?) and good old Savini/Baker-esque special effects. But this movie, in my opinion, was made for those "loyal fans" that,while watching the first film, were saying "Wow, I'd love to know what happened at this Norwegian camp before Kurt Russell got here!" And it did just that. It led right up to the events of the first film, while telling a separate, while similar, interesting story. It explained minute details from the first film that we were left wondering about. It recreated the Norwegian camp as viewed in the first film. It did everything in its power to remain true to the first film, while also giving us a reason to pay and see a NEW MOVIE. In our day and age, where it seems like every other horror movie that comes out is a remake of a classic from years ago (due to lack of original ideas?), its nice to see a prequel instead of a remake. Its nice to see a movie that tries to tell an original story, while keeping just enough elements in there to hook loyal fans of the original film. If you're going to the theater to watch Carpenter's "The Thing" (which it seems like all these 'loyal fans of the original' were expecting, though I don't know why...), then don't see it. If you loved Carpenter's film and want to see a fun N-E-W story that perhaps answers some questions you've wanted answered, then see this. Remember, its not Carpenter's film and its not trying to be. Its another movie, just giving a bit of an homage to Carpenter's classic.

Summary: Call me optimistic and kind, but I actually liked it.

[CSW] -3.6- This film The Thing (2011) was a prequel to The Thing (1982) which, is itself a remake of The Thing from Another World (1951), in which James Arness-(also known as Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke) played 'The Thing'. All three of these were good films. This one was able to live up to its pedigree although I don't think it introduced enough new material to make it stand out above the rest. The creatures effects are more horrendous and insane than even the ones in the 1982 John Carpenter remake. If you really want to see some really great (and really grose) creature effects this is a must see movie. Or if you liked either one of the earlier movies this is a don't miss addition to them.
[V4.0-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box 9.1/10 -- And it did add some punch to this movie.

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