The Thing (2011) Review
I don’t remember if I knew this was going to come out as I was watching the original John Carpenter version. What I do remember, however, is having my expectations attuned to the reception this got. To put it plainly, yes, the critics were right, albeit for unexpected reasons. The effects could’ve honestly been worse given how they do their best to modernize them while still planting their feet firmly on Carpenter’s take. The purpose of the story, however, is the movie’s weakest link. The reason the original existed was because it was meant to be a sort of claustrophobic sci-fi horror-thriller in the same spirit as Alien despite holding its own source material. The horror didn’t just come from the monster’s design (whether the effects were practical or modernized) nor its scares, but because of the suspense brought down by the situation. You wanted to care for these characters because the real horror lied in the no-holds-barred situations they were placed in and what extremes they were set to be put in because of it. The Thing 2011 felt like it wanted to expand the origins of the alien while still keeping the original’s tone, something which would’ve worked if it had been given more time rather than rushed the way it was. Overall it’s just style over a less imaginative take on Carpenter’s vision.