The Thing from Another World (1951) vs The Thing (1982) vs The Thing (2011) – Conclusion

Comparing the three films is hard as they are not direct remakes.  

The 1951 version really kicked off the “hostile alien” movie idea as opposed to them coming in peace and is still a highly rated film today even with its kinda goofy Frankenstein looking alien.  It has a great ability to tell the story and create suspense without the need of outstanding effects and often kept things hidden or obscured from the viewer to enhance that sense of fear, similar in a way to some of Hitchcock’s films.  It played on our imagination a little and was great because of that.  The concept of the creature’s DNA was a little odd but almost became believable because of the films ability to get the viewer to use their imagination and show enough without showing too much.  

The 1982 film is more true to the short story, with some really interesting characters but with a greater dose of suspense and effects combined with some imagination (though smaller than the 1951 film) and effort on the viewer’s part to think things through.  The imagination didn’t flow quite as much in this movie but it was there and that added to the suspense.  Like the original, there were some things purposely hidden from the viewer and that works extremely well in building and maintaining that suspense throughout the movie.

The 2011 prequel was interesting in that we got to see what happened days before the 1982 film was due to start and whilst there was some suspense, I feel it just went overboard and showed too much and was perhaps over the top which resulted in nothing to think through and next to no use of our imagination.  The lead in to the 1982 film also seemed tacked on and not well planned, in my eyes anyway.  But it was a commendable effort especially in re-creating the Norwegian camp so faithfully however it ended up flat as a tack with no lasting appeal.

So which is the best of the three?  The 1951 and 1982 are both really good films but the edge would comfortably go with the 1982 film, then 1951 version followed somewhat behind by the 2011 prequel.  So there you have it, 1982, 1951 and finally 2011.  Agree with me?  Feel free to leave a comment ☺

The Thing (2011)

Lars: [to Matias] That's not a dog! Start the helicopter now!
[both get into helicopter]
Lars: Get it up now! Come on!

Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. “The Thing” is not so much a remake but a prequel to the 1982 film of the same name.  To what extent is it a prequel?  Well the 1982 film made reference to and also visited the Norwegian camp where the alien was first set loose and it is clear that this film is based in the Norwegian camp and to solidify that a good portion of the film is in Norwegian so it makes the message clear right up front.  A huge effort was also undertaken to make the inside of the camp as close as possible to Norwegian camp in the 1982 film.  This was done by pinning up a ton of screenshots from the original film to ensure that everything matched, for example a hole in the wall was where is supposed to be and that axe that gets stuck in the wall is what is seen in the 1982 film.  Want more proof?  Well if you keep watching just after the start of the end credits you hear the 1982 “The Thing” music then a few scenes come up which lead almost “exactly” to the point where the 1982 movie starts with a helicopter chasing a dog running in the snow presumably toward the American camp.  Very well done but really feels tacked on as opposed to thought out.

The movie starts off with the accidental discovery of the spaceship which eventually leads to palaeontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) being invited by scientist Dr. Ander Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen) to go with him to Antarctica to study a “specimen” the team located in the ice.  The specimen is of course the alien from the spaceship however we see it in its natural state, not the mutated state it was in for the 1982 film.  The creature thaws out a little, comes to life and causes havoc in the Norwegian camp.  The team needs to hunt this creature down and kill it before it imitates another member of the crew.  

Whilst it was not the intention at all to “remake” the 1982 film which was classed as perfect in the eyes of those who made this film, one cannot help but to compare it.  The acting seems ok, the set design is fantastic as is the attention to detail but it falls apart after that and you get the feeling that something is missing.  To me, it feels like the creature is overdone and the effects taken too far that detracts from keeping the mystery and suspense a main part of the movie.  Also the characters are not really developed so you really don’t know who is who or what their story is which was revealed more in the other two versions of the film.  It’s not a terrible movie but just lacking, a bit silly and just lacks the punch that the other two had, whether that be in story telling or keeping that imagination of ours ticking I’m not entirely sure, but the lack of a required imagination and mystery came to mind.  The previous two movies (especially the first) required us to use our thinking and even imagination but the new film just spills its guts (literally!) by going overboard with effects with the use of a combination of practical and CGI effects.  Perhaps I am wrong here, but this seems quite prevalent in modern movies which is why many will never gain the status of some of the older films because they focus so much on bombarding us with the “wow” visual factor that they forgot all about telling a good story.  It’s also interesting to note the similarity of Kate in this movie to MacReady in the 1982 version and also how some similar scenes were used for the prequel.  One big stand out oddity is the fact that the spacecraft under the ice which is completely different to the other two and doesn’t make sense when taking this as a prequel which is another poorly executed part of the film considering they tried so hard to keep the Norwegian camp as accurate as possible.

The disc reviewed was the Aussie DVD and shows us a splendid image in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio and sound comes to us via Dolby Digital 5.1 surround.  The image is strong throughout, as it should be, and the sound department does not disappoint either.  The extras are very decent with:

• Deleted/extended scenes
• Commentary by the director and producer
• Two featurettes on the making of the film.  

Overall I wouldn’t say this was a fantastic film, in fact I bought it primarily to complete this review.  I did see it when it was first released on DVD/Bluray but was not impressed.  I liked it more this time around but nowhere near as much as the two before it.  As previously mentioned, it’s not a terrible movie but just lacks punch (I don’t mean scares or gore etc).  It was however, good to see how it leads into the 1982 film even though it did feel tacked on with little to no thought.  There is also a dose of swearing in the movie but certainly not as bad as other movies of this type.  

The bottom line is if you really enjoyed the 1982 film, clench the jaws and give this one a hire to check out but skip buying it.  If you have seen this one but not the previous two, especially the 1982 version, then do yourself a big favour and watch the 1982 version!  The 1982 is far, far superior.  If you haven’t seen any of them, watch the 1982 version and forget all about the 2011 version.  If you have wondered about the 2011 version…don’t bother.

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The Thing (1982)

MacReady: Somebody in this camp ain't what he appears to be. Right now that may be one or two of us. By spring, it could be all of us.

Childs: So, how do we know who's human? If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know if it was really me?

The movie here was directed by John Carpenter who is well known from films like 1981’s Escape From New York, Christine from 1983 and 1986’s Big Trouble in Little China along with many others usually in the thriller/horror department.  It’s certainly larger in scale compared to the 1951 film but at the same time it’s also more faithful to the original short story.  There is a change compared to the 1951 movie in that the American’s are not the ones who discovered the spaceship but the Norwegian’s and this is hinted at from the very start of the movie and finally revealed not too far into it.  It’s also interesting to note that the screenplay was written by Bill Lancaster which is Burt Lancaster’s (the famous actor) son.  And how can I not mention that the music score was by Ennio Morricone who scored some of the top soundtracks of all time (The Good, the Bad the Ugly, Two Mules for Sister Sara, Once Upon a Time in the West and more recently The Hateful Eight)!

The movie kicks off in the Antarctic with a Norwegian helicopter chasing a dog in the snow.  We don’t know why but their intention is clear, and that is to kill the dog even if others get injured in the process.  The dog ends up running into an American camp and in an attempt to try to kill the dog one of the American’s get injured which then prompts them to kill the Norwegian.  Why was he after the dog?  Was he just going crazy after being locked up in the Antarctic for goodness alone knows how long?  Or was there a more plausible reason?  

After a while, the stray dog starts looking and acting a little suspicious whilst wondering around the camp and in the meantime the Americans go check out the Norwegian camp to let them know of the strange actions they have witnessed.  When they arrive at the battered Norwegian camp they find out that something very weird has been happening and what’s worse it seems that their camp is heading in the same direction.  Will “the thing” survive or will it wipe them out and eventually spread to more populated areas?  The movie’s main star is Kurt Russell as R.J. MacReady but as to whether or not he is or remains human is up to you to find out!

True to the book and unlike the earlier film, the alien is what they call a shape shifter in that it can try to replicate the being it consumes/kills therefore no one really knows if the person next to them is a real human or “the thing” in disguise.  This heightens the suspense throughout the film as we try to find out one by one who has been taken over and who is still normal.  The special effects were top notch at the time and still are very, very effective and add to the mystery and fear that would accompany such a circumstance.  In some ways I feel that the creature near the end was a little over-done but at the same time I can see reason for that.

John Carpenter directs the film almost perfectly and seems to know how much the audience should see and how much should be hidden to create and sustain the feeling of suspense.  There is no CGI here but all practical effects and models and they blend wonderfully into the film.

This was one of the early DVD’s I purchased after getting a DVD player and then the Bluray came out and the quality of the image was naturally superior to the DVD.  There are still some scenes especially in the bright daylight snow that are not as good as they could be, but overall it’s really good quality and so much better than the original DVD release.  Its shown in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and the sound comes via DTS HD Master 5.1 audio which reveals that great soundtrack that will run through your mind after watching the film.  The extras on the disc are extensive with:

• The Thing: Terror Takes Shape a Documentary on the making of the movie
• Commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell
• Production Background Archive
• Cast Production Photographs
• Production Art and Storyboards
• Location Design
• Production Archives
• The Saucer
• The Blairmonster
• Outtakes
• Post Production
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall this is a brilliant movie and one that I have seen several times.  There is a little swearing in it but it’s not over-the-top.  The characters are good, though not as developed as the 1951 movie, and the characters are well-acted apart from perhaps the odd line or two. The cinematography is also very well done and add to that some fantastic special effects, you have yourself a great movie that’s just waiting to be played during a cold winter’s night.  Very highly recommended for those who like a thriller.

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The Thing from Another World (1951)

[after a quick encounter with the Thing]
Hendry: Did you get your picture?
Ned "Scotty" Scott: No, you were in the way and the door wasn't open long enough.
Hendry: You want us to open it again?
Ned "Scotty" Scott: NO!

The movie was directed by Christian Nyby and whilst I would not normally mention it, the film was produced by Howard Hawks who has had a string of great movies from the silent era well into the sound years, and finding a bad movie of his is probably harder than you think.  Why bring this up?  Well some also believe that Hawks had heavy involvement in actually directing the movie but whatever the case it’s clear that this was not going to be a flop at least from a technical point of view.

Essentially the story revolves around members of a U.S. Air Force crew and scientists based in Arctic (not the Antarctic where the book and other two movies are based) who discover what appears to be a spacecraft in the ice.  As they excavate the site they find one of the aliens frozen in the ice so they cut out the block of ice containing the creature and take it back to the lab to have a closer look at it. Over a period of time the ice melts and the creature comes to life and wreaks havoc in the camp.  They then try to discover what the alien wants, how it feeds, what keeps it alive and most importantly how to kill it.  It sounds basic but the story is really well played out and has a natural feeling to it but amongst that we also have the conflict between the two groups where the scientist wants to keep it alive and others who want to see it dead.

Being 1951 it is needs to be understood that effects are not going to be as good as the latter films and that’s not hinting that it’s a bad movie, but rather more limited in how the alien is portrayed.  So just like many other movies of this vintage there is greater emphasis on creating characters you can get to know and suspense that you can’t always see but feel because we do not see it all and, just like many Hitchcock movies, this succeeds in its attempt.  The mystery created surrounding this strange alien and how it lives and grows helps build suspense as the movie goes on and therefore keeps you in.  

In regards to looks, the alien is quite simplistic and Frankenstein looking and does feel out of place but perhaps the movie makers kinda knew this limitation so there are things we are told about but don’t see, or things that are not completely visible to the viewer which opens our imagination as well.  This is not saying that it is a cheap nasty movie but they just use what they could at the time to create a simplified version of the alien and it’s not often you get a close-up of the creature and it works well to be honest.  It is not going to scare the living daylights out of you but it does present a good story that is told well and believable.

The DVD used for the review is an Australian release that you will most likely have to obtain from ebay as most bricks and mortar stores wouldn’t bother keeping it in stock which is similar with quite a few titles I have.  It’s a bare bones release where the special features non-existent, which is a shame, but at least we get the movie with a good visual print that’s clear and sharp.

Overall however, the movie is better than what you would think as it creates the mystery and keeps you wondering.  And this really proves to audiences that newer isn’t always better and special effects don’t always make it better either (though it can help).  The movie comes highly recommend for fans of 50’s Sci-fi or simply those interested in The Thing series of films as it is a good well-made movie, despite the out of place looking alien.  It may not be everyone’s cup of tea so if the above description does not fit you, give this one a miss.

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The Thing from Another World (1951) vs The Thing (1982) vs The Thing (2011) – a comparison

This is quite a task to review an original and the two latter films, then compare the three against one another. I have never read the short story “Who Goes there?” by John W. Campbell Jr. from which these movies are based so I can really only take what others have said, being that the 1982 and 2011 versions are closer to the story than the 1951 version.  It’s also interesting to note that the 1951 and 2011 movie are more like a prequel to the 1982 cause in both the earlier and latter film the alien spaceship is discovered while in the 1982 version it was found prior to the movie timeline.  We also have the story told from different perspectives with the 1951 film showing the U.S. discovering the spacecraft, the 1982 version having the U.S. finding out that the Norwegians discovered the craft and finally in the 2011 movie shows the Norwegians discovering the spaceship.  It should also be stated, that the 2011 is not a direct remake.  So what is it then?  We will find out in time.

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