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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