ann hale looks at the horror film that’s actually a prequel and not a remake …
One of the biggest fears in humans is the fear of the unknown. It is the unknown that makes people fear strangers, the dark, aliens. The truth is that no one can, for certain, prove the existence of aliens or even what would happen if anyone should encounter one, and it is that unknown factor that makes them so frightening. The Thing is one person’s adaptation of what might happen should the human race ever stumble upon an alien right here on Earth.
Back in 1982, John Carpenter released The Thing, starring Kurt Russell, into theaters and terrified all who braved seeing it. The film features a team of scientists in the Antarctic who, upon arrival, are interrupted by a dog being chased down by a seemingly insane Norwegian hell bent on shooting it. In order to rescue the dog and themselves, they must kill the man, but the dog isn’t quite what it seems. After the dog proves to be a monster of sorts, the scientists search to find answers and stumble upon the Norwegians’ abandoned base, where they find a large empty block of ice and charred remains of mutated bodies. Back at their base, people start changing, mutating, and dying.
The 2011 release of The Thing is actually a prequel to the 1982 story. A group of American scientists are called to the Antarctic by a group of Norwegians who have discovered, not only a space craft, but the body of an alien incased in the ice. They cut the alien from the ice and bring it back to their base where it bursts out, murders, and devours a member of the team. Upon dissection of the alien, they find that the human’s cells are not only still alive, but are being taken over by the alien cells and then cloned. This, in short, means that no one can be trusted to be who they appear to be.
This was most definitely the best prequel I have ever seen. The creatures were scary, the gore was plentiful and the story was true to the original. Every part of the story explained something seen in the 1982 version. Each creature, each death, each event coincided with a discovery made by Kurt Russell and his crew. My suggestion: Watch them out of order. Part of the fun is recognizing parts of the original and seeing how it all happened. I honestly don’t think it would’ve had the same effect on me if I hadn’t seen John Carpenter’s version first. Spend the money, it’s worth it!
