Blu-ray Review: ‘The Thing’ Prequel Almost Works But Misses Paranoia of Original

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – John Carpenter’s “The Thing” is a brilliant study in paranoia. It is more than a mere horror film. The remake/prequel, recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, is a decent horror film but the comparison to the classic original and some serious mistakes in the final act make “decent” not good enough by association.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Meant to detail what happened before Kurt Russell and company encountered the dog carrying a creature from another planet, “The Thing” has numerous odes to the wildly influential Carpenter film and fits seamlessly with it (I highly recommend popping in the Carpenter version after this one just to marvel at how they tie together and instantly see a few of the notable flaws of the 2011 version). After a reasonably strong start, the fatal flaw with “The Thing” is that it turns from a thriller about paranoia and isolation into a pretty generic alien horror movie. The final film still does way more right than I was expecting after the disastrous remakes of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” but it just misses its mark.

The Thing was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 31, 2012
Photo credit: Film District

One of the things that instantly separates the new “Thing” from the old one is that the protagonists in this one essentially know what they’re up against from the very beginning. In the original, a Norwegian helicopter chases a dog into an Alaskan camp and the people there are basically plunged into a nightmare. The confusion, the out-of-nowhere breaking of their society — these are key elements to the first act of the original. Conversely, the people in the prequel/remake basically know what they’re getting into. They find an alien in the ice in Alaska and bring it to their camp. There’s a huge difference between the two set-ups.

The Thing was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 31, 2012 Photo credit: Universal

The alien investigators are led by Kate Lloyd (an effectively subdued Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who seems to know something’s going to go wrong from the beginning. Before you know it, the creature breaks free from the ice and mimics the appearance and behavior of people in the camp. Anyone could be the alien. Lots of carnage, flame-throwing, and a silly ending follow.

There are large chunks of “The Thing” that work. I like the cast and I think director Matthijs Van Heijningen shows some talent with tension and effects. The second act, when no one is sure who can be trusted, is surprisingly effective, especially for what is essentially a remake (I know it’s technically a prequel but it hits most of the same beats). But it’s that lack of paranoia, of real tension, that deflates the piece, and by the time it gets to the really goofy underground ending, it’s lost most of whatever worked about it in the first place. Luckily, if you’re watching both films, you can move on to the Carpenter and not end with a bad taste in your mouth.

The Universal Blu-ray for “The Thing” is stellar. I was very impressed with the HD video quality and the film comes with more special features than many of their recent theatrical offerings, including the always-awesome U-Control.

Synopsis:
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.

Special Features:
o U-Control: Picture-in-Picture
o Deleted/Extended Scenes
o The Thing Evolves
o Fire & Ice
o Feature Commentary with Director Matthijs van Heijningen and Producer Eric Newman
o D-Box Motion Enabled
o Pocket Blu
o BD Live Enabled
o Ultraviolet Digital Copy Of Feature Film

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]