The Thing (2011 film)
Encyclopedia
The Thing is a 2011 science fiction
horror film
directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
, and written by Eric Heisserer
. It is a prequel
to the 1982 film of the same name by John Carpenter
, the plot taking place immediately prior to the events of that film. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead
and Joel Edgerton
who are part of a team of Norwegian
and American scientists who discover an alien buried deep in the ice of Antarctica, realizing too late that it is still alive, consuming then imitating the team members.
) is recruited by scientists Dr. Sander Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen
) and his assistant Adam Finch (Eric Christian Olsen
) to join a Norwegian
scientific team that has stumbled across a crashed extraterrestrial
spaceship buried beneath the ice of Antarctica. They discover the frozen corpse of a creature that seems to have died in the crash 100,000 years ago.
After the creature is transported back to base in a block of ice, Dr. Sander orders them to retrieve a tissue sample, against Kate's protests. Later, while the others celebrate, co-pilot Derek (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
) sees the Thing escape from the block of ice. The team splits up into groups to search for the alien. Two Norwegians, Olav (Jan Gunnar Røise
) and Henrik (Jo Adrian Haavind) discover it hiding under one of the buildings. The Thing suddenly grabs Henrik by impaling a tentacle through his chest and pulls him into its body. The others converge on the scene and set the creature on fire. In the chaotic aftermath, the lone dog of the team is found dead in a bloody heap in its kennel, a massive hole torn in the wire mesh.
During an autopsy, Kate and Adam discover that the cells of the Thing appear to be absorbing and imitating Henrik's cells. Meanwhile, Derek, pilot Sam Carter (Joel Edgerton
), Griggs (Paul Braunstein
), and a sick Olav prepare to leave the base in the only helicopter to send Olav for medical treatment and bring back help. Just as they prepare to take off, Kate discovers bloody, discarded metal tooth fillings and large amounts of blood in the shower. She runs outside to flag down the departing helicopter, fearing the Thing may have imitated someone on board. When Carter decides to land, Griggs transforms and kills Olav, causing the helicopter to spin wildly out of control and crash in the mountains, presumably killing all onboard. Kate later returns to the showers only to find that someone has cleaned up all the blood.
In the recreation room, Kate tells the rest her hypothesis on the nature of the creature: It is perfectly capable of imitating any life form and that it may have done so with members of their camp, but cannot imitate inorganic material such as metal, hence why it spit out the tooth fillings. Most of the team members either do not believe her or accuse her of turning them against each other out of paranoia. They decide to head for the nearest camp for help. After everyone else leaves the room, Juliette (Kim Bubbs) tells Kate that she believes her and that she saw Colin (Jonathan Lloyd Walker) leave the shower holding a towel. Juliette tells Kate that she knows where they keep the vehicle keys, and that they can take them to prevent anyone else from leaving. However, when the two go to retrieve them, Juliette transforms and attempts to kill Kate. Kate escapes, running past Karl (Carsten Bjørnlund
), who is killed by the Juliette-Thing. Lars (Jørgen Langhelle
) arrives with a flamethrower and burns the Thing as it assimilates Karl.
As they burn the remains outside, Carter and Derek return, both half-frozen and barely alive. While some of the team believes they are Things and should be burned, Kate convinces them to simply lock them up until a test can be prepared. Adam and Sander are in the lab preparing a potential test, but when both leave for a short while, the lab is engulfed in flames in an apparent sabotage. Tensions rise as accusations by both the Norwegians and the Americans are made, but Kate proposes another, much simpler test to single out those who might be the Thing from those who aren't. She uses a flashlight to inspect the teeth of all the other team members to see who has fillings and who doesn't. This test singles out Adam, Dr. Sander, station commander Edvard (Trond Espen Seim
), and Colin who either had clean teeth or porcelain fillings. Kate, and team members Lars, Peder (Stig Henrik Hoff
), and Jonas (Kristofer Hivju) are shown to all still have metal fillings in their teeth. Kate sends Lars and Jonas out to bring back Carter and Derek to do the test also but they have tunneled out the floor of the storage shed and into a neighboring building. While Lars leans in the doorway of the other building, they grab and pull him inside. Jonas runs back and pleads with Peder to help him rescue Lars, but Kate orders him to guard the prisoners.
During the argument, Carter and Derek force their way inside, armed with Lars's flamethrower and handgun. Edvard pushes Peder to burn both of them, assuming that they are the Things and had murdered Lars. When Peder takes aim, Derek shoots him, puncturing his flamethrower's tank and causing an explosion that kills Peder and knocks Edvard unconscious. While Edvard is being carried back to the recreation room, he transforms into the Thing and kills Jonas and Derek while mortally wounding Adam with a tentacle as Sander and Colin flee. Kate and Carter arrive with the remaining flamethrower and try to burn the Thing before it can finish its assimilation of Adam, but the alien escapes. While Carter and Kate are searching for the Thing, the now two-faced creature finds and attacks Sander. The monster then manages to separate Carter from Kate and traps him in the kitchen. Just as it is about to kill him, Kate arrives and torches the Edvard/Adam-Thing.
Kate and Carter see the Sander-Thing driving off in one of the Snowcats and give chase in the remaining vehicle. They follow it out to the wreck of its ship, which has been opened up and restarted, slowly preparing to take off. Kate and Carter are separated once again and Kate encounters the Thing. The creature manages to trap Kate, but she is able to destroy it with a grenade. She and Carter escape and make it back to the Snowcat. As they are preparing to leave, Kate notices that Carter is missing his left ear piercing and determines that he is one of the Things. Despite his protests, she burns him and destroys the Snowcat
. Kate slowly climbs into the remaining Snowcat and stares blankly into the night.
The next morning, a Norwegian helicopter pilot, Matias (Ole Martin Aune Nilsen), arrives at the camp and finds the facility burned and deserted, as well as the charred remains of the two-faced Thing. It is revealed that Colin went into the radio room and committed suicide. Kate's fate is unknown and Lars, who has survived hiding in the building where Derek and Carter attacked him, shoots at Matias but recognizes that he is human after checking his fillings. At that moment, the Thing in the form of Lars's dog bolts out of a ruined building and runs away. Lars fires at it, then orders Matias to take off in pursuit. Lars begins shooting at the animal from the helicopter, leading into the beginning of John Carpenter's The Thing.
After creating the Dawn of the Dead remake
, producers Marc Abraham and Eric Newman began to look through the Universal Studios library to find new properties to work on. Upon finding John Carpenter's 1982 film The Thing, the two convinced Universal to create a prequel instead of a remake, as they felt that remaking Carpenter's film would be like "paint(ing) eyebrows on the Mona Lisa" Eric Newman explained; "I'd be the first to say no one should ever try to do Jaws
again and I certainly wouldn't want to see anyone remake The Exorcist
... And we really felt the same way about The Thing. It's a great film. But once we realized there was a new story to tell, with the same characters and the same world, but from a very different point of view, we took it as a challenge. It's the story about the guys who are just ghosts in Carpenter's movie - they're already dead. But having Universal give us a chance to tell their story was irresistible."
In early 2009, Variety
reported the launch of a project to film a prequel—possibly following MacReady's brother during the events leading up to the opening moments of the 1982 film—with Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
as director and Ronald D. Moore
as writer. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. became involved in the project when his first planned feature film, a zombie film taking place in Las Vegas written and produced by Zack Snyder
called Army of the Dead, was cancelled by the studio three months before production began. Needing to start all over again, he asked his agent to see if there was a The Thing project in development, since Alien
and The Thing are his favorite films. As a fan of Carpenter's film, he was interested in the project because, being European himself, he had always wondered what happened at the Norwegian camp. In March 2009, Moore described his script as a "companion piece" to Carpenter's film and "not a remake." "We're telling the story of the Norwegian camp that found the Thing before the Kurt Russell group did," he said. Eric Heisserer
was later hired to do a complete rewrite of Moore's script. Heisserer explained that in writing the script, it was necessary for him to research all the information that was revealed about the Norwegian camp from the first film, down to the smallest details, so that it could be incorporated into the prequel in order to create a consistent backstory. The decision was made to name the film the same title as the first film, because the producers felt adding a "colon title" such as Exorcist II: The Heretic
had felt less reverential.
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. explained that he created the film not to simply be a horror film, but to also focus largely on the human drama with the interaction between characters, as the first film had. The director felt that horror films worked better when time was spent to explore the characters' emotional journeys, allowing the audience to care about them. Mary Elizabeth Winstead insisted that the film would not feature any romantic or sexual elements with her character, as it would be inappropriate considering the tone of the film. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje said that the film would try to recreate the feeling of paranoia and distrust that the first film had, where the characters can't tell who has been infected by the alien. The filmmakers drew additional inspiration for the film from the original novel Who Goes There?
, in making the characters in the film educated scientists as opposed to "blue collar" workers. However, the filmmakers drew no influence from the events of the The Thing video game
. The director also drew additional inspiration from the film Alien in creating the film, particularly in regard to casting a female lead, and in the way the alien creatures are filmed by not showing too much of them. Matthijs van Heijningen also cited the films of director Roman Polanski
as influence, such as his work on Rosemary's Baby
. Actual Norwegian actors were cast in the film to play the Norwegian characters, and the director allowed the actors to improvise
elements different to what was scripted when they felt it was appropriate, such as a scene where the characters sing a Norwegian folk song called Sámiid Ædnan
("Lapland
"). Many scenes involving characters speaking Norwegian were subtitled, and the language barrier
between them and the English speaking characters is exploited to add to the film's feeling of paranoia. Director Matthijs van Heijningen said that the film would show the alien creature in its “pure form”, as it was discovered in its ship by the Norwegians; however, it is not revealed whether this is the creature's original form or the form of another creature it had assimilated. John Carpenter wished to have a cameo appearance
in the film, but scheduling conflicts prevented this.
on 35mm film, as the director dislikes the look of films shot digitally
. The director chose not to fast cut
the film, instead opting for a slower pace, hoping to build a sense of pending dread. The prequel was filmed in Pinewood Toronto Studios, Port Lands
on March 22, 2010 and ended on June 28, 2010. On set, the director had a laptop computer which contained "a million" screen captures of the Carpenter film, which he used as a point of reference to keep the Norwegian camp visually consistent with the first film. Additional Visual Effects were created by With A Twist. Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. created the practical creature effects for the film, in the studios of Amalgamated Dynamics. In addition to creating the effects for the human-Thing transformations, Gillis, Woodruff and their team had the challenge of coming up with the look of the alien in the ice block unearthed by the Norwegians. While it was initially only intended to be shown as a silhouette
, the director liked their designs and encouraged them to fully create the creature, which was realised by creating a monster suit
that Tom Woodruff wore. The effects team opted to use cable-operated animatronics
over more complex hydraulic controls, as they felt they gave a more "organic feel". In order to emulate the creature effects of the first film, Heisserer revealed that traditional practical effects would be used on the creatures whenever possible. The film's computer generated imagery was created by Image Engine
, the effects house who worked on Neil Blomkamp's 2009 film District 9
. Computer Graphics were used to digitally create extensions on some of the practical animatronic effects, as well as for digital matte painting
s and set extensions. Alec Gillis stated that the advancement of animatronic technology since 1982 combined with digital effects allowed the effects team to expand upon the possible creature conceptions. Matthijs van Heijningen preferred to use practical effects over computer imagery, as he believed actors give better performances when they have something physical to react to. Stunt men covered in fire-retardant gel were used in scenes when characters are set on fire. The original Ennio Morricone
score was reflected in the film's score, but Morricone did not score the film, nor was his music from the 1982 version used.
The interior of the crashed alien spacecraft was created by production designer Sean Haworth. To design the ship, Haworth had to recreate what little was shown of the spacecraft in the Carpenter film, then "fill the gaps" for what was not originally shown. Haworth and a team of approximately twelve others then created the inside of the ship as a several story high interior set constructed mostly out of a combination of foam, plaster, fiberglass, and plywood. The ship was designed specifically to look as if it were not made to accommodate humans, but rather alien creatures of different size and shape who could walk on any surface. A section of the craft called the "pod room" was designed to imply the alien creatures manning it had collected specimens of different alien species from around the universe for a zoological expedition.
changed the date to October 14, 2011, to allow time for reshoots. The intention of the reshoots was to "enhance existing sequences or to make crystal clear a few story beats or to add punctuation marks to the film's feeling of dread."
, based on 129 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5 out of 10. Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 49 based on 31 reviews. Kathleen Murphy of MSN
Movies rated it two-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it "a subpar slasher movie tricked out with tired 'Ten Little Indians' tropes and rip-offs from both Carpenter and the Christian Nyby-Howard Hawks' 1951 version of the chilling tale that started it all, John W. Campbell Jr.'s Who Goes There?". Jim Vejvoda of IGN
Movies also rated the film two-and-a-half out of five, saying, "This incarnation of The Thing is much like the creature it depicts: An insidious, defective mimic of the real, er, thing. It's not an entirely lost cause, but it is a needless one". Roger Ebert
gave the film two and a half stars out of four, the same rating he gave the 1982 film.
In CinemaScore
polls users gave the film a "B-" on an A+ to F scale. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune
gave the film a rating of 75 out of 100, saying "While I wish van Heijningen's Thing weren't quite so in lust with the '82 model, it works because it respects that basic premise; and it exhibits a little patience, doling out its ickiest, nastiest moments in ways that make them stick". Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com
called it "Loving prequel to a horror classic", saying "It's full of chills and thrills and isolated Antarctic atmosphere and terrific Hieronymus Bosch creature effects, and if it winks genially at the plot twists of Carpenter's film, it never feels even a little like some kind of inside joke." James Berardinelli
gave it three stars out of four, saying that it "offers a similar overall experience" to the 1982 film "without replicating styles and situations". Other critics singled out Mary Elizabeth Winstead for praise in her performance as the lead, Dr. Kate Lloyd. "[Winstead] stands out with her portrayal of a paleontologist. She keeps a cool, logical head whilst others around her start to panic. It’s a refreshing change from your traditional horror film where the lead characters do moronic things as if to prolong the story" Matthew Toomey of The Film Pie wrote. Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weekly
rated the film three out of five stars and wrote, "Winstead makes for an appealing protagonist, and Kate is portrayed as competent without being thrust into some unlikely action-hero role". .
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. is a Dutch filmmaker, writer and producer best known for his work on Red Rain, The Thing prequel and Army of the Dead.-Biography:Matthijs van Heijningen Jr...
, and written by Eric Heisserer
Eric Heisserer
- Career :Heisserer's professional screenwriting career was launched with the sale of The Dionaea House to Warner Bros. in 2005, based on an online epistolary story of the same name that he wrote in October 2004. He then developed an original television pilot for Paramount Pictures and CBS, and...
. It is a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the 1982 film of the same name by John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
, the plot taking place immediately prior to the events of that film. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
and Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton is an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, Sydney, to a homemaker mother and a solicitor/property developer father, Michael. His brother, Nash Edgerton, is a stuntman and filmmaker...
who are part of a team of Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and American scientists who discover an alien buried deep in the ice of Antarctica, realizing too late that it is still alive, consuming then imitating the team members.
Plot
In 1982, paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth WinsteadMary Elizabeth Winstead
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
) is recruited by scientists Dr. Sander Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen
Ulrich Thomsen
Ulrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
) and his assistant Adam Finch (Eric Christian Olsen
Eric Christian Olsen
Eric Christian Olsen is an American actor. He currently portrays Detective Marty Deeks on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles.-Early life:...
) to join a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
scientific team that has stumbled across a crashed extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
spaceship buried beneath the ice of Antarctica. They discover the frozen corpse of a creature that seems to have died in the crash 100,000 years ago.
After the creature is transported back to base in a block of ice, Dr. Sander orders them to retrieve a tissue sample, against Kate's protests. Later, while the others celebrate, co-pilot Derek (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
) sees the Thing escape from the block of ice. The team splits up into groups to search for the alien. Two Norwegians, Olav (Jan Gunnar Røise
Jan Gunnar Røise
Jan Gunnar Røise is a Norwegian actor.He was born in Eidsvoll, and took his education at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre. He made his stage debut in 2000 at the National Theatre, and has been employed there since. Film appearances include Hawaii, Oslo and Gymnaslærer Pedersen...
) and Henrik (Jo Adrian Haavind) discover it hiding under one of the buildings. The Thing suddenly grabs Henrik by impaling a tentacle through his chest and pulls him into its body. The others converge on the scene and set the creature on fire. In the chaotic aftermath, the lone dog of the team is found dead in a bloody heap in its kennel, a massive hole torn in the wire mesh.
During an autopsy, Kate and Adam discover that the cells of the Thing appear to be absorbing and imitating Henrik's cells. Meanwhile, Derek, pilot Sam Carter (Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton is an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, Sydney, to a homemaker mother and a solicitor/property developer father, Michael. His brother, Nash Edgerton, is a stuntman and filmmaker...
), Griggs (Paul Braunstein
Paul Braunstein
Paul Braunstein is a Canadian actor who starred in the popular Canadian television series Train 48 in 2003 as "Johnny McLaughlin", a comical character. He was considered one of the most popular cast members of the series and has also made a few other appearances on television and film...
), and a sick Olav prepare to leave the base in the only helicopter to send Olav for medical treatment and bring back help. Just as they prepare to take off, Kate discovers bloody, discarded metal tooth fillings and large amounts of blood in the shower. She runs outside to flag down the departing helicopter, fearing the Thing may have imitated someone on board. When Carter decides to land, Griggs transforms and kills Olav, causing the helicopter to spin wildly out of control and crash in the mountains, presumably killing all onboard. Kate later returns to the showers only to find that someone has cleaned up all the blood.
In the recreation room, Kate tells the rest her hypothesis on the nature of the creature: It is perfectly capable of imitating any life form and that it may have done so with members of their camp, but cannot imitate inorganic material such as metal, hence why it spit out the tooth fillings. Most of the team members either do not believe her or accuse her of turning them against each other out of paranoia. They decide to head for the nearest camp for help. After everyone else leaves the room, Juliette (Kim Bubbs) tells Kate that she believes her and that she saw Colin (Jonathan Lloyd Walker) leave the shower holding a towel. Juliette tells Kate that she knows where they keep the vehicle keys, and that they can take them to prevent anyone else from leaving. However, when the two go to retrieve them, Juliette transforms and attempts to kill Kate. Kate escapes, running past Karl (Carsten Bjørnlund
Carsten Bjørnlund
Carsten Bjørnlund is a Danish actor. He has appeared in several Danish films and television series. His first leading film role was as Rasmus in 2008's Oneway-Ticket to Korsør. His latest feature film appearance was as Karl in the 2011 movie The Thing....
), who is killed by the Juliette-Thing. Lars (Jørgen Langhelle
Jørgen Langhelle
Jørgen Langhelle is an Award-winning leading Norwegian actor of stage, screen and television.Langhelle has starred in the two successful Norwegian mini-series Deadline Torp and Torpedo , as well as starring in such movies as Kristin Lavransdatter , Elling , I Am Dina , Tyven, tyven , Ulvesommer ...
) arrives with a flamethrower and burns the Thing as it assimilates Karl.
As they burn the remains outside, Carter and Derek return, both half-frozen and barely alive. While some of the team believes they are Things and should be burned, Kate convinces them to simply lock them up until a test can be prepared. Adam and Sander are in the lab preparing a potential test, but when both leave for a short while, the lab is engulfed in flames in an apparent sabotage. Tensions rise as accusations by both the Norwegians and the Americans are made, but Kate proposes another, much simpler test to single out those who might be the Thing from those who aren't. She uses a flashlight to inspect the teeth of all the other team members to see who has fillings and who doesn't. This test singles out Adam, Dr. Sander, station commander Edvard (Trond Espen Seim
Trond Espen Seim
Trond Espen Seim is a Norwegian actor.He has played private detective Varg Veum in a series of films based on the eponymous series of novels by Gunnar Staalesen...
), and Colin who either had clean teeth or porcelain fillings. Kate, and team members Lars, Peder (Stig Henrik Hoff
Stig Henrik Hoff
Stig Henrik Hoff is a Norwegian actor.He was born in Vadsø, but grew up in Berlevåg. His father is singer Trygve Hoff.-Filmography:*The Thing *Ulvenatten *Kautokeino-opprøret *Mirakel...
), and Jonas (Kristofer Hivju) are shown to all still have metal fillings in their teeth. Kate sends Lars and Jonas out to bring back Carter and Derek to do the test also but they have tunneled out the floor of the storage shed and into a neighboring building. While Lars leans in the doorway of the other building, they grab and pull him inside. Jonas runs back and pleads with Peder to help him rescue Lars, but Kate orders him to guard the prisoners.
During the argument, Carter and Derek force their way inside, armed with Lars's flamethrower and handgun. Edvard pushes Peder to burn both of them, assuming that they are the Things and had murdered Lars. When Peder takes aim, Derek shoots him, puncturing his flamethrower's tank and causing an explosion that kills Peder and knocks Edvard unconscious. While Edvard is being carried back to the recreation room, he transforms into the Thing and kills Jonas and Derek while mortally wounding Adam with a tentacle as Sander and Colin flee. Kate and Carter arrive with the remaining flamethrower and try to burn the Thing before it can finish its assimilation of Adam, but the alien escapes. While Carter and Kate are searching for the Thing, the now two-faced creature finds and attacks Sander. The monster then manages to separate Carter from Kate and traps him in the kitchen. Just as it is about to kill him, Kate arrives and torches the Edvard/Adam-Thing.
Kate and Carter see the Sander-Thing driving off in one of the Snowcats and give chase in the remaining vehicle. They follow it out to the wreck of its ship, which has been opened up and restarted, slowly preparing to take off. Kate and Carter are separated once again and Kate encounters the Thing. The creature manages to trap Kate, but she is able to destroy it with a grenade. She and Carter escape and make it back to the Snowcat. As they are preparing to leave, Kate notices that Carter is missing his left ear piercing and determines that he is one of the Things. Despite his protests, she burns him and destroys the Snowcat
Snowcat
A snowcat is an enclosed-cab, truck sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to move on snow. Snowcats are often referred to as 'trail groomers' because of their use for grooming ski trails or snowmobile trails...
. Kate slowly climbs into the remaining Snowcat and stares blankly into the night.
The next morning, a Norwegian helicopter pilot, Matias (Ole Martin Aune Nilsen), arrives at the camp and finds the facility burned and deserted, as well as the charred remains of the two-faced Thing. It is revealed that Colin went into the radio room and committed suicide. Kate's fate is unknown and Lars, who has survived hiding in the building where Derek and Carter attacked him, shoots at Matias but recognizes that he is human after checking his fillings. At that moment, the Thing in the form of Lars's dog bolts out of a ruined building and runs away. Lars fires at it, then orders Matias to take off in pursuit. Lars begins shooting at the animal from the helicopter, leading into the beginning of John Carpenter's The Thing.
Cast
- Mary Elizabeth WinsteadMary Elizabeth WinsteadMary Elizabeth Winstead is an American actress. She is best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing...
as Dr. Kate Lloyd, an American paleonthologist graduate from Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
: In order to not try to compete with Kurt RussellKurt RussellKurt Vogel Russell is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters...
's portrayal of the 1982 film's protagonist, R.J. MacReady, the character of Kate Lloyd was designed to have traits in common with the character Ellen RipleyEllen RipleyEllen Ripley is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Alien film series played by American actress Sigourney Weaver. The character was heralded as a seminal role for challenging gender roles, particularly in the science fiction genre, and remains Weaver's most famous role to...
from the Alien film seriesAlien (franchise)The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...
. - Joel EdgertonJoel EdgertonJoel Edgerton is an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, Sydney, to a homemaker mother and a solicitor/property developer father, Michael. His brother, Nash Edgerton, is a stuntman and filmmaker...
as Sam Carter: An American helicopter pilot and Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
veteran running a supply operation to the bases. He and his two co-pilots are left in the dark as to why they are there and what is the mysterious thing the scientists have found. - Ulrich ThomsenUlrich ThomsenUlrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
as Dr. Sander Halvorson, the Norwegian "ThuleThuleThule Greek: Θούλη, Thoulē), also spelled Thula, Thila, or Thyïlea, is, in classical European literature and maps, a region in the far north. Though often considered to be an island in antiquity, modern interpretations of what was meant by Thule often identify it as Norway. Other interpretations...
" station medical officer and leader of the alien research team. He orders the team to obtain a sample of the recently discovered alien creature despite Kate's warnings. - Adewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeAdewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeAdewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
as Derek Jameson, an American helicopter co-pilot and also a Vietnam veteran who is Carter's best friend. - Eric Christian OlsenEric Christian OlsenEric Christian Olsen is an American actor. He currently portrays Detective Marty Deeks on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles.-Early life:...
as Adam Finch, an American scientist working as Dr. Sander's research assistant who invites Kate to the Norwegian base. - Trond Espen SeimTrond Espen SeimTrond Espen Seim is a Norwegian actor.He has played private detective Varg Veum in a series of films based on the eponymous series of novels by Gunnar Staalesen...
as Edvard Wolner, a notable Norwegian geologist who is the station commander. - Kristofer Hivju as Jonas, a nervous Norwegian polar ice researcher.
- Stig Henrik HoffStig Henrik HoffStig Henrik Hoff is a Norwegian actor.He was born in Vadsø, but grew up in Berlevåg. His father is singer Trygve Hoff.-Filmography:*The Thing *Ulvenatten *Kautokeino-opprøret *Mirakel...
as Peder, a Norwegian rifle-toting camp member who is Edvard's right hand man. - Jørgen LanghelleJørgen LanghelleJørgen Langhelle is an Award-winning leading Norwegian actor of stage, screen and television.Langhelle has starred in the two successful Norwegian mini-series Deadline Torp and Torpedo , as well as starring in such movies as Kristin Lavransdatter , Elling , I Am Dina , Tyven, tyven , Ulvesommer ...
as Lars, an ex-soldier who works as the dog keeper of the Norwegian base, also the only member of the Norwegian base who cannot speak English. - Paul BraunsteinPaul BraunsteinPaul Braunstein is a Canadian actor who starred in the popular Canadian television series Train 48 in 2003 as "Johnny McLaughlin", a comical character. He was considered one of the most popular cast members of the series and has also made a few other appearances on television and film...
as Griggs, a co-pilot member of the American helicopter transport team. - Kim Bubbs as Juliette, a French geologistGeologistA geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
. - Jonathan Lloyd Walker as Colin, an English radio operator.
- Jo Adrian Haavind as Henrik, another Norwegian base member who assists the alien research team.
- Jan Gunnar RøiseJan Gunnar RøiseJan Gunnar Røise is a Norwegian actor.He was born in Eidsvoll, and took his education at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre. He made his stage debut in 2000 at the National Theatre, and has been employed there since. Film appearances include Hawaii, Oslo and Gymnaslærer Pedersen...
as Olav, a Norwegian Snowcat vehicle driver and guide. - Carsten BjørnlundCarsten BjørnlundCarsten Bjørnlund is a Danish actor. He has appeared in several Danish films and television series. His first leading film role was as Rasmus in 2008's Oneway-Ticket to Korsør. His latest feature film appearance was as Karl in the 2011 movie The Thing....
as Karl, a Norwegian geologist. - Ole Martin Aune Nilsen as Matias, the helicopter pilot of the Norwegian station.
- Michael Brown as a Security Guard.
Development
| “It’s a really fascinating way to construct a story because we're doing it by autopsy, by examining very, very closely everything we know about the Norwegian camp and about the events that happened there from photos and video footage that’s recovered, from a visit to the base, the director, producer and I have gone through it countless times marking, you know, there’s a fire axe in the door, we have to account for that…we're having to reverse engineer it, so those details all matter to us ‘cause it all has to make sense.” |
| — Eric Heisserer Eric Heisserer - Career :Heisserer's professional screenwriting career was launched with the sale of The Dionaea House to Warner Bros. in 2005, based on an online epistolary story of the same name that he wrote in October 2004. He then developed an original television pilot for Paramount Pictures and CBS, and... describing the process of creating a script that is consistent with the first film. |
After creating the Dawn of the Dead remake
Dawn of the Dead (2004 film)
Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depict a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall...
, producers Marc Abraham and Eric Newman began to look through the Universal Studios library to find new properties to work on. Upon finding John Carpenter's 1982 film The Thing, the two convinced Universal to create a prequel instead of a remake, as they felt that remaking Carpenter's film would be like "paint(ing) eyebrows on the Mona Lisa" Eric Newman explained; "I'd be the first to say no one should ever try to do Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
again and I certainly wouldn't want to see anyone remake The Exorcist
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...
... And we really felt the same way about The Thing. It's a great film. But once we realized there was a new story to tell, with the same characters and the same world, but from a very different point of view, we took it as a challenge. It's the story about the guys who are just ghosts in Carpenter's movie - they're already dead. But having Universal give us a chance to tell their story was irresistible."
In early 2009, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported the launch of a project to film a prequel—possibly following MacReady's brother during the events leading up to the opening moments of the 1982 film—with Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. is a Dutch filmmaker, writer and producer best known for his work on Red Rain, The Thing prequel and Army of the Dead.-Biography:Matthijs van Heijningen Jr...
as director and Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he won a Peabody Award for creative excellence in 2005 and an Emmy Award in 2008.-Early life and...
as writer. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. became involved in the project when his first planned feature film, a zombie film taking place in Las Vegas written and produced by Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder
Zachary Edward "Zack" Snyder is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. After making his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead, he gained wide recognition with the 2007 box office hit 300, adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics...
called Army of the Dead, was cancelled by the studio three months before production began. Needing to start all over again, he asked his agent to see if there was a The Thing project in development, since Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
and The Thing are his favorite films. As a fan of Carpenter's film, he was interested in the project because, being European himself, he had always wondered what happened at the Norwegian camp. In March 2009, Moore described his script as a "companion piece" to Carpenter's film and "not a remake." "We're telling the story of the Norwegian camp that found the Thing before the Kurt Russell group did," he said. Eric Heisserer
Eric Heisserer
- Career :Heisserer's professional screenwriting career was launched with the sale of The Dionaea House to Warner Bros. in 2005, based on an online epistolary story of the same name that he wrote in October 2004. He then developed an original television pilot for Paramount Pictures and CBS, and...
was later hired to do a complete rewrite of Moore's script. Heisserer explained that in writing the script, it was necessary for him to research all the information that was revealed about the Norwegian camp from the first film, down to the smallest details, so that it could be incorporated into the prequel in order to create a consistent backstory. The decision was made to name the film the same title as the first film, because the producers felt adding a "colon title" such as Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American horror film and the sequel to The Exorcist , directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart and starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty and Kitty Winn...
had felt less reverential.
Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. explained that he created the film not to simply be a horror film, but to also focus largely on the human drama with the interaction between characters, as the first film had. The director felt that horror films worked better when time was spent to explore the characters' emotional journeys, allowing the audience to care about them. Mary Elizabeth Winstead insisted that the film would not feature any romantic or sexual elements with her character, as it would be inappropriate considering the tone of the film. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje said that the film would try to recreate the feeling of paranoia and distrust that the first film had, where the characters can't tell who has been infected by the alien. The filmmakers drew additional inspiration for the film from the original novel Who Goes There?
Who Goes There?
Who Goes There? is a science fiction novella by John W. Campbell, Jr. under the pen name Don A. Stuart, published August 1938 in Astounding Stories. In 1973, the story was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the finest science fiction novellas ever written, and published with...
, in making the characters in the film educated scientists as opposed to "blue collar" workers. However, the filmmakers drew no influence from the events of the The Thing video game
The Thing (video game)
The Thing is a third person survival horror game. The game was presented as a sequel to John Carpenter's 1982 film The Thing. It was developed by Computer Artworks and published by VU Games. It was released in North America for the PS2 on August 19, 2002, on the PC on August 20, 2002 and on the...
. The director also drew additional inspiration from the film Alien in creating the film, particularly in regard to casting a female lead, and in the way the alien creatures are filmed by not showing too much of them. Matthijs van Heijningen also cited the films of director Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
as influence, such as his work on Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby (film)
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin...
. Actual Norwegian actors were cast in the film to play the Norwegian characters, and the director allowed the actors to improvise
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
elements different to what was scripted when they felt it was appropriate, such as a scene where the characters sing a Norwegian folk song called Sámiid Ædnan
Sámiid Ædnan
"Sámiid Ædnan" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, performed by Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta. The song is sometimes described as being in the Sami language, however this is not correct...
("Lapland
Lapland
Sápmi is the name of the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sami people. Sápmi is located in Northern Europe and includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia. The region stretches over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Sápmi is the name in North Sámi, while the Julev...
"). Many scenes involving characters speaking Norwegian were subtitled, and the language barrier
Language barrier
Language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to indicate the difficulties faced when people who have no language in common attempt to communicate with each other...
between them and the English speaking characters is exploited to add to the film's feeling of paranoia. Director Matthijs van Heijningen said that the film would show the alien creature in its “pure form”, as it was discovered in its ship by the Norwegians; however, it is not revealed whether this is the creature's original form or the form of another creature it had assimilated. John Carpenter wished to have a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the film, but scheduling conflicts prevented this.
Filming and post-production
The film was shot in the anamorphic formatAnamorphic format
Anamorphic format is a term that can be used either for: the cinematography technique of capturing a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film, or other visual recording media, with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio; or a photographic projection format in which the original image requires an...
on 35mm film, as the director dislikes the look of films shot digitally
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
. The director chose not to fast cut
Fast cutting
Fast cutting is a film editing technique which refers to several consecutive shots of a brief duration . It can be used to convey a lot of information very quickly, or to imply either energy or chaos...
the film, instead opting for a slower pace, hoping to build a sense of pending dread. The prequel was filmed in Pinewood Toronto Studios, Port Lands
Port Lands
The Port Lands of Toronto, Ontario, Canada are an industrial and recreational neighbourhood located about 5 kilometres south-east of downtown, located on the former Don River delta and most of Ashbridge's Bay....
on March 22, 2010 and ended on June 28, 2010. On set, the director had a laptop computer which contained "a million" screen captures of the Carpenter film, which he used as a point of reference to keep the Norwegian camp visually consistent with the first film. Additional Visual Effects were created by With A Twist. Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. created the practical creature effects for the film, in the studios of Amalgamated Dynamics. In addition to creating the effects for the human-Thing transformations, Gillis, Woodruff and their team had the challenge of coming up with the look of the alien in the ice block unearthed by the Norwegians. While it was initially only intended to be shown as a silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
, the director liked their designs and encouraged them to fully create the creature, which was realised by creating a monster suit
Suitmation
is a term originally used in Japan for a tokusatsu technique to portray a daikaiju using a suit actor in a monster suit.The term can be used when puppet does not apply, since the puppet is being worn by an actor, and when costume does not apply, since the costume is also being controlled by a...
that Tom Woodruff wore. The effects team opted to use cable-operated animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
over more complex hydraulic controls, as they felt they gave a more "organic feel". In order to emulate the creature effects of the first film, Heisserer revealed that traditional practical effects would be used on the creatures whenever possible. The film's computer generated imagery was created by Image Engine
Image Engine
Image Engine is a visual effects company based in Vancouver, British Columbia and formed in 1995. In 2010, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.-2009:*The Twilight Saga: Eclipse*The Losers*District 9*New in Town-2008:...
, the effects house who worked on Neil Blomkamp's 2009 film District 9
District 9
District 9 is a 2009 South African science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James...
. Computer Graphics were used to digitally create extensions on some of the practical animatronic effects, as well as for digital matte painting
Matte painting
A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques...
s and set extensions. Alec Gillis stated that the advancement of animatronic technology since 1982 combined with digital effects allowed the effects team to expand upon the possible creature conceptions. Matthijs van Heijningen preferred to use practical effects over computer imagery, as he believed actors give better performances when they have something physical to react to. Stunt men covered in fire-retardant gel were used in scenes when characters are set on fire. The original Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
score was reflected in the film's score, but Morricone did not score the film, nor was his music from the 1982 version used.
The interior of the crashed alien spacecraft was created by production designer Sean Haworth. To design the ship, Haworth had to recreate what little was shown of the spacecraft in the Carpenter film, then "fill the gaps" for what was not originally shown. Haworth and a team of approximately twelve others then created the inside of the ship as a several story high interior set constructed mostly out of a combination of foam, plaster, fiberglass, and plywood. The ship was designed specifically to look as if it were not made to accommodate humans, but rather alien creatures of different size and shape who could walk on any surface. A section of the craft called the "pod room" was designed to imply the alien creatures manning it had collected specimens of different alien species from around the universe for a zoological expedition.
Release
While the film was originally set for release in April, Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
changed the date to October 14, 2011, to allow time for reshoots. The intention of the reshoots was to "enhance existing sequences or to make crystal clear a few story beats or to add punctuation marks to the film's feeling of dread."
Critical reception
The Thing received negative reviews. It currently holds a 33% "rotten" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 129 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5 out of 10. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 49 based on 31 reviews. Kathleen Murphy of MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
Movies rated it two-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it "a subpar slasher movie tricked out with tired 'Ten Little Indians' tropes and rip-offs from both Carpenter and the Christian Nyby-Howard Hawks' 1951 version of the chilling tale that started it all, John W. Campbell Jr.'s Who Goes There?". Jim Vejvoda of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
Movies also rated the film two-and-a-half out of five, saying, "This incarnation of The Thing is much like the creature it depicts: An insidious, defective mimic of the real, er, thing. It's not an entirely lost cause, but it is a needless one". Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film two and a half stars out of four, the same rating he gave the 1982 film.
In CinemaScore
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.-Background:...
polls users gave the film a "B-" on an A+ to F scale. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
gave the film a rating of 75 out of 100, saying "While I wish van Heijningen's Thing weren't quite so in lust with the '82 model, it works because it respects that basic premise; and it exhibits a little patience, doling out its ickiest, nastiest moments in ways that make them stick". Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
called it "Loving prequel to a horror classic", saying "It's full of chills and thrills and isolated Antarctic atmosphere and terrific Hieronymus Bosch creature effects, and if it winks genially at the plot twists of Carpenter's film, it never feels even a little like some kind of inside joke." James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
gave it three stars out of four, saying that it "offers a similar overall experience" to the 1982 film "without replicating styles and situations". Other critics singled out Mary Elizabeth Winstead for praise in her performance as the lead, Dr. Kate Lloyd. "[Winstead] stands out with her portrayal of a paleontologist. She keeps a cool, logical head whilst others around her start to panic. It’s a refreshing change from your traditional horror film where the lead characters do moronic things as if to prolong the story" Matthew Toomey of The Film Pie wrote. Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weekly
Las Vegas Weekly
Las Vegas Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Henderson, Nevada, covering Las Vegas arts, entertainment, culture and news. Las Vegas Weekly is published by Greenspun Media Group. The paper was founded in 1992 by James Reza as a free monthly publication called Scope covering...
rated the film three out of five stars and wrote, "Winstead makes for an appealing protagonist, and Kate is portrayed as competent without being thrust into some unlikely action-hero role". .
Soundtrack
The music composed for the film by Marco Beltrami was released in October 11, 2011.Track listing
- "God's Country Music" (1:27)
- "Road to Antarctica" (2:41)
- "Into the Cave" (0:39)
- "Eye of the Survivor" (2:25)
- "Meet and Greet" (2:55)
- "Autopsy" (3:08)
- "Cellular Activity" (1:38)
- "Finding Filling" (3:25)
- "Well Done" (1:32)
- "Female Persuasion" (4:51)
- "Survivors" (3:28)
- "Open Your Mouth" (4:20)
- "Antarctic Standoff" (3:28)
- "Meating of the Minds" (4:28)
- "Sander Sucks at Hiding" (2:22)
- "Can't Stand the Heat" (2:10)
- "Following Sander's Lead" (2:39)
- "In the Ship" (2:39)
- "Sander Bucks" (0:45)
- "The End" (2:33)
- "How Did You Know?" (2:29)