Christina Critiques - THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) and THE THING (1982)

Let’s start with THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951). We start this movie in Anchorage, AK (I can’t get away from that damn place even in movies) at an Officer’s Club where we meet two main characters - Captain Hendry and Scotty, a news reporter. Captain Hendry and his crew (including Scotty) are tasked with investigating an “unusual” airplane had crashed in their area. The original group meets up with the research team already at the crash site. And thus begins a bunch of shenanigans.

I was worried going into the original that it would be a huge let down because John Carpenter’s THE THING is so classic. Friends, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Even in black and white, the writing is witty while at the same time unnerving at times. The sense of dread and the way Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks directed it sets this movie in its own. Interestingly, the kills are off scene which leads to a bigger feeling of dread because our minds will conjure the worst.

The alien is silly by today’s effects but it’s not really about the alien, it’s more in house that is the concern. There are a loooooot of characters so it’s easy to get a bit confused but I stuck with the main characters and the rest were possible fodder.

I absolutely recommend this version - not just because it’s the catalyst to one of the greatest horror films produced but because it’s hilarious as well as creepy. I hadn’t laughed that hard at a movie in a while.

THE THING (1982)

Kurt Russell. End of review. I’m kidding of course but I could stop there and it would be a complete review, right?

The remake starts out much different as we are thrown the middle of a helicopter trying to kill a dog. Why? Who knows yet. But hang on to your butts because it’s about to get bloody. The group in the outpost with MacCready and gang welcome the dog with open arms (or doors in this case) and the amount of mistrust that ensues is literally perfect.

The ability to make even the viewer question who is the thing is where Carpenter excelled. Absolutely the special effects and sound effects are some of the most repulsive I have seen/heard (the spider man will forever haunt me) but the sense of unease and questioning who, if anyone, can be trusted makes the gore hit even harder.

Honestly, there isn’t much I can say about this movie that hasn’t already been reviewed to death. So I will say this - watch it if you haven’t already or rewatch it if you have.

BEFORE I GO:

A little trivia for those who may not know - both of these movies are based off of a novella, WHO GOES THERE?, by John W. Campbell Jr. that was written in 1938! (The review of the novella will follow soon with EXIT 8 and STARSHIP TROOPERS).