The Thing (2011) (www.the-usher.com)

"It could be any of us"

When Dr. Sander Halvorson (Thomsen) recruits paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Winstead) to come to the Norwegian Antarctic Research base, she never expected to see what the team had discovered. After a fissure opened in the ice, the team came across something that had been there for a very long time, something not of this world but this was not what Dr. Halvorson wanted Kate to see, it was somthing that had escaped from it, something that defied any earth genome and could only be described as the Thing.

Hollywood is struggling for ideas when it comes to horror and science fiction but can the much talked about prequel to a classic of the Sci-Fi/horror genre buck that trend?

Tinsel town have been remaking films and retelling the same stories since its inception, wanting to cash in on an already built fan base but sometimes you can wait a little too long. After John Carpenter himself remade the 1951 B-Movie “The Thing From Another World” in 1982 and introduced to “The Thing”, the science fiction horror cult classic has been the fan favourite for almost thirty years but a sequel never arrived. For those wanting to see what happened to Kurt Russell’s bearded Antarctic hard man, MacReady after the end of the Carpenter classic will still be wondering what happened next because Matthijs van Heijninjen Jr.’s addition to “The Thing” is a cross between a remake and a prequel.

The 2011 version of “The Thing” tells the story of what happened before the start of John Carpenter’s tale. Set at the Norwegian Antarctic Base, which was investigated by MacReady and his team in the 1982 film, here we discover what they found in the block of ice and more about the spaceship that brought the Thing to Earth. The prequel revolves around Dr. Sander Halvorson, played by Urich Thomsen, who brings paleontologist Kate Lloyd, played by the talented Mary Elizabeth Winstead, to the Norwegian base to examine something they have found in the ice. What she discovers is something that they never expected and when Kate is shown where they found the creature, she is shocked to discover a flying saucer buried under over a millennia of snow and ice. When they bring the block of ice containing the creature back to the base, they discover that something my still be alive and can become anyone at the Norwegian base.

The problem with this prequel is that it is really just the first film retold, expanding and explaining what went on at the Norwegian base. Matthijs van Heijninjen Jr.’s version uses the same question that was utilised so chillingly by John Carpenter almost three decades earlier “Who is The Thing?” With the creature mimicking whoever it kills, anyone on the Antarctic base could have been replaced, so no one trust anyone. This is a premise that worked so effectively before and in this version it does create the required tension but it makes the film feel all the more familiar. While you will jump out of your skin while the plot twists and turns happen, you know what is coming with the creature is revealed. While this is fine in parts, Matthijs van Heijninjen Jr. and his creative team do not add any real originality to the story.

The 2011 version of “The Thing” provides many a science fiction scare for your buck but it is basically a revisit to the John Carpenter cult classic. Fans of the 1982 version could be disappointed but if this is your first visit to the Antarctic scares, it is still well worth a visit.

BLU-RAY & DVD CONTENTS / SPECIAL FEATURES
DVD

Feature
Deleted/Extended Scenes:
- 2 Phone Calls

It’s True, Come In
Over!
That’s Not Karl
Colin
Two-Heads
Start The Helicopter Now
The Thing Evolves
Fire & Ice

Feature Commentary with Director Matthijs Van Heijningen and Producer Eric Newman

Blu-ray, Disc 1

Feature (BD)
Bonus features as for DVD above plus:
U-control Picture in Picture
Pocket BLU

Blu-ray, Disc 2

Feature (Digital File Copy)

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2011