Review of The Thing (2011) by Andrew H — 13 Jun 2013

My rating: Shaky B-, Cinema worthy for fans of the original, Blu-Ray worthy if purchased in a combo with the original.

Shortview: This film probably won't be winning any awards any time soon, but in and of itself isn't short of thrills or gore so those looking for these things shouldn't be disappointed. Not for the over-thinking or those looking for an uproariously horror-centric experience, but will satisfy as a good time otherwise.

Longview: I respect The Thing for paying almost to the detail homage to the original. This unfortunately is also where I find fault. For one, the movie isn't remotely scary which is tons less than I can say for the original. Of the entire film I jerked perhaps once. The original was something of a pioneer of its time for creepiness and that 'wet' wonderful creature fx that made you cringe, back then it was next gen. You can find, point for point the same things in this prequel that you have seen in the original. In that respect, it feels more like a Part 1 than a prequel. I can well appreciate all the tie-ins, what I can't appreciate is the repetitiveness that comes with them. I'm judging with slight bias though, and I imagine that folks who haven't seen original may look at this movie in a totally different way, for better or worse but at least devoid of all the contrasts and comparisons that I currently make. After all that's said and done, it should stand on it's own as it's own movie as well as serve up some answers to anyone asking questions after seeing the original. As someone who has seen the original, this movie feels like the natural Part 1 and there's nothing much different or extra otherwise. It's very much almost a rehash of the original The Thing, albeit starring different people.

In the end and in spite of my general tone in the review, I liked the movie very much for what it was but also didn't for what it wasn't. I'd definitely recommend it for folks who watched the original and liked or loved it.