Review of The Thing from Another World (1951) by Brian S — 29 Sep 2014
Obviously John Carpenters 1982 remake gets most of the headlines but the 1951 original is a pretty good monster movie on its own merits and it has the touch of master filmmaker Howard Hawks all over it.
Captain Patrick Hendy is assigned to uncover more about the mysterious object which has crash landed near a remote Artic outpost.
The team based at the outpost bodge the release of the ship but uncover an alien being who when thawed out becomes very very angry indeed.
Unlike Carpenters and Rob Bottins amazing monsters the less you see here the more entertaining the film is thanks to some sharp dialogue and Hendry's conflicts with Professor Carrington who seems to think you can reason with a rampaging vegetable man.
The tension is kept high thanks to some simple plot devices and the final denouement is a cracking example of how to end a film of a 50s communist paranoia high.
So while Carpenters film is the masterpiece of modern horror this film too has loads to recommend it.
This review of The Thing from Another World (1951) was written by Brian S on 29 Sep 2014.
The Thing from Another World has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
