The Thing (2011 – Dvd Review)
Posted: Saturday, December 03, 2011
by MKDS
Storm Multi-Media Technologies Ltd
Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr.
Writers: Eric Heisserer & John W. Campbell Jr. (Short story “Who Goes There?”)
Cast:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead ... Kate Lloyd
Ulrich Thomsen ... Dr. Sander Halvorson
Eric Christian Olsen ... Adam Finch
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ... Jameson
Paul Braunstein ... Griggs
Trond Espen Seim ... Edvard Wolner
Kim Bubbs ... Juliette
Jørgen Langhelle ... Lars
Jan Gunnar Røise ... Olav
Stig Henrik Hoff ... Peder
Kristofer Hivju ... Jonas
Jo Adrian Haavind ... Henrik
Carsten Bjørnlund ... Karl
Jonathan Walker ... Colin (as Jonathan Lloyd Walker)
Plot: Antarctica: an extraordinary continent of awesome beauty. It is also home to an isolated outpost where a discovery full of scientific possibility becomes a mission of survival when an alien is unearthed by a crew of international scientists. The shape-shifting creature, accidentally unleashed at this marooned colony, has the ability to turn itself into a perfect replica of any living being. It can look just like you or me, but inside, it remains inhuman. In the thriller The Thing, paranoia spreads like an epidemic among a group of researchers as they're infected, one by one, by a mystery from another planet. Palaeontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has travelled to the desolate region for the expedition of her lifetime. Joining a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extra-terrestrial ship buried in the ice, she discovers an organism that seems to have died in the crash eons ago. But it is about to wake up. When a simple experiment frees the alien from its frozen prison, Kate must join the crew's pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. And in this vast, intense land, a parasite that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish. The Thing serves as a prelude to John Carpenter's classic 1982 film of the same name. Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen, the thriller is produced by Strike Entertainment's Marc Abraham and Eric Newman (Dawn of the Dead). Written by Universal Pictures
Review: Far be it to over-shadow John Carpenter’s great classic vision of “The Thing” back in 1982, and, without pondering on his timeless piece I will say this: “The Thing” in the 2011 concept appears to be the original foreseen film that John tried to capture in his version, but never did quite get the mechanics right. Matthijs van Heijningen, however, his vision and clear filming of all the right elements which are found in this (Remake, if I am allowed to call it that) cover all the bases (excuse the pun), and make way for one of the best Sci-Fi/Horror movies so far this year.
From the outset of the film, which some people who hate subtitles may find some what annoying, the sudden jolt of surprise will without a doubt awaken anyone who starts to think that this film is going to be a “Slow Starter”. As soon as the first ten minutes pass you by, it will be the beginning of what we can only describe as an awesomely gruesome thrill ride that will startle, scare, disgust, shock and even have your thoughts working overtime on the “Who the hell could it be” factor.
The storyline is mediocre, with no real surprises as to the casting of characters or the actors themselves. The locations are minimal, confined at times and the incidental music is somehow kept to a defined timeline. What does all this mean? Well, to coin a phrase: “Pop up and scare the bejesus out of you” would be one definition, while characteristically speaking along the same lines as “The Exorcist” would be a hell-note to take on board when you watch this film. It pulls all the right punches at the right moments in time to coincide with the Gore-Horror that it holds.
What was noticed with “The Thing,” was that the UFO scenes felt almost the same, if not exactly symmetrical to “The X-Files Movie”, where Scully and Mulder discover an alien space craft in the ice, too. The similarities stop there when finally the scenes swap and change to the main characters and we are again taken on a wild ride of horror.
All in all, we thought that sitting down to the 103 minute feature was well worth the time and the effort in the guessing game of “Who was the ghoulish alien and who was a real human.” All the way till the end this movie is gripping, filled with suspense and definitely worth the viewing on DVD and, when available, the Blu-Ray, too, which promises to have the “Director’s Extended Cut” as part of the purchase. If the chance for seeing this film at the cinema was on offer then we would highly recommend this to anyone, especially as the atmosphere would be totally different to that of Home Viewing with less places to hide.
DVD Archive Rating: 9/10
Additional Information:
Rated: 15 (UK) Rated R for strong creature violence and gore, disturbing images, and language
Genres: Horror/Mystery/Sci-Fi/Thriller
Official Website: THE THING (With International Trailer)
Budget: $35,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend: $8,493,665 (USA) (16 October 2011) (2996 Screens)
Gross: $16,907,450 (USA) (13 November 2011)
Runtime: 103 minutes
Coincidentally: There are a few short scenes during the first part of the end credits, which tie the ending of this film to the beginning of the 1982 film
© Marcus De Storm 2011
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