Movie review of The Thing, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton
Finally, here it is: the prequel to John Carpenter’s cult-classic 1982 horror film, the identically titled THE THING. The new one doesn’t quite match up in quality, and its marketing materials’ giveaway of so many adrenaline-pumping surprises doesn’t help matters (so don’t watch them beforehand). But it does cleverly and methodically set the stage for the Carpenter film, itself a remake of 1951’s THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, based on John W. Campbell Jr.’s 1938 novella, Who Goes There?
In the ‘82 film, an American team at one point explores the burned-out wreckage of a Norwegian camp -- this prequel tells the Norwegians’ story, including their helicopter chase of the alien (in wolf form) to the American outpost, the iconic beginning of Carpenter’s film. In Dutch director Matthijs van Heijningen’s feature film debut, the Norwegians track down an ominous radio signal in the wilds of Antarctica -- until their vehicle crashes through the ice and lodges in a crevasse, the headlights illuminating a spacecraft below.
Enter young paleontologist Kate Lloyd(Mary Elizabeth Winstead, listening to Huey Lewis in the one sign that this is the 80’s). The Norwegians recruit Kate to help extract the craft’s survivor buried in the ice just meters away, its talons visible beneath the surface.
They haul it back to camp, where cocky lead scientist Dr. Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen) drills through the ice it’s encased in for a tissue sample. Which is a bad move – the resulting cracks and building’s higher temperature enable the beast to break free and begin to stalk, absorb and then replicate the camp’s international denizens one by one. And so the team of Norwegian, American, French and British scientists and their helpers face the nerve-wracking task of rooting out and destroying the alien within their own ranks.
The two films are expected to resemble each another in certain respects. The layout of the arctic outposts and the tools used (flares, rope lines), for instance. Due to the same storm plaguing both camps, it’s expected they’ll each lack radio communications. Even the act of quarantining suspects, administering blood tests and dismantling vehicles to prevent their invader’s escape is believable. But face it, some repetitions are indicative of lazy writing: the same shot of scientists looking stunned and gathered around the burning remains of one of the monster’s first incarnations, for one. Blowtorches faltering at inopportune moments? The same red herrings? Come on.
Due to the advertising’s sizable snitches, I knew what the creature’s escape from the ice would look like, who the first two impersonated people would be and some key components of the ending, among other details. Thumbs down. But the attack scenes still remained frightening and boasted convincingly gruesome effects: human flesh ripping apart, faces distorting or splitting open, tentacles or segmented legs bursting from people’s torsos. (So kudos for that.)
Since this film’s decidedly more insectile version of the monster can’t replicate non-organic items – earrings, metal pins for broken bones -- the survivors wisely use dental fillings to confirm at least some of those in the clear. “So I’m gonna get killed because I floss?!” one guy complains, understandably. Porcelain fillings also hamper their efforts.
And whereas in Carpenter’s film, copied human features dissolve when the monster reveals itself, this alien maintains some of its (simulated) humanity: its victim’s face or limbs often remain intact and whip around wildly as the creature explodes from the rest of that replicated person’s body, in a truly bizarre and chaotic display.
But the CGI has its flaws. The four-legged spider/dog shape the creature assumes at one point looks obvious in its computer-tailoring, compared to the ‘82 film’s complete reliance on more visceral and textured prosthetics, animatronics and puppetry, groundbreaking effects which continue to hold up today. (The alien cells under a microscope don’t convince either – CONTAGION is the only recent film I recall where CGI cells appear genuine.)
Perhaps my biggest beef with the new film’s approach to the creature, however, is its smaller proportion of behind-the-scenes abductions, which delivered a sizable chunk of the suspense and entertainment in Carpenter’s iteration. It’s that constant source of mystery and disorientation that drives viewers’ imaginations wild with guesswork over the culprits and allows us to relate to the characters. (Perhaps the Thing learned the advantages of subtlety after its misadventures in the Norwegian camp.)
The film’s first half traffics more in paranoia and psychological suspense; the second’s a more traditional monster chase and shoot ‘em up. In the first half, a sense of dread pervades our look at the ship (also briefly shown in ’82) underground, the creature’s transportation to camp and stillness under the drill and Kate’s attempts to wave down a helicopter after finding blood splatters in the bathroom. Marco Beltrami’s effective score helps tremendously, even incorporating some of Ennio Morricone’s original score and his wonderfully ominous heartbeat refrain,bum-bum… The semi-formed man found in one of the creature’s many corpses (it splits into multiple organisms) and its human-sounding screams are scary. The climax (which is not at the end), however, is positively explosive. In one terrifying moment, everything at the camp basically goes BATSHIT. Two gargantuan thumbs up for that particular piece of artistry.
We learn nothing of Kate -- her personality, background, quirks. She apparently has none. Her blank expression, whether pre-monster or post-, doesn’t help. So unlike Kurt Russell’s MacReady (from the sequel) or the ALIEN franchise’s Ripley, we have no compelling protagonist to guide us throughout. But this is only part of what makes Kate’s sudden, inexplicable transformation into a badass arctic warrior utterly perplexing. It also seems unlikely when she begins barking commands that she wouldn’t get at least some pushback from this bonded community of men (plus one more woman). Even Ripley faced friction and resentment, and she was a xenomorph expert.
Plus, Kate’s dialogue is awful. A (screamed) sampling: “Burn it!!” “Listen!!” “Come on!!” “Run!!” If I’d been one of these guys, I would have shoved her at the beast. She sucks.
The use of Norwegian actors contributes to the camp’s authenticity but, as with Kate, few of the supporting roles receive any actual character development. Carpenter’s film gives each person at least enough dialogue to give us a general impression of what they’re like – Palmer’s a weird stoner, Garry’s a sheriff with a cowboy complex, Norris is a sweet-natured, heavy-set guy. But some people here barely have a line, so beyond physical appearances they’re interchangeable. Halvorson’s the only one with any distinguishing traits, and he’s a caricature, the scientist hell-bent on profiting off his discovery.
Finally, a few common-sense questions (which may sound absurd given this is a shape-shifting alien in the Antarctic, but hey). If the creature can survive 100,000 years frozen, why risk storing its charred-but-still-intact remains indoors? How come no one ever asks, “How did it survive all this time?” (That would be a question on my mind, at least.) Wouldn’t someone freak out over the decision to dismantle the vehicles, their only way of escape? And why would you break up into teams of two -- instead of three -- when you know your partner could easily eat you if he’s the boogeyman?
So, fellow rabid ‘82 THE THING fans -- by all means, GO. If you’re anything like me, you’d see this even if it was in 100% Norwegian with NO subtitles (I know you…). Just have your expectations in check, okay?
As for everyone else, wait for On Demand.
The Thing Details:
Genre/s: Horror Sci-Fi Thriller
Release Date/s: 10/14/2011 (Showtimes & Tickets)
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Company: Strike Entertainment
Official Site: Official Site for The Thing
Alternate Titles: Нечто
CAST and CREW FOR The Thing
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Eric Christian Olsen, Ulrich Tomsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Directed By: Matthijs Van Heijningen
Written By: Eric Heisserer based on the short story by John W. Campbell Jr. "Who Goes There?")
Produced By: Eric Newman and Marc Abraham