‘The Thing’ is both a prequel and remake

The original The Thing (I’m talking about the one from 1951) is a classic horror/sci-fi flick that earns its spot in cinematic history. James Arness still creeps audiences out as the big-headed alien with nefariousness in his eyes.

John Carpenter’s The Thing, from 1982, is equally impressive. Using the bare bones of the original film’s plot, the remake features a bearded Kurt Russell fighting off a replicating species that could take the form of anything (or anyone) that comes in its way. Carpenter’s horror tale features arguably the best non-CGI special effects in the history of filmmaking. The gore is so extravagant and believable that even 30 years after its release The Thing continues to make the heart race and the stomach turn.

Now comes the third film in the franchise. It’s billed as a prequel to Carpenter’s movie, but oddly it’s also called The Thing. Thankfully, this 2011 update is still a solid horror movie. It breaks some rules and has a few corny moments, bu it mostly delivers on its promise.

This time around we follow the adventures of Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and a team of Norwegian researchers in Antarctica. For those fans who’ve sat through Carpenter’s film, the plot should be fairly familiar. An alien life form has been found buried in the ice. Doctor Sander Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen) has big plans to showcase the finding to the scientific community and become the famous man who found extra-terrestrial life.

The alien has another plan. Following the plot of many a horror/adventure film (King Kong comes to mind), the creature comes alive and begins to wreak havoc on Kate, Sander and the crew. What makes The Thing’s alien different than most E.T.’s is that it can replicate people and give the impression that it’s human (or canine). This leads to many fantastical scenes where an alien rips through a human body to escape its disguise and go find another worthy vessel.

The movie is mostly based on how well its special effects come across. With Carpenter’s version being next to godly, this 2011 update had a tremendous obstacle to overcome. Choosing to use CGI, which the original did not, the alien in the new film still looks beyond cool. When replication takes place, body parts become fused together and DNA is spilled all over the place. The resulting half-man-half-alien concoctions are eerily effective monsters. It’s almost as if the audience is watching a warped Frankenstein experiment come to life.

The characters in all three versions of The Thing are secondary to the plot, the alien and the scare factor. I could care less about Kate, Sander and their Norwegian cohorts. They all serve as extra meat for the creature from the ice.

Many will ask why a prequel is needed to such a great 1982 horror film. I would say two things: One could ask the same thing of Carpenter’s version compared to the original 1951 film, and also this 2011 update is not really a prequel. Yes, it sets up the events and occurrences of Carpenter’s film (and actually, it does an extremely good job of setting everything up), but the movie plays more like a remake than anything else. Kate and company go through virtually the same routines as Kurt Russell’s character and the team from the 1980s flick.

If there was some differentiation in the plotting, I would herald the 2011 film, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., as another modern horror classic. But because it’s all be done before, this Thing is held back from perfection. Still, it’s a wild ride into the gory craziness of our DNA.

• The Thing

• 2011

• Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

• Written by Eric Heisserer; based on the short story by John W. Campbell Jr.

• Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton and Ulrich Thomsen

• Running time: 103 minutes

• Rated R for strong creature violence and gore, disturbing images and language

• Rating: