Paleontologist
Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins a Norwegian scientific team
in Antarctica that has discovered an extraterrestrial ship buried in the
ice, and an organism that seems to have died in the crash. When an
experiment frees the alien, a shape-shifting creature with the ability
to turn itself into a perfect replica of any living being, Kate must
join the crew’s pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing
them off one at a time. Paranoia soon spreads like an epidemic as
they’re infected, one by one, and a thrilling race for survival begins… The Thing is a prelude to John Carpenter’s classic 1982 film of the same name.
Bonus Material:
- Deleted/Extended Scenes:
Two Phone Calls
It's True
Come In, Over!
That's Not Karl
Colin
Two-Heads
Start the Helicopter Now
- The Thing Evolves
- Fire and Ice
- Feature Commentary with Director Matthijs Van Heijningen and Producer Eric Newman
Rather than opting to remake a classic of yesteryear, the team behind 2011’s The Thing had other ideas. Appreciating that, in particular, John Carpenter’s exceptional 1982 horror film would still be lodged in people’s minds, the plan here was to avoid the idea of simply redoing it. Instead, for this new The Thing, the story has been set earlier, making it a prequel to the earlier film.
It’s completely standalone, too, joining a team stationed at an Antarctic outpost that soon unearths something really quite extraordinary. Turns out, given that this is a movie, it’s the kind of thing they soon wish they hadn’t uncovered, as they find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere, facing a very deadly foe. You can probably work out what that foe may be.
It all works a lot better than you may fear, too, perhaps over-relying on CG over practical effects, but still generating jumps and tension. The DVD presentation looks stunning at its best, too, with the barren, white landscape crisply presented.
The disc also boasts an interesting commentary, featuring director Matthijs van Heijningen, which dissects the film in an accessible manner. You sense that some sizeable stories have been left untold here, but it’s well worth a listen nonetheless. The other supplements are less bountiful, although they do at one stage dig into why the project was embarked upon in the first place.
After all, the truth is that this new film of The Thing is no much for John Carpenter’s earlier remake. But it’s still a carefully crafted, respectful and surprisingly appropriate prequel. --Jon Foster