The Thing, John Carpenter's 1982 now showing

I really love the original The Thing From Another World 1951, but John Carpenter's remake has really grown on me over the years, the feel and mood of it is really great, it captures the same odd, scary, creepy, essence the original had.

The Thing, John Carpenter's 1982




The Thing From Another World 1951






Anyone have a preference here?

 

Both films co-exist to me, both have their own styles and both have merit. Good example of a remake that doesn't insult the original film, doesn't suck, and holds up on its own. The original is still valid to me, and still holds up to me.

 

John Carpenter was in the midst of a purple patch with Halloween, Escape From New York, The Thing and Starman. The Thing remains Carpenter's masterpiece IMO with its tense, absorbing story-line, great makeup effects and bleak ending. And it had that classic line, You've got to be f----ing kidding.

 

My all-time unbeatable classic favorite

 

I'm only aware of John Carpenter's remake which I hold in high enough esteem to include in my permanent movie archive - so thumbs up!

 

I'm not normally a fan of gore or the nasty stuff but this movie just works for me. It's the perfect blend of blood and psychological horror. The remake of this remake wasn't that bad but couldn't hold a candle (flame thrower?) to this version.

 

One of my favorite movies - and pretty much the best ‘ship in a bottle’ I’ve ever seen.

I recently picked up the Blu-ray with special features and am looking forward to learning more about a movie I know VERY well.

I saw the remake first and went back to watch the original, which is also a good little flick.

Let’s not mention the modern prequel/mess however, that was a real bummer.

 

The "remake of the remake" had its moments. A solid miss IMO. Too much CGI overlaid over physical effects.

 

Love both. Saw the remake first when it came out which really gave me an appreciation for Kurt Russell's acting.
He's been in a lot of what I consider classics.
Great under rated actor with a great range.

The original has a great 50's feel to it but it really was ground breaking for the genre with Howard's Hawks overlapping dialog and adult level POV.
The electric blanket scenario is a bit hard to over look but they had to thaw the carrot man out somehow.

 

good choice! love all 3! yea, even the recent prequel...

 

LOL...they would have USED more CGI if it was "better" back then and as fabulous as it is now in Carpenters 1980's version...I disagree...the prequel was super!

 

Kurt Russell+

 

It's actually a prequel to Carpenter's version

 

Carpenter's Thing blew my mind then, and still does.

 

see the prequel it's great! a perfect intro to Carpenters version...

 

Both the original and Carpenter's remake are great. Not sure about the recent reboot, though.

One small observation. In the original, there is a bizarre sexual bondage scene when Kerrington's secretary 'Nikki' Nicholson (Margaret Sheridan) ties up the Captain Pat Hendry (Ken Tobey). It is totally unexpected, and does nothing to advance the plot. It is really odd.

 

Love Carpenter's film, though when I last rewatched it I was surprised by how gruesome a few of the moments are.

Not quite as good as "Escape from New York" though, one of my all-time action favorites.

 

seriously??

"'hey, aren't you Snake Plisskin?" got kinda dry after a while entertaining flick, but I much prefer Mad Max

Carpenter's The Thing is a brilliant movie IMO

 

Very good film, but I would've preferred a more definitive ending rather than leaving everything kind of hanging. I've always believed that was one of the reasons the film was a bomb back in 1982, despite being a very well-made, interesting film.

 

Vidiot,
Gotta disagree a bit on the ending.
When I first saw it, I was bummed on the ending.
You want those 2 guys to survive.
After subsequent viewings, BTW I still have & watch the HD-DVD, I really like it.
Men are confronted by an unknowable alien and one by one we see what they're made of.
Some are hapless, clueless, wrong time and place, but enough of them make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of battling a powerful foe.
This theme\concept deserves a sequel.
I've never read Who Goes There but I should.
Many of the fundamental themes raised by the Sci-Fi fathers still resonate with me today.
Most dismiss Sci-Fi as mere fantasy & monsters but anyone who knows better realizes the rich depth of timeless ideas.

 

I love that ending. The filmmaker trusted the intelligence of the audience to draw their own conclusions and it's more powerful because of that.

It had the unfortunate timing to be released 2 weeks after E.T., America was into cute & friendly aliens that summer.

Note: I also love the original film, it's timeless. I often watch them back to back. Carpenter's film is closer to the original short story.

 

loved the ending on the prequel...perfect for Carpenter's Thing...only it should have been made years ago, although then we would not have the great CGI of today...

 

the original was intense when I was a youngster...but, Carpenter's freaked me out when I saw it at the movies!

 

it made me sick to my stomach back then...loved it!