The Thing

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The Thing

R

2011

1h 43m

Horror

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

34%

Tomatometer

171 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

After Norwegian researchers discover an alien ship buried in the ice, paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins the team at the isolated Arctic outpost to investigate. She finds an organism that appears to have perished in the crash eons ago but, in fact, is about to awake. Freed from its icy prison, the insidious life-form goes on the attack. Paranoia spreads like wildfire among the crew as they fight to survive against a creature that assumes the shapes of its victims.

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Critics Consensus

It serves the bare serviceable minimum for a horror flick, but The Thing is all boo-scares and a slave to the far superior John Carpenter version.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

01/27/2012

2/4

It reduces things to nothing more than a highlight reel of terror, none of it particularly scary even if what is being presented is done so with a fair amount of skill.

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

12/02/2011

2/5

This isn't the real Thing; keep it at bay.

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Phelim O'Neill

Guardian

12/01/2011

2/5

Whatever good intentions were behind this prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 classic, the sloppy execution renders them moot.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 9

2/5

Not only were audiences confused over whether this was a prequel or a reboot, but the film itself also didn't seem to know whether it wanted to do its own thing or just recycle tried-and-true sequences that made Carpenter's film so original.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

04/27/2023

2/4

It’s actually a prequel to the 1982 movie, leading one to wonder why they didn’t more accurately name it The Thing: The Beginning, The Thing: The Early Days or even I Was a Teenage Thing.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/07/2023

2/4

Van Heijningen’s new film can’t decide if it wants to elaborate on Carpenter’s version or pay homage to it, and that indecision is where the fault lies.

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mean s

@MeanOne Jan 8

This is a well made film. I saw the original in 1982. This movie is a worthy prequal. Watch it.

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Jeff H

@JeffANH Dec 31

Brilliant prequel, ties everything up perfectly and leads you seamlessly into the original.

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Gregory S

@Gregory566 Nov 16

I enjoyed the movie, but no, not as good as the first. My primary issue was the CGI instead of practical effects, plus a couple of other things that I do not want to spoil. It is worth a watch though.

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Harry H.

@Movies10 Oct 20

You know what layoff I like this movie i dont perfur it over the 82 film but it was this 2011 film that lead me to the 82 film an eventually the 51 Howard Hawks film so I owe this film plus I would love to see that original "pilot" version of this film with the practical effects an the original ending RELEASE THE PILOT CUT!!!

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Michael P

Oct 7

What made the first movie charming was the obscurity and the gross practical effects. This was too clear, sane, and too precise for a movie that defies the characters realities and picks at their brain.

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Hughe J

@Hughe Sep 27

The Thing (2011) is a prequel to the 1982 classic movie of the same name directed by John Carpenter. During the first movie the research team stumbles upon a Norwegian outpost where the alien was first discovered and where it eventually came back to life. This movie covers those events and tells the story of the Norwegians and their fight against the alien who could transform itself into any creature it consumed. The Carpenter classic used excellent practical effects to portray gruesome killings while also providing an extremely tense and suspenseful film. Plus, as is usual with his movies, the musical score was incredible ( I still remember that theme). This version used terrible CGI instead of practical effects and the score was unremarkable. I will say that while the acting was decent for the most part, and the set pieces were generally good, overall the prequel paled in comparison to the original.

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Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

Director

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Dr. Kate Lloyd

Joel Edgerton

Carter

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Jameson

Trond Espen Seim

Edvard Wolner

Ulrich Thomsen

Dr. Sander Halvorson

The Thing: Official Clip - The Thing Reveals Itself

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The Thing: Official Clip - Everything's Fine

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The Thing: Official Clip - Juliette Transforms

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The Thing: Official Clip - Alien Autopsy

2:35

The Thing: Official Clip - Let's See Your Teeth

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The Thing: Official Clip - How I Knew You Were Human

2:15

The Thing: Official Clip - Kate Confronts the Thing

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The Thing: Official Clip - They Killed Lars!

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The Thing: Official Clip - Trapped in the Kitchen

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The Thing: Official Clip - We Find It, We Kill It

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Synopsis

After Norwegian researchers discover an alien ship buried in the ice, paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins the team at the isolated Arctic outpost to investigate. She finds an organism that appears to have perished in the crash eons ago but, in fact, is about to awake. Freed from its icy prison, the insidious life-form goes on the attack. Paranoia spreads like wildfire among the crew as they fight to survive against a creature that assumes the shapes of its victims.

Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Producer: Marc Abraham, Eric Newman
Screenwriter: Eric Heisserer
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Strike Entertainment
Rating: R (Gore|Disturbing Images|Language|Strong Creature Violence)
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.9M
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SRD, DTS

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