John Carpenter Archives - Movie SmackdownÂ®

The Thing (2011) -vs- The Thing (1982)

October 13, 2011 The FilmGuru 17

Hollywood has long been recreating and remaking stories. Even so, itâ€™s no secret that the studios have gone into overdrive lately. Now John Carpenterâ€™s cult classic horror movie, The Thing, has been remade as a prequel.

At first glance, everything about this new adaptation screams rip-off. Naturally, the setting and the time period had to remain the same. The cast have changed, but the characters are often alarmingly similar. Even the marketing for the film uses similar imagery and title treatments.

And they didnâ€™t even have the decency to change the title. […]

THE THING: Back Again After Being Back Again the First Time

October 9, 2011 Movie Smackdown 0

Despite the fact that people from around the world go to Antarctica in the spirit of friendship and scientific cooperation (more or less), in the movies it is usually a setting for Something Bad That Is About to Happen.

The Thing has been made before. In the first go-round, it was The Thing from Another World in 1951. Three decades later, 1982, it was just The Thing and in the hands of John Carpenter. Now, another three decades later, 2011, it’s still The Thing, only constructed now to serve as a prelude and not a remake of Carpenter’s classic version. […]