The paleontologist Kate Lloyd part in Antarctica to join a team of Norwegian scientists has located an alien ship trapped in the ice. There, she discovers an organism that seems to be off at the time of the crash, many years ago. But a manipulation elemental accidentally releases the creature from its icy prison. Able to match the perfection of any living organism, it falls on the members of the expedition, killing one at a time. Kate meets american pilot Carter to attempt to put an end to the carnage. Within the confines of a continent that is as fascinating as hostile, the predator-protean came from another world tries to survive and thrive at the expense of human terror that it infects and grows to kill.
The Thing serves as a prelude to the cult film from 1982, directed by John Carpenter, which he takes back the title.Author’s Note
[rating:7/10]
• Release Date : October 12, 2011
• Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
• Film american, canadian
• With Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
• Duration : 1h43min
• Original title : The Thing
• Trailer :
Remake of the masterpiece of John Carpenter’s, The Thing new generation is none other than its prequel. Thus, the film of this director with the unpronounceable name (Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.) who signs here his very first film, focuses on the Norwegian team, team that we had between preview in the first few seconds of the film Carpenter. The least we can say is that this young director has not skimped on the means.
Of course we can reproach him for a near copy-paste with most of the sequences in the original or many of the loans to Alien, particularly during the final drop down into the vessel of extra-terrestrial sequence (which would have also deserved to be cut), The Thing 2011 version remains a very good horror film-horror, which is reminiscent of the video game Dead Space from time to time. The scenes of gore strung together, the tension is palpable in every corner, the actors are convincing, even if they would have deserved a little more in depth, and the movements of the alien are very well rendered (to understand, disgusting).
Only downside in my eyes, the snow seems here to have no interest. In The Thing of the first name, the fact that the action takes place in Antarctica had a very great importance. A lot of the scenes took place outdoors and it is here that the tension was at its peak with this sense of invisibility mixed with a numbing cold. In this new version, the developer seems to have ignored this concept because many of the sequences taking place outside and have in reality very little of interest that will be as well at the level of the suspense that this feeling of isolation standing leading logically to a tragic fate for each of the scientists present. It is this fatality, with a large part of the charm of the first The Thing, which is not palpable here.
A promising future in the genre for this film by Dutch director who was able to make the sequel a horror film mythical years 80 without altering the original work.
Nevertheless, the film by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. none the less a very nice exercise in style mastered just as it should be, because it must be recognized that, with a project of the case-mouth and difficult to treat than the latter (there should be some “corones” to pass behind the Carpenter of the good old days !) it was feared a much worse outcome than this one. In this sense, and not to mention the fact that this is his very first film, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. by not too badly. The Thing 2011, a small victory that makes us hope for a promising future in the genre for this film by Dutch director who was able to make the sequel a horror film mythical years 80 without altering the original work, nor shame him. And it is already that.