Sharkbait Writes

Another 80s remake?

Horror has always been my favorite genre and last year when I read that The Thing was in the works for a 2011 release I surprisingly had mixed feelings, because I absolutely loved the 1982 cult classic with the same title. Considering I am a child of the 80s, my first reaction was, “Oh, great! Another remake of an 80s movie.” With all the remakes of 80s movies, I found myself rolling my eyes and wondering if I would actually give in and see this one in the movie theater. Maybe the fact that I’m now in my mid-30s and movies I watched as a kid are now getting labeled as “classics” (and getting remade or “re-imagined”) is starting to make me feel old. Damn it! I don’t want to grow up! I’m a Toys ‘R Us kid!

A great prequel to a cult classic.

As more information was released about the movie, I began to realize that the 2011 version of The Thing is not a remake at all, or even a sequel. It is in fact a prequel to the 1982 film. So, don’t let the title deceive you. I absolutely loved John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), which was based on the 1951 Howard Hawks-Christian Nyby film titled The Thing From Another World. If you loved The Thing (1982), then I believe you will enjoy The Thing (2011) which has the same creepy feel, gore, suspense, and intensity as Carpenter’s film.

The great thing (no pun intended) about the fact that this movie is not a remake of the 80s cult classic is that you don’t have to watch the 1982 version first to follow the plot. The movie follows that same plot as Carpenter’s version in its own unique way and therefore makes for a great experience whether you are familiar with the story or not. In fact, if you haven’t seen John Carpenter’s film, I highly recommend watching the two movies in the order that the story is told (2011 version and then 1982 version). It will make a great double-feature, providing you enjoy the story itself. If you are a horror buff and likely have already seen Carpenter’s film, then you’ll enjoy how The Thing (2011) fills in the gaps and answers some questions left from the 1982 version, such as why the Norwegians were shooting at the dog in the beginning of Carpenter’s film. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say that the creators of The Thing (2011) did an excellent job of paying attention to detail and tying the two films together. After watching this movie in the theater, you’ll more than likely want to dust off that old DVD (or VHS tape; Remember those?) and watch John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) again. I certainly did.

CGI Special Effects

Some may argue that the use of CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) was overused in the movie, but I personally think that the CGI added to the experience because it was done so well. However, I completely understand how hardcore horror fans prefer to see these types of films made the old-school way with puppetry and makeup (and it was used in some scenes), something that takes a special talent which I appreciate and admire. With that said I must stress that the use of CGI was done so well in this movie that you more than likely will not be thinking about the CGI when “the thing” is revealed on screen. This is not a low-budget horror flick and the quality of the CGI brings “the thing” to life on screen. This movie was well worth the price of admission.

My Rating

By now you probably have an idea that I would highly recommend watching The Thing in the movie theater if you are a fan of the horror genre. It may not make you jump out of your seat and spill popcorn all over the floor, but it will keep you in suspense and guessing, “Who’s the thing?” That’s part of the fun with this movie. And if you like gore, there’s plenty of that, too!

So, with all of that said, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank The Thing with a strong 8.

So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to your favorite theater and go watch The Thing, but keep a watchful eye on your peers, though. They may not be who you think they are!

If you have seen The Thing in the theater already, I’d love to hear your opinion of the movie by commenting on this article.

For more information about The Thing, visit the official site by clicking HERE.

Promo poster image source: Wikipedia

Meeting one of the actors from “The Thing” on Twitter

Last month I met a guy named “Triple A” on Twitter when he stumbled across my account and decided to follow me. The first thing I noticed was that he had a verified Twitter account and that he looked very familiar. It was after reading his profile and clicking on his IMDB link that I realized who he was (and was reminded about the upcoming movie The Thing). @TheOneTripleA is Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (“Triple A” for short) which you may recognize as Mr. Eko from the television series Lost and movies such as The Mummy Returns (Lock-Nah), Congo, and The Bourne Identity (Wombosi). I have to admit that it has been very cool to communicate with a Hollywood actor on Twitter, and he initiated the contact. Since he was kind enough to follow me and take time to chat briefly with me a couple of times, I felt it proper to give him a shout out on my site when writing this review.

Be sure to check out the official site for more info about Mr. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje “Triple A” and follow him on Twitter @TheOneTripleA. He’s a very down-to-earth kind of guy and does occasionally take the time to tweet with his fans.