Imagine a movie that makes you question the humanity of every person in it, even its protagonist. Not their morality, but whether or not they’re actually human! Imagine being put into the place of someone who isn’t even fully sure if they’re human, let alone the people around them. This is the plot of the 1982 film “The Thing.” I dare you to try to figure out who’s human in that movie, you won’t. The movie makes you question each individual in it. No person is safe. Each adaptation of this movie puts you into the positions of characters unable to rest and incapable of telling who’s real. They’re all tense movies (and a novella) that keep you questioning until the very end (and for some, even beyond). I hope that one of these reviews will inspire you to pick up and watch (or read) one of these movies (or novella).
“Who Goes There” is the novella that (loosely) inspired the 1951 movie “The Thing from Another World” and “The Thing.” The novella was published in 1938 and follows a large crew of 37 people in an American Antarctic research base isolated from the rest of the world by a swarm of blizzards during the winter months. The characters are much less in depth in the novella than in its later adaptations. The book focuses much more on the general feelings of paranoia and restlessness the characters in the camp feel toward the situation they’re in rather than going in depth with the personalities or feelings of any individual in the camp. It also shares some of the themes of the 50’s movie it inspired. It deals with the dilemma of scientific discovery in the face of what could be found out in the universe. I think this book is a solid read and it could easily be finished in one sitting.
The 1951 movie is very different from the novella that inspired it. The crew of an Antarctic research station struggles to defeat a monster discovered in the ice. Half of the group attempts to communicate with it and learn from it while the other half tries their best to kill it. The monster in this movie is very different from the alien in the other two movies. It is a nearly indestructible monster that rampages throughout the research camp searching for the human crew relentlessly. It’s a heavy inspiration for many slasher films after its creation (being cited as an inspiration for “Halloween” which has the same director as the 80’s “The Thing”) and it’s a fun watch. I’d say it holds up.
The 2011 movie “The Thing” is essentially a reboot of the 1982 film as it follows many of the same plot beats as the original. It’s framed as a prequel to the original movie following the fate of a Norwegian crew found early in the original movie. It uses CGI instead of practical effects making it age much more poorly than its predecessor, “The Thing.” The Thing in this movie is much more aggressive and impatient than in the 1982 version. It reveals itself often and at nearly any chance it gets, even the smallest advantage or suprise over the Norwegian crew provokes it. This makes finding the monster in this movie less urgent than being prepared for when it would reveal itself. The ending of this movie is fast pace and watching alongside the 1982 version gives it a tense opening. I would recommend watching this movie before the 80’s version if you could.
The 1982 version of “The Thing” is arguably the best of each of these adaptations. The movie places you into the shoes of its characters perfectly by giving you next to no information about who to place your suspicions on. The characters in this movie are thrown into the middle of the aftermath of the 2011 film, being forced to find out who and what The Thing is without any prior planning or information. The characters in the movie act rationally and keep as much of an upper-hand against the alien as they can get, making few mistakes throughout the course of the movie. The ending of this movie is bleak and leaves much to the viewers imagination, which cannot be said for the 50’s movie or the novella. I cannot stress how well this movie puts you into the place of the characters in it. It keeps every last bit of tension up until the end, lingering with a viewer even after its end.
Again, I hope this has persuaded you to pick up at least one of these movies or the novella. They are each incredible pieces of media that deserve a lot of praise.
