“The Thing” is a prequel to John Carpenter’s “The Thing” from 1982, which is itself based on 1952’s classic B-movie “The Thing From Another World”. Both Carpenter’s “Thing” and the vintage “Thing” are beloved by classic movie fans and sci-fi/horror fans alike. Will the new “Thing” compare to any of those? Not in the slightest, if we’re going by Rotten Tomatoes.
The critics were brutal with this film, giving it a 33% rotten rating. The audience gave it a much higher score–59%–but still thought it was too rotten to recommend. Let’s see what the critics had to say about this film.
“‘The Thing’, while technically a prequel to ‘The Thing’–it ends with the events that lead to it–is clearly a remake…[I]s this ‘The Thing’ any good? And the answer is eh, not really. There are no scares in it, which is a serious drawback for a movie that’s supposed to be scary. None of the characters matter to us, so we aren’t terribly concerned over questions of who will survive and who’s already been infected by the alien.”–Eric D. Snider, Film.com
“John Carpenter should approve of this reasonably respectful and tough-minded prequel to his 1982 ‘The Thing.’ [T]he new ‘Thing’ lacks much wit or self-awareness. It’s more of a ‘final girl’ formula film, but on ice.”–Brian Miller, Village Voice
“The latest adaptation of ‘The Thing’ has its share of good scares and decent-enough performances–but the film spazzes out toward the end, resulting in an admirable yet disposable experience.”–Bob Grimm, Tuscon Weekly
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