The CineFiles: John Carpenter's The Thing Vs The Thing (2011)

A comparison between JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING and the recent THING prequel. Taken very seriously within a format ripped off from Charlie Rose.

[@uselessshitthatneedswatchi2699]

Anyone else catch that meaty fart at 6:01

[@krustylesponge6250]

yes

[@drumdude46]

@@krustylesponge6250 Damn! you picked up on something that 'lingered' for 4 years! i've met some intelligent people before....but YOU sir....are a 'fart-smeller!

[@markpaterson2053]

Carpenter's monster had CHARACTER; a kind of proxy dynamic made through the characters, whereas the prequel had characters you'd find in your box of cereal

[@Lecruidant]

Kind of a joke review... In the Prequel the monster is killing a lot, yes, but if you actually pay attention, it's not used to imitating yet. Remember, it hasn't been in contact with humans. When they find it it's in it's most primal form in the ice. Then it's brought up. Comes back and starts assimilating. By the end it's learning to blend more. Hence going into the SEQUEL which is the 82 techinically, it's learned to adapt more and be more stealthy to survive. It ALMOST gets away with it at the very end of the 2011. Then going into the next camp. It knows how to preserve more. It wasn't used to the dogs. So that was a mistake on its part. but then with the humans it's had time to adapt to clothing and trying to "Spread". Pretty obvious when you think of it that way

[@benpressly200]

Wesley Lecruidant bro... the thing is literally genetically programmed to be able to imitate, that's a bad excuse

[@cinefiles]

Many thanks. Hope to continue cranking out new episodes for a while.

[@tw19771]

12:48 FYI Stan Winston was brought in to work on the the thing dog kennel scene. Because Rob Bottin was really swamped with working on the film at that time, cool little fact.

[@general_iroh_]

well , i think the creature in the prequel is "a mindless killing monster" is because its still learning , the thing learns from its mistakes

[@CaminoAir]

I kind of agree with the original reviews in 1982. I think the admittedly amazing practical effects should have been used more sparingly until the end, because the climax is a bit of a let-down, compared to the blood test scene. I understand that McCready gets the idea for the blood test from the heart attack scene, but it's overkill to have those two scenes follow immediately after each other and it leaves very little left for the final confrontation in the generator room. We also don't get enough of the creepy/eerie scenes like McCready looking at his cabin and saying he left the lights off when he left (which is as unnerving as any explicit gore scene in the film for me), or the simple shot of Childs(?) leaving the station (as seen by Gary).

[@a7rivera1]

CGI wasn't that bad in my opinion, especially since it was only used for touch ups on the gore suits and what not. Plus I liked the idea that the Thing was a mindless killing machine in the prequel and became more sly in the 1982 movie because it learned from its experiences from the Norwegian outpost. It was its first encounter with humans and by the end of the prequel it realized the aggressive approach wouldn't work and became more resourceful against the Americans.

[@Palerider3621]

I like the idea from the Dark Horse comic books about McReady and Childs walking on the snow and, suddenly a Russian submarine breaks thru the ice. But I do not agree that the submarine would then travel to Tierra Fuego(tip of South America), and ultimately the Thing would make its way into the jungle. IMO, the sequel should be confined to Antarctica. Instead, a Thing sequel should attempt to recapture the atmosphere of paranoia and distrust that Carpenter portrayed in his movie. The sequel should could start with McReady & Childs walking on the snow. A Russian submarine breaks thru the ice. However, it is revealed that the Russians had to perform an emergency evacuation of the submarine due to a nuclear reactor failure, The crew de-board from the sub in order to avoid exposure to radiation. The nuclear reactor failure is quickly contained and it's determined there is no radiation, but the submarine still has other extensive mechanical failures and cannot depart immediately from Antarctica. The Russian crew starts its repairs & and the Russian captain permits Childs & McReady to board the sub. After this point, the movie starts to unravel with interesting events. It could begin with McReady highly suspecting Childs to be the Thing. A big argument ensues. There is a physical fight & McReady kills Childs. The Russian captain questions McReady & listens to his story about Outpost 31. The Russian captain becomes skeptical of McReady( perhaps even thinks McReady is crazy to tell such an outrageous story) and orders him to be locked up and confined. As more events unravel, the Russian captain realizes something is not right as slowly his crew are either taken out by the Thing(which could be McReady or Childs) or they are dying at the hands of each other due to paranoia and distrust. Meanwhile, the submarine is eventually repaired and the entire crew is ready to leave. However, the captain issues orders that the submarine cannot depart. This angers half the crew. Soon, the lines are drawn & the crew starts aligning themselves with those who wish to leave and those who are loyal to the captain. Needless to say, the smell of a mutiny is in the air. The captain also realizes that the Thing must never leave the sub. Therefore, the story becomes not only about a fight among the crew members, but a fight to stop the Thing from reaching the mainland.

[@TheThehitman63124]

The thing is that the all of the aliens on the 2011 are animatronic monsters the only issue is that they painted over them with cgi

[@NapalmPuppet]

100% agreed on the Prequels Crappy CGI, No paranoia, weak characters and stupid alien monster. One big fuck up you didn't mention though. In JC's Movie the team watch a video of the Norwegians planting Dynamite to blow up the Alien ship. But in the prequel that doesn't happen. It gets blown up in a completely different way. The movie is so obsessed with showing these continuity shots to connect it to JC's movie yet they get that entire part completely wrong!

[@BrettOwen71]

It was Ed Flanders in "The Ninth Configuration," not Richard Dysart. Although, interestingly, Richard Dysart was the coach in the original stage cast of "That Championship Season" written by Jason Miller, who was Father Karras in "The Exorcist" which was written by William Peter Blatty who also wrote...drumroll......."The Ninth Configuration!" Sadly all three of those actors are no longer with us. Dysart just passed away less than a year ago.

[@johnnyrekall6270]

Here's an interesting fact about the way to tell who is who if you are looking inside peoples mouths to see if they have porcelain teeth. What you do is get a UV light, you can tell if someone has real teeth or fake ones, the porcelain teeth will show dark when beside a standard healthy tooth which will show white in compared.

[@TheMajorBlazer]

Johnny Rekall accept uv light in 1982 probably wouldn't be available...

[@popey129]

The thing 2011 is getting better with age.

[@LordWyatt]

They actually made a decent film until the studio got involved and changed a TON of things. (CGI, Character buildup, cool story)

[@mikedavis979]

My two cents: Carpenter's film brilliantly captured the mystery and paranoia that the original novella conveyed. John W. Campbell's "Who Goes There?" (1938). Personally, I like "The Thing from Another World" as well. It has a plot device that is used to best effect in Alien and Aliens (they use a Geiger Counter to estimate how far away the Thing is...such a great way to build suspense). Worth checking out. Yes, its a guy in a suit, and the special effects can't hold a candle to Carpenter's, but judged on its own merit, it was a great film. But yeah, Carpenter's is one of my favorites of all time.

[@ThunderZandor]

Someone posted that the Thing can infect people with a drop of blood or a lick or a bite from the dog. OK, but that still doesn't explain why this intelligent thing would not lick or bite most of the Outpost 31 crew and in that way have an overwhelming advantage in killing off the uninfected remaining crew. I'm just trying to think like the Thing..lol. Maybe "it" was just playing with them killing each human one by one for it's own entertainment's sake. As for the blood being able to infect any human, some of the crew did touch it mainly the scientist but it seems the blood was frozen still. Although the scene where the "thing" is laid out on a table and you see smoke rising from it and some of the crew are smelling the thing and coughing, that right there should have been a red flag for possible contamination by all in that room. "Masks please!!", but no dice. The bloody thing should have been quarantined but not in a room where it was slightly warm or better yet just kept it "out" in ice until they could figure out just what the hell they were dealing with.

[@VincenzoC749]

Maybe the thing can only infect people with certain bloodtypes. Maybe some blood type/s are immune. That would explain the only-some-are-susceptible issue.

[@ThunderZandor]

That's a very good point, a possibility, i never thought of that. Blood types A,B,O and some rare types..!

[@Goremeister100]

Everbody thinks they could make a better movie but no one knows how much work is put into making a good movie. The prequel is a good film that offers more of the same which is what people want to see. These 3 dudes are annoying as hell.

[@TheSorrow696]

i belive mac to parker to go with windows to find fuchs ,and parker he didnt to go with him ,and then got into argument about it once again creating tension

[@nikolai9520]

The Thing as prisoner...dumb! That characterization would take away of the competitive nature with the Thing and humans. The Thing was pitted against MacReady who was a strategist. Both the Thing and the humans strive to survive. Introducing another lifeform would have to add an unnecessary background story, which can take away from what has already been developed in one film.

[@RobScotese]

This video would have been a lot better if the guy on the far right wasnt always interrupting everyone else with his thoughts ...

[@arlobrubaker]

Stan Winston did the transforming dog in the John Carpenter's "The Thing"

[@MariusRiley]

I heard the alien death roar when the girl torched the earring dude.

[@TheSorrow696]

@a7rivera1 for the most part both ,in the scene with pedar getting shot and his tank blowing up ,at that point in the film theres only one person infected , the splitface guy , go back look at the film ull notice how human he was acting , even going so far to asked them ,could he just check on his friend ,also noticed how his telling pedar to burn them over and over, creating tension ,like parker did to windows in the 82 version ,

[@TheThingLegacy]

There is so much info that you guys talk about that sadly never happened the guy on teh right talks about the pods at 7:15 that is spot on how it was going to look before Universal put their hand sin the cookiejar. The director MAtthijs did a fantastic job with the little he had to work with he is def a big fan and treated the material like a pro. Sadly Universal fucked it up they wanted a movire "scary" monster and went CGI which is why it was re-shot. So sad really i love the movie but itcould

[@shitcasecinema]

Interesting thoughts lads, nice video. Carpenter's The Thing is a classic.

[@Dragonfly6160]

One of the strengths of the 1982 Thing was the all-male cast. I love women, but adding a female character would have changed the entire dynamic of the film.

[@Dragonfly6160]

AIDS wasn't really an issue until a couple of years after Carpenter's The Thing was released.

[@EasyZee69]

Did you just make that up? Where did you hear that from? I have never heard John Carpenter say that.

[@paulaburrows8660]

Craig Zimmerman well, there was the female computer voice but, she didn't last long!

[@SpeedClaudeTheDeluxeVersion99]

The Primordial no,because the story the film based on had all male characters

[@M17-s7b]

Which makes sense because it was written in the 1930's

[@davidd2295]

Carpener's The Thing is the greatest horror film ever made

[@Arbeedubya]

It has a special significance for me since the subject is one of only two movie "monsters", if that's the appropriate term, that ever gave me nightmares (the other being Godzilla, and I was a kid then). It's the only movie I ever memorized every line of.

[@jonathanrayne]

Yep! The absolute best!

[@davelee3725]

That's hard to say because horror movies all have different jandras vampire zombie werewolf you could almost but the first thing as a thriller 😉

[@sirjaunty1]

The nosering. I thought I was the only one who noticed that. Outpost31 a very good fan site, did confirm to me back in 2003, that it was a fraternity thing. You can clearly see it in the blood bag scene where they are accusing each other for destroying them.

[@introgauge]

lol, why are you guys hanging out with each other? the dude in the hat was obviously presenting. but make sure to interrupt him every 3 seconds after he starts talking. Ever heard of depositing after agreeing? Your "friends" are extremely rude.

[@spencerglover1]

Introgauge .C haha its like they wait for him to start and give him zero chance of finishing sentence , you can here him frustrated, just cut him dead constantly

[@CrowaX]

All these years I've been thinking the same thing

[@luke.p1535]

Yeah check from 8:56 constant one sided interruptions

[@SugerRushStBenard]

I still have hope at somepoint John Carpenter will decide to make a sequel to this film The Thing ..he has to know how many of his fans both young and old still love/support this film would love see a sequel as well and a proper prequel

[@GamesWithBrainz]

I'm 99% sure that ain't happening. John hasnt made a movie in a long time he says he likes just chilling now adays and he's made like 1 sequel to a movie he's done

[@WalterLiddy]

I miss this show.

[@Brinz420]

agreed

[@CaminoAir]

Yup, the original Cinefiles line up (Edwin, Eric, Michael and Jeff) was one of the best review/discussion shows about cinema on KZbin.

[@christianjames9667]

The problem they ran into was that they simply didn't film enough content on frequent basis specifically for youtube. I remember I was subscribed years ago and it would sometimes be months without an upload and I just kinda forgot the show existed. I think they should've really prioritized making videos specifically for youtube instead of doing the cable access show or whatever they did and porting the footage to youtube.

[@CaminoAir]

Christian James The show is still being made. Eric Cohen has replaced Edwin Samuelson as anchorman and Mike and Jeff are still regulars. I can't remember which website they're hosted on (it might be Thisisinfamous, or it could have changed again), but if you look up Eric on Facebook I'm sure you'll get a like. I do miss Edwin a lot though.

[@christianjames9667]

Numinous20111 Yeah they still do the show, but it's not the same anymore. You can really tell Edwin was kinda the brains behind choosing the topics and setting everything up. They could've been way bigger, especially since they started at the beginning of KZbin, but I think they simply needed more guidance.

[@alexbiersner3350]

i need to get my hands on that four issued comic series, sounds badass

[@beerme2096]

It kinda sucks

[@SandmansHate]

I can't keep watching this train wreck of a discussion. You have one odd guy,sporting a train operators hat/lumberjack outfit.. Nasally voice,etc. Then these other two keep interrupting one another,every single time they speak.

[@tomada36]

Well said!

[@drumdude46]

3 'uber-nerds'...who keep having to prove..that, they know 'one more fact'..than the guy sitting next to 'em.

[@theScytheofGod]

My only point is: just like in Alien, there are 2 CREATURES. The first is the actual alien who flew the spacecraft, the 2nd is the Thing, which in essence, is a virus the 1st alien is infected with.

[@theScytheofGod]

***** Yeah, but now someone brought up the fact that (Wilfred Brimley) was building a spaceship underground in the movie, and how do I reconcile that? Perhaps, the Thing keeps the memories of any creature it already infected? IDK.

[@WalterLiddy]

Yes, that's the case. But because of that, you have to assume that the creature possesses a great deal of knowledge and intelligence. It's absolutely ruthless and violent when threatened, but that's a matter of survival. Part of what makes it so scary is that combination of sophistication and savagery. In the new version, it was more like just a rabid animal or something.

[@tomada36]

Plus, nobody knows what the Thing really looks like. We see what it is in this movie, but it could have imitated a million life forms throughout its existence, so its current form could merely be the most recent lifeform that it imitated.

[@ricktorca1]

It's likely a mutant virus that ate its way up the food chain. It probably has no real form but what it borrowed on it's way up the evolutionary ladder.

[@chauser400]

Chris Duncan it was actually a single-celled organism that takes over the cells of the creature that it is exposed to.

[@Silenthilllz]

Chris Duncan There's a movie also like that called Blood Glacier. Its not in English, but its a fantastic movie. A weird ending though, but really good.

[@jonathanrayne]

John Carpenter's use of foreshadowing works perfectly in The Thing. When the movie started, we learn that Macready loved to play chess and we see that he hates to lose, even destroying his own computer in a kamikaze move, which is mirrored excellently in his encounter with The Thing. The movie at it's core boiled down to a chess match between Macready and The Thing and when it seemed he might lose Macready's kamikaze nature to win at all costs comes once again to the forefront.

[@Cowslippoetry]

Good review. The John Carpenter film was about subtlety, the prequel was a borderline action flick. And I don't think there should have been any women in it, because one of them would simply be destined to survive or be a cliche heroine, which was the case. You kinda had a better idea of who might have been infected and who wasn't. In the 82 version I had no clue who was infected until they were exposed, and like these guys mentioned, I was so fond of every character and wanted them to outwit and win against the alien.

[@northmann1971]

The Thing 2011 is horrible film I didn't like it at all. John Carpenters The Thing is a masterpiece you guys are talking wonders about it more than 30 years later. Rob Bottin is a Mad genius!!! The characters in the film are endearing. Definitively there is no comparison between the 2 films.

[@1800astra]

Eric's idea should've been the film, that Russian Base side-quest/infection sounds much better than the ultimate fate of the identikit Norwegians at Thule. Nearly 10-years too late to comment!

[@ScottGibbs]

Apparently the original ending suggested that the alien spacecraft was basically invaded by the shapeshifting virus and that's what caused it to crash land on Earth. The creature killing the humans is NOT what was piloting the ship. But the almighty studio deemed it "too confusing." That ending and being allowed to keep the practical effects and I think we'd have a very different opinion of this movie.

[@stoneychannel]

At 6:14 Had to add my two cents here. Big fan of John Carpenter's The Thing and Thing From Another World. But since this is a prequel, you could argue that since this is the first interaction the creature has with humans, it will make mistakes and that by the time it entered MacReady's camp that it had learned that humans are very paranoid and to use that paranoia against them, hence, the more guarded stealth. Great show, you guys!

[@VincenzoC749]

Why is Conductor hat taking the lead hosting position on this review? He clearly is the least knowledgeable about contrasting both films for sure. Is that the thing, hate the host, like the disagreeing/clarifying co-hosts.

[@trivia83]

hawks, wilder, ford, hitchcock........ spielberg, scorsese, carpenter, eastwood,...... tarantino, nolan, fincher, ridley scott. who are the next generation guys??????

[@paulaburrows8660]

Part of some of the stuff the ass producers changed at the end featured another alien that was the pilot in the ship. It was covered up with the dumb big pixels effect. The pilot had collected specimens, including the Thing which escaped in the crash.

[@tiltedentertainment3]

My theory about why people say in the 2011 version, the creature was a mindless killing machine and in the original it was more sneaky; I believe that in the prequel when it's first thawed its a mindless killing machine and not concerned with being so disguised because on previous worlds and stuff "the thing" never encountered an intelligent and violent species as man and just acted by instinct and maybe thought humans would be easy prey. And even though it was burned at the end of the prequel the cells were still alive and maybe it kind of learned a lesson, because its an intelligent being; so it adapted its way of thinking and decided that being more covert is a better way.

[@tiltedentertainment3]

Darn I never actually thought of it that way. You have a good point.

[@GetInThaKitchen]

***** It could make sense either way. Let's not forget that intelligent beings have the propensity to make bad decisions. The Thing might be intelligent, but that doesn't exclude the possibility that it wasn't as careful as it should have been when it was first awoken.

[@alchemist889]

srty srtyy "Hahaha, these stupid organisms are still using fossil fuels, this will be easy- THESE FOSSIL FUELS BURN LIKE HELL!"

[@ebobminiatures298]

woah! wait a minute... Childs and MacReady cant be rescued by a submarine because they are in the ANTARCTIC - which is a solid land mass unlike the Arctic where could feasibly happen - and they couldnt have walked to coast because know that its a thousand miles to the coast (or at least a long way).

[@jamesdaman12345]

The cine files deserves a lot more views than it gets

[@MichaelLeroi]

Edwin, stop calling Carpenter's version the "original"

[@ThatKrautBurkhalter]

The 2011 film also left out a lot of the subtext, both on religion and McCarthyism, from the Carpenter film. You guys are right, the more recent film is just a mindless monster movie, whereas, Carpenter's film is a puzzle that no one, to this day, has been able to piece together, perfectly.

[@GetInThaKitchen]

It most certainly is not just a "mindless monster movie" Turn on the SyFy channel for comparison.

[@ThatKrautBurkhalter]

srty srtyy if that film didn't have the coattails of the Carpenter film to ride on, it would've been a SyFy channel monster movie.

[@Ubermentsh]

This is a simple one. One was a really good movie. And the other one.... 🤣

[@Killenberg]

The original was made in the 1950s. It was called The Thing From Another World.

[@morlockmeat]

Richard Dysart is not in the movie "Twinkle, Twinkle Killer Kane" (aka The Ninth Configuration). I think Michael Foltz is mixing Dysart up with Ed Flanders.

[@dinopots6282]

It's just a shame they plastered the 2011 version with cgi

[@SugerRushStBenard]

2011 prequel whatever looks so much better with practical effects, having the cast be unaware of what happened in John Carpenter's The Thing and the direction in writing even better as well plus the atmosphere needed Improvement

[@tillyedwards9850]

"Remember that when you look hard and long into the Abyss, the Abyss also looks into you" As a response to Judge rez, it's entirely possible that the thing had not encounted intelligent humanoids or at least, emotional humanoids before. It's host is clearly an influence on it, here and there, if not in form than at least in intelligence. There's nothing to say that when it eats something, and absorbs all those memories and skills, it has no way of defending its consciousness from in part, becoming that victim. In this way, there might have been times when the thing ate a particular creature or infected one and the host's mindset or will was so dominant in the thing's own will that it preferred to identify as the host instead. It's entirely possible the thing didn't want to part itself from Carter, it understood his motivations, it took perhaps some mis-guided liking for the human condition. After beating out the other alien, and with no ship to use, where could it have gone? Sure it could conquer the planet and eat everything, but what would it do after that? Be stuck on a rock out in space? Clearly, some ulterior motivation had replaced the survival narrative. These guys mentioned that the ship might have been a prison craft, sans wards or guards. Would it be fair to say, that the alien after learning enough, had decided it didn't need to go balls to the wall. It could take an extended, though perhaps bloody vacation here on earth. Or perhaps something about Kate had become likable, perhaps it's grown too accustomed to her voice and face, perhaps ever attatched to her emotionally? Who knows..

[@swanofnutella4734]

That dude on the right is really angry. XD

[@a7rivera1]

I'm still a little confused about the creature. Does it absorb its host's memories as well as its DNA and imitate them perfectly, or does it just hide inside the host's body while the host is unaware until the creature transforms them?

[@MatadorShifter]

The Thing 2011 was good for what it was. The biggest downside of it was that the studio forced the creators to apply CGI onto the meaty practical effects they had. On top of that, the studio changed the whole spaceship segment at the end of the movie. In the original version Kate finds the original pilot of the spaceship.

[@damienholland8103]

I can very quickly tell you why 2011 didn't live up to the first movie: Reliance on computer graphics. I know the film had practical effects but adding computer graphics to it ruined the sense of realism. Let's stop beating around the bush this is the reason why 80s and 90s horror films have classics and 2000s onward have hardly any horror films that will be long-lasting / classic.

[@VincenzoC749]

Prisoner transport is the easy way out. I think it would be a stronger backstory that the spaceship was the ship of a different alien race and "the thing" had taken control of the crew. The thing could have been bacteria found on an exploration mission by that race of aliens( the non-thing aliens) and it crashed on earth on it's way back to infect the advanced-race-alien's homeworld. That gives way to a Ridley Scott Alien type pre-prequel. About the advanced alien race of course.

[@killjeff2]

The original backstory - which the director developed for the film - conceived the Pilot as part of an advanced, space-faring alien race. Following the director’s concept, a scientific crew composed of members of this race collects and classifies various alien lifeforms from different planets across the infinity of the cosmos, storing them inside research pods. Unaware of the oncoming disaster, the crew of extraterrestrials accidentally find the Thing - disguised as another lifeform - which then proceeds to break free of containment, and assimilate both the alien researchers and the specimens they had collected. The last remaining crewmember, the Pilot, severs its own ‘breathing tube’, killing itself, and making the ship crash on purpose, with the intention of killing the Thing. The creature however survives, erupts from the craft and escapes - only to stop a few hundreds of meters away and freeze.

[@scrmepal]

It was sad that the original 'The Thing' was released a few weeks after that soppy block-buster ET film. I mean i liked ET, but have never watched it since........but i have watched 'The Thing' many times over the years. The new prequel film of 'The Thing' is actually pretty good, though i didn't understand it when they started speaking Norwegian.......:)

[@justgivemethetruth]

I still like the original movie, but the 2011 version is pretty good I have to admit. Carpenter's version I never liked and only kids or stunted adults get off that mess fest, and there was no plot, characters or even scenery. Ugh. But the 2011 was a better job, at least it had a point, and some women too.

[@ethansloan]

Thank you for the flashback to the james Bond episode. I would have had to watch the whole damn thing myself to find that clip.

[@jonathanmelia]

In the UK, the Carpenter THING was released before ET, which was delayed until Xmas 1982. It still tanked. Critics thought it corny, badly-written, and too close to ALIEN. It only stalled Carpenter's career briefly, as he quickly went on to make CHRISTINE, STARMAN and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA.

[@henriknystrom6553]

sequel in the jungle: Instant death of earth so won't work. If not entire continent gets nuked within 1 week. The movies isn't so good as a movie, however the things logic isn't that out of order. The thing has a lot of arsenal and when it takes over a human it finds out that we are weak as hell. We have no fangs, teeth, claw, muscle. It does some stealth but then thinks... why? I can take whatever punishment this team can dish out. So it starts attacking people. However then one of it gets roasted and the thing from the chopper doesn't get back. So it changes tactic. Alien ship: in book (written 1938) made out of magnezium, gets blown up by accident. Why not have a nuke scene beeneth ice? The scene with spaceship is boring and doesn't add anything. They could have made another spacejockey scene where they find out that this ship has been taken over by the thing and they tried to exterminate it by crashing into the earth and dying, or that the thing already has exterminated an entire race/planet and now came for us but crashed wrong... THe fillings is a good idea, however they don't use it. And to allow some people to just walk away without explanation or "go stand in a corner of misstrust" that noone realy cares about anyways. How bout: Where the FUCK DID YOUR FILLINGS GO!? or OPEN UP YOUR MOUTH OR BECOME A KFC SIDEDISH! CGI sucked... thx and I am out

[@CaminoAir]

I would have liked some discussion of the 50's film, but I understand how you framed the discussion. Just would have liked to know what you guys thought of it and whether that kind of approach would / could be used now.

[@kimoiactual682]

These three haven't the slightest clue about either movie, all the sequences in the PREQUEL follow up John Carpenter's movie; they act as though it already knows how to deal with humans in the prequel when in fact that was the FIRST TIME it encountered humans and dealt with them as a military force would, through shock and awe and it was mentioned about how The Thing could have gotten there in the prequel, pay attention, sheesh. And the fact that it was a "mindless killing monster", is due to the fact that it is acting purely on instinct and though not noticeable in the movie it slowly learns through out the prequel, such as in the last scene with Carter and Kate, though we have no idea if Carter was infected or not. Also John had a full damn year to develop and make the puppets, etc. compared to the THREE MONTHS Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. had, that is 1/4th of the time to develop and plan out the movie, they did an great job for the time they had, all in all the 2011 prequel is an 8/10 for me

[@archibaldsalyards926]

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!.. YOU mentioned Twinkle Twinkle Killer Cane!!! Ninth Configuration is one of the most underrated films!!! Great picture!

[@blackpeter70]

It's always refreshing to see a talk show hosted by a wee lumberjack. I guess his axe and chainsaw must be out of shot. Jason Alexander would've been perfect for the job!

[@VincenzoC749]

at 16:59 when you guys are talking about the helicopter scene from the prequel and why the monster crashed the plane. Could it also be possible that the Thing was intelligent enough to think that if it didn't kill everyone at the base word of it's existence would get out very quickly resulting in global military forces hunting it down? Then again that's probably reading too much into it considering the screenwriters for the 2011 "The Thing" only skimmed the Spark Notes.

[@NorthThirteenthFilms]

I think the judgments were a bit harsh from the guys here. I respect their opinion, but I was a freak with the original and don't think the prequel was as bad as they were judging. I had issues with the prequel in the sense that what happened to her in the end? Does she freeze to death? But the ending of the movie was priceless with the Chopper and the Ennio Morricone music. Let's see the actual SEQUEL now. And again, this was a prequel. Whether people weren't happy with it, it was a prequel. And I heard the alien scream in the end. I only know this because I saw it 23 times :)

[@knawdlimbz2212]

I just found you guys. love the content!!!! I can watch this all day! good job guys!!!

[@robertsutton7949]

The THING is also a Vietnam film. Gary, who was presumably a veteran of precious wars...the situation is beyond his ability..hence his discomfort about dealing with the situation and his reluctance to take charge. Macready, who was presumably a Vietnam vet is able to deal with things better as he’s used to a different type of warfare where an ambush could happen at any time and the rules of conventional warfare have broken down. The enemy amongst us. Are these are allies or are the the Vietcong?

[@NextGenCouncil]

The 2011 was not horrible. I am glad a movie was even made to be honest. John Carpenter's The Thing is my favorite film of all time. I honestly did not expect another movie. The game had it's pros and cons as well. It was fun following the 2011 film from announcement to release. Hopefully another one can be made.

[@dinopots6282]

I dont think these guys realised the 2011 film was a prequel. If they had split off it would have ruined john carpenter's the thing as that never happened. The Norwegian base is the base the chars go to in john carpenter's version. In fact the ending of the 2011 film directly links to john carpenter's version. I like to think the creature learnt from its mistakes in the 2011 film and then changed its tactics in john carpenter's version.

[@kierantarleton6534]

The difference between the creature in the 1982 film and the 2011 film is that in the 2011 film the creature didn't know what humans were all about and that is why it attacked by the time it reached the american camp it knew humans were smart and that is why it was more clever in dealing with the americans.

[@odsonic]

of course movies today dont revert back to using animetronic effects..which is sad cause its more tangible and realistic...this movie was a Really good re visit..this and Dredd and bumblebee in my opinion are the only good re visit movies worth mentioning from all my now DEEESStroyed childhood movies getting at the box office. im crossing anything i have left that the new ghostbusters coming out is good....

[@_AutoCoder]

A Russian sub didn't just come up out of the ice. There was a US rescue team, Argentinians and their camp, the trawler with a helicopter, then the sub, then the Argentinian camp on the mainland.. which had a bad ass scene where MacReady killed all the sheep just to remove assimilation options. Comic plot could have been collapsed and done better.

[@CagedSupremacyMMA]

# 2 it is a prequel not a remake for example if you figured out what this creature could do wouldn't your next logical thought be hey we better figure out who is who. Now if they did the needle test yes I could say its was a remake but it isn't its a companion piece to Carpenter's classic. Would saw 2 and 3 and friday the 13 th sequels be a remake now but they all do the same thing girls with tits sex kills every 12 minutes is this a remake no. Neither is this movie its a prequel and is part of a franchise the second they made a prequel it became a franchise and movies will use certain things over and over again. Its why bond always gets the girl and has one liners its why in saw everyone says game over and in every other franchise why this or that happens but in new ways. Its no different here they are wrong again.

[@patricksputnick5094]

I dont wanna be nitpickin, but in the first issue of The Thing comic-book sequel mentioned, it was a Japanese research ship that rescues McReady and then something happens with these guerillas and so forth. Cant remember what.

[@chrisrojazz6457]

The 2011 film sucked in every way. Universal should have hired John Carpenter to do the prequel. I hope they hire him for a sequel to the 1982 film.

[@sphericalstrake]

The Thing has not interacted with humans before, it has however interacted with whatever was flying the ship before it crashed or was The Thing the original pilot of the ship?, either way it should be intelligent not crude in its reasoning, unless the crash interrupted the Metamorphosis before it could assimilate the memory of whatever was flying the ship, but this doesn't explain why it knew or remembered how to start constructing a new ship at the American base, the humans it assimilated don't know how to build a flying saucer aircraft, one thing nobody can explain away why does the helicopter pilot at the end not have a beard when both the crazy swedes that appear at the American base do?.

[@VincenzoC749]

Also, in regards to hearing the scream when the chick torches the guy at the end; There is absolutely a scream, both the high pitched squeal and a lower pitched roar. In fact, if you look closely you'll see there are tendrils coming off the guys chest as he thrashes around on fire.

[@lafdjah]

You said a remake ? What did you expected to see ? Jamaican on bobsled, Ancient gods of Egypt, Goonies ? It's a prequel !

[@dottoreguzmanrulz]

Now I know what Michael meant when he once said: "some fans have shit for brains". Great Review guys (just watched this 2011 film today) You know film-genres like noone else on youtube and you keep it real

[@EdoardoCetronio]

The new one should have been called the thing : the Norwegian base , lots of people though it was a straight remake of the carpenter one, me included, I honestly liked it too, not as much as the carpenter but definitely a good job

[@sophiawilson8696]

There book explaining the side of the Thing LOL that I just wanted communicate with the Humans (no thanks)

[@dioro93257]

You guys are having alot of senior moments by not remembering the cast members as well as the behind the scene artists on both films. Maybe have a cheat sheet on hand next time? Interesting perspectives, thanks!

[@BigWeaselGun]

I see what they're saying about having intelligence of survival but if this is suppose to be a true prequel the thing doesn't know any better this is its first contact with humans and the fact that Kate the last survivor out smarts just by paying attention to her surroundings says something about how it learns

[@TheThingLegacy]

I´ve been sitting here listening through everyting youve talked about and to be frank I can only come through with one conclution. Why are you comparing the 2 movies? You are approaching the prequel from a completely wrong angle. This movie never set out to be better or shine more than the 82 classic. The JC movie is damn near perfect but it to has flaws. It set out to wokr as a COMPANION-PIECE so you can see the 2 movies back-to-back and feel like you are watching one long movie. And that works

[@CagedSupremacyMMA]

# 3 Carpenter had a year to perfect the effects and shoot the movie if the thing prequel had time it would've been better its not perfect. But the movie was rushed out because the movie was a studio movie and the one thing they hate is taking time just spend more money get the shots completed.

[@bryanthardin5514]

Whoa there it was a us u.s. submarine not rushing us and the argentine's they were sent to Argentine base in Argentina know your comic book history man & it's 82 know your history

[@NextGenCouncil]

Take my money if another one is decided to be made. There is so much that can be done on it's own terms with the license. I think if they try to be the 80s one then the new one cannot sit on it's own. Much like what John Carpenter did with his film.

[@PapistWitness]

For the record, Richard Dysart wasn't in St. Elsewhere or The Ninth Configuration/Twinkle Twinkle Killer Kane; you're thinking of Ed Flanders. In fairness, Flanders and Dysart look pretty strikingly similar.

[@4Everlast]

The biggest mistake the studio made, was replacing allready shot on set practical effects by CG post-renderd, WHY?! The best thing the prequal brought to the table was the way they introduced that the thing can't asimilate or recrete metalic object, BRILLIANT!

[@4Everlast]

generic generic Exactly, Im sure it could hold a filling in place, but I think this "thing" copys any givven organisme as close to the original as possible, so if you had a missing limb it would create it on it's own, cause you had it oriniginaly, as a filling is a item not a characteristic one gets by birth, but I understand it's a damn clever creature, a surviver creature, so jes it could copy a persone with a missing limb, but my point is it would be unnatural to stick metal items into it self to look like a creature, not to add on top of all that, witch I nit picked about Xmen DOFP, of the mystique character mimicking the character Dinklitch was playing, but theyre not the smae size-the same weight so how would she displace that waight if he had? In the case of the thin how could it, for example mimic a persone twice it's size? But never the less I love this little tuch with it unabile to use metal to conseal it self, thats one thing stat stick out to me. -I hurd about the sequal they were planing to make back then of the last 2 survivers saved by russian sub witch ends up in amazon and it is given a plethera of animals and creatures to mimic, witch sounds great to bad it was never made, but In my opinion, it coul'd off been, even back then the 3.rd film in the series, why waste the opportunity for this thing to ravage the russian sub and then ending on it plowing into the middle of a Vietnam war or something, with 2 opposing sides and people caught in the middle, maybe allready tired K. Russel or another character turning up in a thick jacket, with a flmae thrower trying to stop it, who knows sounds good to me.

[@4Everlast]

generic generic Again, I agree, on all the points you made. Suposivly it's a "thing" or "weapon" those that piloted the craft took from point A to point B, so there could be more of it, so lets hope if they make any more it is atleast trying to surpass the original. I personally LOVED it-the original I mean, just as Alien a true classic, I liked Prometheus a bit to mutch, but I know it's no where near these 2.

[@4Everlast]

generic generic Again, well said. I personally was somewhat familiar with the ancient aliens "theory", for about 9 jears of my won, let's say resurch, so the film was, let's say 7/10 on the scale of my personal mystery and fun factor and qualitty and plot howl wise, about 4.5/10 witch is saad, and If you can go throe this I explain why and how, It's not ME, justifying Ridleys mistakes, but on the contrary, I BLAME him, for having the material and clear ability to make one of the best SF/space based films ever, and what we got feals like the first draft of the script, and it's not it's 6.th or 7.th already. And just to add on top of all that, Im a bit sick and tired of the alien from all the aliens, so I did realy want something new, and I got it. It is not a guilty pleasure, its a vasted opportunity, thats what it is. -I happen to think, that the only answer were really given, and falls flat by the way, Is a big one, but it's one straight off the poster it self, I know he had to return what, twice or three times the ammount of money spend to cower the cost of the film, but Ridley wanted to make his own 2001 Odyssey in space, and i do LOVE IT(Prometheus), and like it more and more with each repeated viewing, and each time I find more things wrong with it. -for a film thats supose to deal with humanitty it's quite emotionless, and sad that the android in the film feals more like a human than the human characters do, but I guess that's what Lindeloff wanted to achieve(straight from his lips) and "forgot" Ridley did did already, with Blade runner 20-30 jears ago. -I dont blame Lindeloff for anything but doing what he was asked to do and doing it superficially, to wotter down and do a "Lost" treatmant with it, as he sead in an inteview; "The studio would ony agree to make sutch a film if its a franchise not a stand allone, ambigous ending film", as they seam to undermind todays audiences and its dissrespectfull, that's why Nolan films are good, even great, and oftenly marked as "owerrated" cause those that say so, expected something mind blowing, not realising it is mind blowing to the general audience not to those "overachievers". -this film is clerly a resault of Ridleys beleaves, I just happen to agree with, but what we got are just a few scratches at the surfeace and in a more than underwhelming fassion we got the "big reveal" Ridley thinks people wanted, that THEY created US not "god". -for a true "R-rated" film it's not scary, or full on blood and gore, maybe my expectations were to high, but I do love evry second of it as a father loves his kid with all it's "flaws", I guess I expected a puntch to the gut, all we got is a mild slap or tease. -If the story wosn't as intresting as it was, the film atmosphere so thick you can breadh it, tuch it, If it was another director it wouldn't be abile to get away with a cardinal sin, to show his "monster" in the fuc*ing openning sequence. Thats a clear indication that Ridley wanted to make the film, but sacraficed it's final reveal with the openning act, so why would we be as messmorised with the pile of armored and familiar bodys?(clerly to small to be the same ones as in Alien), Why would the helmet openning scene be as engaging if we allready saw what was underneath? It is clear to anynone from the poster it self, HUMAN-like face-they'w got higher develouped technology than we do so OURE ANCESTORS-THEY MADE US, you gett all of this off the poster. -the foundations of making this into a prequel are more than apparent. -the posters and is it or isn't it a sequal/prequal debate and tease showd a clear devide between Ridleys original idea(from the ancient alien theorys) got tangled and tripd up by the studio trying to tie it to Alien in any way, shape or forme, maybe doupting of its sucses as they spend quite a few bucks on it, understandably. You can clearly see that it was always supose to be a tie-in with the first Alien, and than Ridley/Lindeloff or the studio got invalved and teared it appart to make a franchise out of, sutch a shame. -I hope Ridley does call up the studio on the offering for a few re-shoots and a directors cut as with Kingdome of heaven, but It looks hes actually satisfied with the mish-mash of ideas he created, Im a director/writter wanna-be, still "studying" for my self for the past 5-6 jears so I can tell the difference between a great, or even good script and script writter and a good or even great talent for coming up with a story as the guy to chuse and make a frame and letting someone else to fill it out, that's what Lindeloff is, not that its bad. -I can clearly see Ridleys decapointment, with christian religion as it's a hypocritical pyramide scheme, witch I do agree with, but murals in same pose as Jesus are clearly ham fisted, forced into an alien universe just to make as many ties and conections as possible (clearly the one at the end isn't the first one), that really pulls you out of the film not cause I was offended, but It feels condescending, the washing of Waylands feet, him wanting and needing a son "he never had", while the daughter is in the room clearly ignoring her or even despising her, the forced 2ooo jears plan that they send a "guy" in human forme to try to teach us "good", clearly feals forced, it would make a lot beter X files sequal film than to be tied with this. I know Ridey is, or was one of the key figures to bring us, for me personally still the best film in the long lasting franchise, the Alien, and I know he feels he has to tie all the knowds, and as he had the opportunity to start it all of, he might feel the need that It should end with him, by what Im affraid off, ending the now infamus Prometheus franchise on "them" the engeneers or space jockey's being "just" us, humans time travelling back from the future, I hope he doesnt go that way, that would be an opstickle in the way of anyone whom might have a good or even a better idea to continue Prometheus, cause there could always be someone else, as Elizabeth Shaw sead; "And who made them...", no need to close the loope, there could always be in that endless darkness, abbys, always something bigger, stronger, scarrier, why end with sutch a predictible and an sutch unimpressive ending? (if they do decide to go that way, that is). -sutch a long responce is just a testiment how passionate I am, personaly about the things mentioned, in the film, questions raised and answerd, the Alien mythology, its history and the howl franchise as we ended up with a strangly intresting studio mess It came out to be(I still, LOVE IT :) -maybe Linedloff/Ridley didn't know or couldn't tie all the loose ends back into something with a puntch and the depth of lets say 2001. For an "actors director" Ridley is oftenly cald to be, 14-15 people got kild and It wosn't as emotional as it could off been, but turned into a slasher flick at the end, as If two houres, fourty-five weren't inoff, there is a blue-ray extended cut with 20-25 plus minutes and it still doesn't make a cohesive story. Now, I got sucked in pritty good, and wouldn't mind 5 houres of sutch a visual delite, but if it made sence, as I sead, Im a writter/director wanna-be, still (the wanna-be part I left in cause I don't have the money or time to waste to go to the local universitty to lurn how black and white film's were made, about celuloid so on, and Im not that conected to be given a buntch of money in a small country/republic im in-Croatia central europe by the way), a wanna-be, but after reading 2 scripts for Prometheeus and watching the inteviews, seeing the final product, cause that's what it came out to be, I can say without a doupt in my mind, If abile to, I could make a better film than this and still leave some unanswerd quetions and some room for sequals I, HAVE NO DIEA why a master of his craft, as Ridley is, couldn't. If you got throe this mammoth responce, thank you, youre clearly a SF fan. :)

[@4Everlast]

generic generic It's nice to see actually, someone took the time to read throe this and resond, so thank you for that. -Jeah, I don't know If I mentioned allready, Im a writter/director wanna be, Iv been writting for my self for the past, 4-5 jears, mostly short storys, synapses, from 15 to 30 pages, I counted last arround 140-150 storys, but I'w got no "conections" in this world of filmmaking, no budget to work with and Im not really that good with technology, I get ADD just by seeing the "home" pages of twitter and facebook, so im trying to pitch my script to a local director, than, we'l see, who knows, he just might like it, If you don't try atleast you can't say you failed, right. -as I mentioned I really liked this film, It's just a shame sutch a project got so compact, I could extract atleast 3 good scripts out of that one, and Im a "nobody", Lindeloff and R. Scott are names people know, house hold names, so why was Ridley is sutch a hurry, I would really like to be in the same room with those two. :) -on the toppic of Prometheus 2, jeah, Im affraid theyre going, for me personaly the wrong way, trying to force it and close the loope, by making the pale bodybuilders, US-humans from the future, that came back to speed up oure evolution, for me personaly the worst ending, cause just as the thing the Alien doesn't need to have a final end or to be pinn-pointed to where it's origin began, just as the thing, assiming the physical characteristics of all those hosts it burrowd throe.

[@ricktorca1]

You can say The Thing is progressively becoming more intelligent with each assimilation. In the original it already had the 'prequel' to get its bearings straight and learn how better to co mingle with humans. In my estimation it really is a mindless virus type creature that has no real intelligence of its own, but mimics intelligence perfectly in order to survive. That is why when cornered it doesn't try to compromise or intellectually attempt to make a deal with those who find it out and can possibly destroy it, but rather shows its true colors and explodes at someone in an attempt to overwhelm.

[@vrlsharma3]

Michael Foltz : "The thing" : Best monster movie ever ! Michael Folts : "alien" : Best monster movie made ever ! :)

[@vaasnaad]

The one from the first movie wasn't a prisoner... or at least wasn't JUST a prisoner... It was smart enough to start building a space ship to get back home, remember?

[@DeadPixel1105]

+OrodesIII Yeah, that part was very out of place, I thought. Especially the fact that it seems to suggest that he made numerous trips all over the camp (he certainly didn't carry it all in one trip) and built an entire space ship in the span of what? A few hours? Good movie, but that part was ridiculous.

[@verhaeghen]

You guys MUST do an episode with Patton Oswalt on the panel. Or Joe Pilato. Or both.

[@porkfrog2785]

first minute was painful...know the subject before talking about it