Andrew recounts the long and sometimes not so illustrious history of THE THING.
In 1938, John W. Campbell wrote a science fiction
novella entitled Who Goes There? for
the ongoing periodical Astounding Science
Fiction. It became one of the most
influential works of science fiction of all time, spawning multiple film
adaptations as well as providing the framework for similarly themed science
fiction thrillers. Set in Antarctica in
what feels like a permanent winter, a group of scientists studying in the
region happen upon an alien spacecraft buried deep within the ice after
crashing on the Earth’s surface millions of years ago.
Efforts to unthaw the ship prove futile, but
the crew discovers the ship’s extraterrestrial pilot frozen nearby. The frozen remains are excavated and returned
to the scientific base for further investigation. Little does the crew know the remains are
still alive and has a unique defense mechanism: it can transform its outward
appearance to a perfect replica of any living creature it comes into contact
with. Soon the scientists are locked in
mortal combat as the creature slays and becomes the crew one member at a time
as the survivors try to both extinguish the alien life form as well as prevent
it from reaching populated areas. A
classic in the pantheon of science fiction horror, this tale of paranoia,
outbreak and alien terror served as the benchmark for some of the most
brilliant and terrifying science fiction horror films of all time.
Let us take a look at
the checkered past, present and future of this timeless tale of terror.
The
Thing from Another World (1951 – directed by Christian Nyby)
The first of what would form three distinct but
intrinsically linked cinematic adaptations of John W. Cambpell’s seminal
novella, The Thing from Another World is
widely considered one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s. One of the earliest and most legendary cinematic
examples of the stowaway alien story threatening the survival of all mankind, The Thing from Another World loosely
adapts the original story for practical reasons. Unsurprisingly due to technical limitations
of the period, the least faithful rendering of Campbell’s original story loses
the all-male dynamic by giving the hero a romantic love interest. Also gone is the shape shifting creature in
favor of a standard Boris Karloff inspired manifestation with James Arness
hulking about the arctic set pieces.
Despite these unfortunate alterations, many classic tropes of science
fiction are established here, such as the use of the Theremin in the soundtrack,
a metallic silver flying saucer, plant pods which would echo Little Shop of Horrors and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the stereotypical mad scientist
with an affinity for the creature, and that classic warning about watching the
skies for more flying saucers. Although
Howard Hawks’ production is somewhat more user friendly than Campbell’s source
material, it does retain a fair amount of iconic moments from the original
story. Notably, the block of ice
containing the creature excavated resembles something akin to an arctic
coffin.
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| "Hey guys. This Hoth planet isn't so bad after all." |
Although the creature is
ostensibly a costumed man, director Christian Nyby (or Hawks, depending on
whose version you read in the history books) uses innovative lighting techniques
to obscure the thing’s features so you’re not entirely sure what it looks
like. The film’s most striking image
involves the team of scientists at the crash site forming a perfect circle,
photographed in wide angle to give a sense of vastness to the imprint left by
the crash. This particular image would
find itself reused again and again, notably in films like Jurassic Park and the 1998 American remake of Godzilla. Equally striking
is the opening title sequence, with letters forming the film’s title slowly
burning through the background, both ominous and foreboding.
Ahead of its time, The Thing from Another World came out against such formidable
science fiction thrillers as The Day the
Earth Stood Still and When Worlds
Collide. It wasn’t an immediate hit
with critics, who were evenly split on the film’s validity due to the grand
deviations from the source material.
Eventually, however, The Thing
from Another World found itself inducted by the United States Library of
Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as well as receiving
top honors from the American Film Institute.
Little did moviegoers and critics know that years later, an independent
filmmaker with newfound success over his 1978 film Halloween would envision a new take on the classic story that
forever changed the face of the monster movie and then some.
The
Thing (1982 – directed by John Carpenter)
What would become the second adaptation of John W.
Campbell’s novella also proved ultimately to be the closest to Campbell’s
original story. Going back to its
all-male roots, John Carpenter’s The
Thing follows a group of scientists whose home base is attacked by a
Norwegian helicopter pilot in pursuit of an Alaskan husky. After subduing the pilot and passengers, the
scientists elect to investigate the Norwegian base for answers. What they find is a derelict camp in ruin
with many dead bodies scattered about.
It doesn’t take long before they stumble upon the frozen, inhuman,
indescribable creature responsible for the wreckage. Besides paying homage to The Thing from Another World with its burning title sequence, frozen
saucer buried in the ice, the ice coffin housing the creature and that famous
shot of the burning humanoid leaping breaking through a wall into the cold for
survival, what’s particularly striking about John Carpenter’s adaptation is the
decision to film Campbell’s alien manifestation as written. That’s right, visual effects technology of
1982 would attempt to create the shapeless, morphing organism with elaborate
makeup, prosthetics and motor controlled animatronics and puppeteer work to
breathe life into the creature. Unlike
the guy-in-the-suit monster in the 1951 film, Carpenter’s Thing is seen in numerous stages, with various protruding, arms,
legs, and tentacles from species ranging from animal, human and inhuman. You could look directly at The Thing in broad daylight and still
not be able to describe to someone else what it looks like. It’s a bit like a Chinese box, with a
completely different shape inside itself and so on.
From a character standpoint, Carpenter’s film
also makes liberal use of the names of original characters as written. MacReady (Kurt Russell), Bennings (Peter
Maloney), Blair (Wilford Brimley), Clark (Richard Masur), Copper (Richard
Dysart), Garry (Donald Moffat) and Norris (Charles Hallahan) all make the
transition from page to screen, even retaining characteristics from the source
material. In both the source material
and Carpenter’s film, Blair loses it and attempts to murder the crew of survivors
in an effort to prevent the thing from infecting all life in the world, and
he’s locked in the toolshed away from the others. While both the 1951 and 1982 films can be
considered ensemble pieces, it’s Kurt Russell’s MacReady who systematically and
fearlessly engages the creature. When
the characters begin to distrust one another over who is human and who is a
thing, Kurt Russell ties everyone up, armed with a flamethrower and goes
through one person at a time until he manages to force the thing out of its
human disguise. Carpenter’s adaptation
benefits greatly from famed composer Ennio Morricone’s take on Carpenter’s
trademark electronic, minimalist score, providing quiet tension that only
builds with no relief all the way through the end credits.
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| "First I escape from New York. Then, I gotta kill this damn thing. Enough is enough already." |
Because a film as dark and uncompromising as
Carpenter’s science fiction horror film happened to come out the same year as
Steven Spielberg’s bright and happy E.T.,
The Thing was a critical and
commercial flop. Carpenter’s gory and
nihilistic tale, while possessing some of the best visual effects money can
buy, was not something people wanted in 1982 and it faded into obscurity. It wasn’t until the advent of home videotape
and laserdisc that The Thing would
eventually have its way and outsell many blockbusters of the same year by a
substantial margin. In addition to
spawning a fanbase, influencing major filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino (who
cites The Thing as a direct influence
on Reservoir Dogs), comic books and
even a short lived theme park, The Thing would
pick up where Carpenter’s film left off in the form of a 2002 videogame of the
same name, with questionable results.
The
Thing (2002 – directed by William Latham)
In 2002, an attempt to appease both survival horror
gamers and fans of John Carpenter’s 1982 film arrived in the form of a third
person shooter released on the Playstation 2, Xbox, and Windows PC
platform. A direct sequel to the events
in Carpenter’s film, The Thing follows
Captain Blake of the U.S. Special Forces on a mission to determine what
happened to the research team and MacReady.
Made with Carpenter’s blessing including an unbilled cameo by the
maestro himself, The Thing utilizes
the standard characteristics of the third person shooter, including but not
limited to running while shooting, strafing, crouching, and even offers a first
person mode for more realistic gameplay.
Much like Carpenter’s film, the things come in various stages and
keeping your teammates from losing their grip is key to your survival. Your teammates can either get so scared they
attack you out of paranoia or their arms and head come off as alien mandibles
come out of their sockets and the thing charges to attack you.
If you’re not careful, your teammates can
become infected and gradually turn into a thing themselves. There are boss fights with the Blair-monster
appearing at the end of Carpenter’s film, difficult obstacles where your
weapons are taken away from you, and time sensitive obstacles you must overcome
to advance further. While a veritable
dose of fan service, unfortunately The
Thing isn’t well regarded by gaming aficionados and critics. Despite initial commercial success, The Thing is essentially a glorified Half-Life, utilizing many of the same
textures and creature design for the varied stages of the thing. While by no means an outright bad game that
doesn’t detract from the lore of Carpenter’s film, as a standalone game The Thing is rather underwhelming. But it was fun to play and presented some
unique challenges to gamers.
The
Thing (2011 – directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.)
Almost 30 years after the release of John Carpenter’s
adaptation of John W. Campbell’s novella arrived this prequel of the same name,
providing viewers with an opportunity to see the disaster which transpired on
the Norwegian base that opened the 1982 film.
Going back to the characterizations of the 1951 film, The Thing provides viewers with a lone
American heroine amidst the Norwegian scientists eager to bring aboard their
base a creature that could, and eventually does, wipe out everything
alive.
In the vein of recent Hollywood
remakes such as Dawn of the Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and most
recently Carrie, The Thing follows in the footsteps of filtering familiar
iconography through modern CGI and dependable, if not entirely inspired,
cinematic techniques. Not particularly
frightening but an entertaining thrill ride providing the service fans expect, The Thing ultimately suffers from
indifference towards half-baked nostalgia.
When our heroine burns one of the things and it perfectly forms the
shape Kurt Russell happens upon in the 1982 film, fans will no doubt giggle,
point out the homage, and then recede back into mild boredom. Most aggravating was the decision to show the
inside of the still functioning alien spacecraft buried beneath the ice. Those who recall Rob Bowman’s 1997 X-Files film will immediately recognize
the arctic underground spaceship David Duchovny’s Mulder discovers and wonder
whether or not the same set pieces and designs were merely repurposed
here.
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| "I'm attempting to burn this terrible CGI. Let me know if it works." |
It’s a damn shame that a film so
in love with the iconography established by Carpenter had to throw in such a
tired, annoying distraction. Equally
disappointing is the modern CGI, which might provide more fluid movement with
the creature transformations but ultimately reminds viewers it’s just another
computer generated manifestation. What
stood out about the 1982 film was just how far the visual effects technicians
were pushing the envelope in spite of the limitations and dangers
involved. For instance, legend has it
explosive chemicals were used to give the latex and rubber creatures texture,
and the moment Kurt Russell opened fire with his flamethrower, the set
exploded. Luckily no one was seriously
hurt, but many eyebrows were singed.
With
the advent of CGI, while that shouldn’t change one’s appreciation for the
finished work, it comes off as just too easy here. If this prequel, while not a total waste, spent
more time establishing itself instead of fellating the original to death, it
might have stood alone. As it stands,
all The Thing can really do is live
in the shadow of its towering, enduring older brother.
-Andrew Kotwicki