The Thing [Review]

Far be it from me to presuppose the outcome of this horror prequel to the 1982 classic of the same name, but… I did. Much too easily can the audience predict every single twist and turn The Thing catapults at them, long before it has chance to fire. Such is the problem with psychological horror; of course, the premise is interesting – no one can be trusted, anyone could be an enemy – but in many cases it comes at the expense of the basic horror elements.

The Thing takes place, predictably, in a remote location – this time somewhere in Antarctica, where a Norwegian team have stumbled upon a crashed alien spacecraft, and seemingly the corpse of an alien creature. After retrieving the creature from the ice, it becomes clear that it is still alive, and has the ability to imitate members of the crew – thus removing any trust the characters might hold.

This is where the psychological element comes in, and it certainly provides intriguing subject matter. It’s just a shame that The Thing gives so much exposure to its titular antagonist so early on in the film – we’re shown a brightly lit long shot of the creature just fifteen minutes in – because in doing so any tension or dread is removed.

To this end any sense of shock (or indeed horror) is dispensed with, and in a horror film that’s quite a fatal flaw. It’s lucky for The Thing, then, that it carries more generic, non-genre specific elements that work to its advantage. For instance, the acting standard is commendable; something rarely seen in horror. Led by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Die Hard 4, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World), who plays palaeontologist Kate Lloyd, the cast are believable enough to demand the audience’s attention with little effort.

Winstead is the standout; logical, thorough and down-to-Earth, Kate beguiles her way into the leader role without ever feeling thrust there. She’s an unlikely hero, but a competent and convincing one nonetheless – a refreshing change from the usual slap dash mechanics of traditional horror films, whereupon a lead would either be facetious or infallible to extreme lengths.

Instead, Winstead makes her character believable; a standout casting choice amongst a crowd of competence, which also includes Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen and Jonathan Lloyd Walker. Not one of these is any less deserving than another for commendation, unless to Winstead; indeed, the basic principle of the film – each character must convince the rest he or she is not the monster – alludes finely to the convincing nature of each actor.

But while The Thing might be able to boast an amalgam of acting abilities, its predictable nature means it suffers at the one thing it must achieve: at the most basic level, horrifying or otherwise scaring its audience (acting, after all, as a horror film). This it does not do. While the human cast might be convincing, the special effects are not, and leave much to be desired.

And indeed, much the same can be said of this prequel as a whole. Simply a rewarding ego-boost for those who like to work out films as they watch them, The Thing satisfies in very few respects; its production values may be high (special effects aside) and its acting commendable, but its predictability and in-your-face nature curtail any notions of horror or dread director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. may have wished to convey.

✰✰

See also: The Thing (1982)

Dir: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen
Universal Pictures, 103 mins, 02/12/11

Synopsis: In 1982, a team of Norwegian scientists discover an alien lifeform buried deep in an icy grave in Antarctica. They enlist the help of a palaeontologist, Kate (Winstead), to help them extract the creature, but realise too late that it is still alive. Thus begins a deadly game of cat and mouse, as everyone is suspect and nobody can be trusted...

(For The Hollywood News: http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2011/11/04/the-thing-review/)