How does John Carpenter's The Thing hold up?

[Andy22]

Have a "man weekend" coming up where the wife takes the kids out of town so I will have a couple of days of movies to catch up on. We watch a lot of movies together but she will not watch scary movies. I have been wanting to see The Thing for a while but have never seen it. I just wonder how scary it will be with today's standards.

 

[SlitheryDee]

It's damn good on blu-ray. It still has a slightly dated feel, but the audio is top notch and the video looks better than it has in any previous format. I highly recommend it.

Oh and as far as scare factor, I don't think there has been a movie in the last 10 years that could top it. The special effects are so well done that they will hold up forever I think. I think that since they didn't use CGI, this level of special effect artistry creates even more realism than what you see today.

 

[JohnCU]

i love it. recommended. kurt russell is the man.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I think it holds up quite well. Kurt Russell is at his bad-ass best. Good movie, definitely worth a watch!

 

[PottedMeat]

It's a great movie. I still feel physical special effects & props are more realistic than a lot of today's CG.


Hey, Sweden! :awe:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

It's one of my favorites. It doesn't rely on just the special effects to scare you, which is another reason it remains strong. The effects look much better than early generation CG work, and I actually think it looks better than most modern CG stuff as well. When I go to a movie with a lot of CG, it's still obviously CG. The Thing is all real deal stuff, and has a gritty / realistically lit and textured look that I love.

It doesn't take itself too seriously, but does an incredible job creating a unique atmosphere that has been unsuccessfully imitated several times since. If you've seen the original "The Thing", this is a whole different animal.

 

[spaceman]

prolly not too good w/o some viagra.

 

[Andy22]

Excellent...thanks for the quick feedback. So far I have

- Session 9
- Event Horizon
- Trick 'r Treat
- Drag me to Hell
- The Thing

 

[drquest]

Great movie, sets a good atmosphere, tension etc....

Alien and Aliens are also fun to pull out to watch again. Also, if you've never seen Event Horizon, it's a mind tripper too.

 

[Mucho]

Its the only remake I can think of that was better than the original.

 

[soulcougher73]

I must be the only person who didnt really care for this movie. Wasnt scarey one bit in my opinion. I mean it wasnt horrible but again i dont get the hype.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Event Horizon was overrated, but its not bad.

I haven't seen Session 9, or Trick 'r Treat, although I heard the latter one sucked from people who like horror movies.

Skip Drag Me To Hell, its just not that good. There's only 2 somewhat scary scenes, the rest is just silly. Evil Dead 2 is way better for that type of movie. Braindead (a Peter Jackson horror movie in this style) is also better.

Watch The Descent if you haven't already.

Actually you should go on a John Carpenter binge. They Live, Prince of Darkness, The Thing.

 

[PingSpike]

Its the only remake I can think of that was better than the original.

What about the Fly?

 

[CPA]

The Thing was awesome. However, it looks like Hollywood is going to do everyone a disservice by doing a remake scheduled for 2011.

I liked Drag Me to Hell. I thought it was funny and scary at moments, but also a little absurd. Nothing wrong with some absurdity.

 

[gimmewhitecastles]

What about the Fly?

Was about to post that. Remakes were done better in the 80's by far.

You should add that one to your list too OP.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I liked drag me to hell a lot. Wasn't particularly scary, but I can't remember the last time a movie was.

 

[Gibsons]

I'm not a horror fan at all, but I liked The Thing.

 

[Mucho]

What about the Fly?

The original Fly had one truly terrifying scene; 'help me, help me' I cant say I remember any such scene from the remake.

 

[SlitheryDee]

The original Fly had one truly terrifying scene; 'help me, help me' I cant say I remember any such scene from the remake.

It wasn't in it. That's because it would be unbelievable in the context of the more "gritty and real" feeling remake. The effect would be lost because it would jar the watcher out of their suspension of disbelief.

In the context of the original it was quite powerful though. I remember watching the original and getting a very strange and unpleasant feeling after seeing that scene.

 

[Balt]

I must be the only person who didnt really care for this movie. Wasnt scarey one bit in my opinion. I mean it wasnt horrible but again i dont get the hype.

I didn't really find it scary the last time I watched it, but it does have great suspense and a great story so I still enjoyed it. When I was a little kid it scared the crap out of me, though.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Like everybody has said The Thing is an awesome movie, often underrated. The special effects are much better than what you would expect from 1982 and still look fine even today if you suspend your disbelief for just a second. Not only it is scary, but it also has an element of suspense since you don't know "who" the "thing" is. Must watch.

As far as commonly recommended Drag Me To Hell, I hated it, absolute rubbish, not scary, not funny, not even entertaining. Absolutely no idea why it got such rave reviews.

 

[LTC8K6]

The originals of The Thing From another World and The Fly were superior to the remakes, imo.

John Carpenter's The Thing is a very good movie, though.

Cronenberg's The Fly is not very good.

 

[dennilfloss]

Prince Of Darkness is another John Carpenter's movie that features his trademark atmosphere. Much better in the first half before it turns into a "run from demonic zombies' movie. Ditto for The Fog. Carpenter also composes much of the music on his films, with a typical dun-dun-sun synthesized bassline that is quite recognizable.

 

[vi edit]

In the Mouth of Madness was another great Carpenter movie. Oh..and another great showing by Sam Neil.

 

[vi edit]

And yes, another vote for "Drag Me to Hell" sucked.