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The Thing prequel

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PersonalPOV You tell me. from Somewhere... Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Getting away with murder
You tell me.
#76: Sep 8th 2011 at 5:28:43 AM

I read an early version of the script, and at the end Mary Elizabeth Winstead is flying with the main dude, who turns out to have been taken over, so she blasts him and the copter (I think it was a copter), and finding herself alive... in the middle of nowhere, with nobody knowing where she is. She starts to walk back to the outpost, with the implication she's gonna freeze to death. The two Norwegians from the beginning of the original leave to chase the 'dog' as MEW and lead guy leave the outpost. I hope they changed the surprise! He's the thing stuff because it's overdone and ridiculous, and if anyone should turn to be infected at the end, it should be her.

KSPAM PARTY PARTY PARTY I WANNA HAVE A PARTY from PARTY ROCK Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
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#77: Sep 8th 2011 at 9:48:08 AM

[up][up] I'm talking about the trailers though. Besides, when I first watched it, I always assumed Mac was going to be Too Cool to Live. Well, he was, but in the way I'm talking about.

edited 8th Sep '11 9:48:25 AM by KSPAM

I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serial
derpdederp35 Since: May, 2011
#78: Sep 13th 2011 at 12:14:57 PM

My sister and I saw the trailer for the prequel of The Thing quite a while ago and we thought it looked it didn't look that great.

  • First, what we were most opposed to was the female cast member, who just seemed to be there as a giant "miss exposition" for the audience. and when going too deeply on the issue, also consider that what she and the rest of the men are doing is not just for research but political motives as well. Because the nearly inhospitable Antarctic has no government, various treaties are used to prevent each country from making claims on the continent (mining, etc), including the establishment of research stations for various projects. Instead of going for an aged expert similar to Ellen Ripley from Alien, the female actor looks like she just came out of college and looks a bit too fresh for someone who would be required to have many years of experience journeying harsh lands studying the elements. We also thought her character would be a potential distraction from the main element of the movie, which is the horror and paranoia brought on by the alien shapeshifter.
  • Second is the atmospheree the trailer was conveying, which we felt lacked the dead isolation and growing dread of the original, coming from the fear of being so far away from civilization in the middle of nowhere in claustrophobic quarters, instead seeking to bring a bunch of cheap cat scares and last shot scenes of the unsuspecting victim being ambushed by the monster which is seen in almost every single current horror movie known to this troper.
Overall, the prequel trailer doesn't owe up much like the first one, but since I haven't seen the movie itself yet my opinions may change on how good the movie will be.

Mullon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
#79: Sep 22nd 2011 at 6:42:09 AM

I saw their commercial during the Charlie Sheen Roast. I thought the smaller monsters looked cool, but the bigger the monsters got, the more fake and CGIish they looked.

edited 4th Oct '11 5:46:22 PM by Mullon

Never trust anyone who uses "degenerate" as an insult.
KSPAM PARTY PARTY PARTY I WANNA HAVE A PARTY from PARTY ROCK Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
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#80: Sep 23rd 2011 at 8:13:31 AM

I dunno, I don't want to judge it for special effects. I'm just holding out to see whether they nailed the atmosphere or not.

I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serial
Prowler I'm here for our date, Rose! Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#81: Sep 23rd 2011 at 9:35:26 AM

Not to be a negative nelly, but it looks like they focused on the "BOOGA BOOGA!" scares instead...

...which isn't to say Carpenter's film had none.

KSPAM PARTY PARTY PARTY I WANNA HAVE A PARTY from PARTY ROCK Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
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#82: Sep 23rd 2011 at 12:46:10 PM

I fucking hate jump scares. Because no matter how many you've seen, no matter how little you care for their gimmicky bullshit, it always does exactly what the name implies.

It makes you jump.

No lasting fear, no Fridge Horror, just a simple startle. And Hollywood today seems to think they'r perfectly acceptable alternatives to actual horror.

edited 23rd Sep '11 12:49:29 PM by KSPAM

I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serial
Kerrah Since: Jan, 2001
#83: Sep 23rd 2011 at 12:49:23 PM

The Jump Scare from Carpenter's Thing that comes to mind is that part with the guy's chest opening up to swallow the doctor's hands.

That was awesome because it was unexpected and led to something, instead of being predictable and inconsequential.

KSPAM PARTY PARTY PARTY I WANNA HAVE A PARTY from PARTY ROCK Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
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#84: Sep 23rd 2011 at 12:51:24 PM

If there was one thing in that movie I totally saw coming, it was that. So obvious.

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gingerninja666 SCH-NEIGH-ZEL from Aboard The Damocles Since: Aug, 2009
SCH-NEIGH-ZEL
#85: Sep 23rd 2011 at 1:14:45 PM

[up] How? How could you have possibly guessed that his STOMACH was going to turn into a mouth during that one particular moment? Sure, you probably knew that he was going to go all "Thing" on them at some point but not like that.

"Contests fought between two masters are decided instantly. An invisible battle is now raging between the two of them." Lulu vs Schneizel
Prowler I'm here for our date, Rose! Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
I'm here for our date, Rose!
#86: Sep 23rd 2011 at 1:56:25 PM

I have nothing against "jump scares", per se. I have something against FAKE scares.

The 1982 film didn't resort to that — it actually was something really horrible like a Thing-ed guy lurking in the foreground, or Norris' chest biting a dude's arms off, or...so on.

And I too am baffled as to how that scene was "so obvious".

edited 23rd Sep '11 1:56:47 PM by Prowler

KSPAM PARTY PARTY PARTY I WANNA HAVE A PARTY from PARTY ROCK Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
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#87: Sep 23rd 2011 at 2:48:35 PM

You have a dead body lying right there, with a wizened and frail old man reaching over it to spycheck it. What did you think would happen? Sure I didn't know it'd be a mouth, but the thing playing possum until someone decided to poke it was just too obvious.

I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serial
Prowler I'm here for our date, Rose! Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
I'm here for our date, Rose!
#88: Oct 3rd 2011 at 6:01:43 PM

He wasn't reaching over to "spycheck" it, he was trying to revive a comrade with a heart condition. And the scene was important because it taught Mac a valuable lesson about Things.

I hear that the prequel itself is mediocre, not much different(aside from cool effects) than the next gooey sci-fi/horror hybrid.

CommanderObvious intellectual rapist from Unmei no Itaru Basho Since: Jul, 2011
intellectual rapist
#89: Oct 13th 2011 at 4:56:47 AM

just watched it
i have four major problems with this film
all of these are not spoilers except 4.:

1. I still think the female character, while pretty hot, is just a flimsy excuse to add fanservice and "feminism". The heroine is unnecessary along with the other Americans. I will have enjoyed it better if the film was just about the bunch of Nordics. There isn't much characterization on the Nordics as one may expect, downplaying the whole psychological horror aspect. Why should we care about these Nordic characters when we're supposed to focus on the heroine, her "love interest", a British arsehole, and some idiots that pop up who chew the scenery? It's almost like the screenwriters forgot the setting.

2. The psychological horror aspect. As I said, you don't really know who the Nordic people are. The film does a pretty job at characterizing the other characters, most of them being stock. The Black Guy is just the Black Guy and the British Arsehole is just the British Arsehole; nothing more than that. Carpenter's The Thing is famous for instilling paranoia on characters, creating a similar feeling of a whodunnit. The 2011 film does not do that, instead going for gory effects. The director just doesn't care about the suspenseful pacing, relying on jump scares and Scare Chords; it was as terrifying as lead paint.

3. HAHAHAHAHA THE CGI HAHAHAHAHA. HAHAHA_OH_WOW.jpg

4. The fucking ending/stitching to the 1982 version of The Thing. The scriptwriters must have fucking realized that they have to stitch the prequel to Carpenter's masterpiece somehow. One of the characters, Lars, disappears off-screen with no explanation; he was presumed dead. How in the world did he survive is just a plain mystery. Also, the 1982 version of The Thing's ending won't exactly work if the Final Girl just survives. It means that the world will be notified of The Thing, ruining the ambiguous ending of the Carpenter movie. Nevertheless, the fucking ending makes no sense.

in the end
i didnt hate it and started cursing
nor did i squeal in glee
i was too ambivalent but i pretty much said, its not that bad as people thought it will be
i was pretty impressed by the faithfulness to follow the nordic base scenes
the set looks like believable
i enjoyed the beginning/setup more
and i was somewhat glad i watched it
it isnt horrifyingly stupid
but it was like "ok, hollywood is getting it"

edited 13th Oct '11 4:59:14 AM by CommanderObvious

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PersonalPOV You tell me. from Somewhere... Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Getting away with murder
You tell me.
#90: Oct 13th 2011 at 7:34:05 AM

It's most probably assumed in the actual movie, but the script - as I wrote above - states outright that Kate is screwed, that she's gonna freeze to death.

CommanderObvious intellectual rapist from Unmei no Itaru Basho Since: Jul, 2011
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#91: Oct 13th 2011 at 7:50:30 AM

[up]When I saw it, it didn't act like that. There was indication that, besides the American and the Nordic camp, there are other camps as well: the Russians have been mentioned a couple of times. She also drives a snowmobile after killing the last Thing; I infer she lives. The 2011 film does not actually follow the early script a lot.

edited 13th Oct '11 7:51:28 AM by CommanderObvious

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PersonalPOV You tell me. from Somewhere... Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Getting away with murder
You tell me.
#92: Oct 13th 2011 at 12:33:27 PM

[up] Ok, then I am NOT gonna watch this. Having the freaking GIRL be the sole survivor is a slap in the face of the original The Thing.

NULLcHiLD27 Since: Oct, 2010
#93: Oct 13th 2011 at 12:44:59 PM

So is it worth seeing?

I find it hard to believe she lives, if I remember correctly, it took the Americans a long time just to get to the Norwegian camp in a helicopter. I don't remember them ever mentioning any other camps besides that one, let alone another camp being close by. I highly doubt she'd make it to another camp with a snowmobile before it runs out of gas or she gets caught in a blizzard.


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edited 13th Oct '11 1:05:56 PM by NULLcHiLD27

WarriorEowyn from Victoria Since: Oct, 2010
#94: Oct 13th 2011 at 2:27:02 PM

I was disappointed by the trailer because until halfway through I though it was going to be for At the Mountains of Madness.

CommanderObvious intellectual rapist from Unmei no Itaru Basho Since: Jul, 2011
intellectual rapist
#95: Oct 14th 2011 at 1:53:30 AM

[up][up]i do not recommend nor discourage
i just found it as a meh film that i dont have strong opinions for

Well, judging from the tone of the ending, the fact that she has a snowmobile and survives gives her an optimistic ending. There isn't any room for much ambiguity.

i think theres another problem
but i have to watch the original again to see if im right
and i dont have the time
its more about the spaceship and its location
since i remembered it being smaller, silver, and in a different location altogether
but i might have remembered it wrongly

edited 14th Oct '11 1:54:13 AM by CommanderObvious

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NULLcHiLD27 Since: Oct, 2010
#96: Oct 14th 2011 at 3:54:53 AM

[up] An optimistic ending just seems so wrong, stupid even when you hear what it entails. If they really felt the need for it, they could've made the two Norwegians getting in the helicopter an ambiguous or "optimistic" ending that only the people that saw Carpenter's The Thing would know was really a downer ending in disguise.

CommanderObvious intellectual rapist from Unmei no Itaru Basho Since: Jul, 2011
intellectual rapist
#97: Oct 14th 2011 at 4:04:44 AM

Well, the film does end like that... somewhat. After the girl leaves and the credits roll, interpersing of footage of Lars going into the chopper and sniping the dog appears from nowhere. It was pretty confusing for those who haven't watched the Carpenter's version. I myself wondered why the fuck they had to end the film that way.

edited 14th Oct '11 4:06:36 AM by CommanderObvious

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NULLcHiLD27 Since: Oct, 2010
#98: Oct 14th 2011 at 4:28:05 AM

So it's pretty meh, until the ending? Guess I'll know for sure by the end of today.

PersonalPOV You tell me. from Somewhere... Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Getting away with murder
You tell me.
#99: Oct 14th 2011 at 6:00:18 AM

[up][up][up][up] Well, since Macready was in an even worse situation and at the end of the game guess who pops out, alive and well? there might be hope, but I can't buy MEW, the one-expressioned wonder (seriously, she has one expression - the 'I ate a whole lemon!' one - throughout Final Destination 3 and a different one - the 'Why did I accept this part' one - throughout Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) as a full fledged scientist.

Couldn't they at least have made her an undergraduate?

Another idea for the ending: as she leaves, the camera zeroes in on a detail - something you just cannot modify naturally - that is different, revealing that even though she doesn't know it yet, she has been taken over as well. That would've been cool.

And one curiosity; how soon does Lambert... erm, Juliette get assimilated?

MangaManiac Since: Aug, 2010
#100: Oct 14th 2011 at 6:30:54 AM

I take it this isn't a prequel to The Addams Family focused on Thing?

Well, at least I can always dream.


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