The Thing

"It's not human. Yet."

2011 1h 43m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 3,357

HorrorScience FictionMystery

Synopsis

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When paleontologist Kate Lloyd travels to an isolated outpost in Antarctica for the expedition of a lifetime, she joins an international team that unearths a remarkable discovery. Their elation quickly turns to fear as they realize that their experiment has freed a mysterious being from its frozen prison. Paranoia spreads like an epidemic as a creature that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish in this spine-tingling thriller.

“It's not human. Yet.”

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Cast

Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Kate Lloyd
Joel Edgerton
Carter
Ulrich Thomsen
Dr. Sander Halvorson
Eric Christian Olsen
Adam Finch
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Jameson
Paul Braunstein
Griggs
Trond Espen Seim
Edvard Wolner
Kim Bubbs
Juliette

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Writers: Eric Heisserer
Languages: English, Norwegian, Danish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 90% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Norwegian, Danish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Thing Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., shot by Michel Abramowicz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Marco Beltrami. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jono Griffith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton and Ulrich Thomsen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. directs. Michel Abramowicz behind the camera. Marco Beltrami scores. Jono Griffith cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Norwegian, Danish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 90% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 15 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Norwegian, Danish.
4Part of the "The Thing Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., shot by Michel Abramowicz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Marco Beltrami. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jono Griffith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton and Ulrich Thomsen carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "It's not human. Yet.".
10IMDB entry: tt0905372 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 18 themes, including "based on novel or book", "paranoia", "halloween", "research station".
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michel Abramowicz
Original score: Marco Beltrami
Editing: Jono Griffith
Production design: Sean Haworth
Costume design: Luis Sequeira
Makeup / hair: Linda Dowds
VFX supervisor: Aaron Weintraub
Sound: Bob Beemer
Stunt coordinator: Rick Forsayeth
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $31,505,287
Return: 90% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Thing (2011)

Part of

The Thing Collection

‘The Thing’ is an American science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter. It is a remake of the 1951 movie ‘The Thing from Another World’, in turn based on the 1938 John W. Campbell novella ‘Who Goes There?’ A "remake with a twist" to the 1982 film with the same name was released in 2011.

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Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-10-01
★ 7/10
Hvem går det? The Thing is directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. and adapted to screenplay by Eric Heisserer. It's based on the novel "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell and is a prequel to "John Carpenter's The Thing" from 1982. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Music is by Marco Beltrami and cinematography by Michel Abramowicz. Antartica, 1982, and scientist Kate Lloyd is requested to investigate something strange at a Norwegian base station. By accident the Norwegians have discovered what appears to be an alien craft frozen beneath the ice. Their thoughts prove to be correct and they are rightly celebrating a magnificent discovery, particularly as there appears to also be a frozen being in the ice. But it's not long before everyone at the base begins to regret unearthing the being... No serious John Carpenter fan wanted this film, it wasn't needed or required. His 1982 film is an awesome slice of sci-fi horror, a remake itself of a very good film, "The Thing from Another World" (Howard Hawks 1951), Carpenter flipped the scenario around from Hawks' movie to great effect. Paranoia and creeping dread blended with amazing beasties to make for what many feel is one of the ultimate sci-fi horror movies going. So why remake it then? Well, we are told by Heijningen Jr and his team that this is a prequel to Carpenter's movie, asking the big questions such as just what happened at the Norwegian base station before Kurt Russell's manly mob got there? Making this a sort of filling in the blanks session. Not a bad idea at all is that, something good to work from, even if we know from the beginning of Carpenter's movie just how many Norwegian's survived! Now the problem here is that it may be a prequel, and attention to detail in scenes linking both films together is rather ace, but it's devoid of freshness, the makers pretty much following the exact same formula of Carpenter's film. Cue a group of scientist types getting spooked by something ghastly stalking them, cue one by one them getting offed in grizzly ways by an assimilating menace and cue paranoia and suspicion. They even put in the test sequence from 82, only with a metal slant instead of blood, while the creatures are the same only bigger in body horror terms and budget. Instead of Kurt Russell's mighty machismo, we get Winstead's spunky lady (she's the one without the face fuzz here), but it's the same old same old routine, only for the "Scott Pilgrim" crowd. When all is said and done, this is pretty much a remake of a far far better film. Yet for all that is annoying and unadventurous about it, it's still a bunch of fun, the director is capable in having us wonder what is around the corner, utilising the cramped interiors for maximum fret. The various creatures born out of the Thing itself are monstrous, especially the two headed one which we see horrifically birthed, and even though the CGI is there, with some of it poor, much of it is blended with practical work and the human actors to stop it from being "all" about the effects. It's also nice to report that there is undeniably love and respect for the 82 cut. Leading cast performances are efficient, but Winstead is just too young and looks out of place, she does not, however, fail for lack of effort to make her thinly written part work. Bonus is the Norwegian actors adding some intense character dynamics to the plotting. Beltrami's score nods appreciatively to Morricone's original, and on Blu-ray Abramowicz's steely coloured photography really pings out of the screen. In an alternative universe where there is no John Carpenter film, this would be a well regarded entry into the creature feature stable. With enough shocks and squirmy screams delivered for the genre eager crowd. But unless you are someone who hasn't seen Carpenter's superior movie, then this will feel like a shallow imitation, just like, ironically enough, one of The Thing's assimilated humans. A generous 7/10 from me because I did have fun watching in the privacy of my own home with the lights off. Other Carpenter fans, though, are most likely to start rating from my 7 and work backwards I feel...
Wuchak2023-09-18
★ 7/10
More of the same with a female protagonist, but well done An American paleontologist (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is recruited by a doctor and his assistant (Ulrich Thomsen and Eric Christian Olsen) to travel to a Norwegian base in Antarctica to examine a colossal craft buried under the ice and a nearby frozen specimen. They bring the latter into the base; big mistake. “The Thing” (2011) is a prequel to the Kurt Russell movie from 29 years prior. The ending fittingly paves the way for the 1982 film, which featured an all-male cast. This one attempts to “fix” that arguable issue with the inclusion of Winstead and another female character, but I wouldn’t look for romantic complications because this flick runs 6 minutes shorter than the ’82 film and so only has time to focus on the life-or-death challenges of the remote station. It's basically a re-do, just with a female protagonist à la “Alien” & “Aliens.” The laughable torso jaws return, but this shows faithfulness and consistency. The ’82 film is revered by devotees so this movie was never going to measure up in their eyes. However, it’s pretty much on par and I appreciate the presence of Winstead, plus it does do something different in the last act that I’m not going to give away. The film runs 1 hour, 43 minutes, and was shot at Pinewood Toronto Studios near the shore in Port Lands, as well as nearby Stouffville and the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, the latter of which is a 2-hour drive east of Toronto. Exteriors were shot in British Columbia. GRADE: B