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The Thing arrives in theaters today. It’s a supposed prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic. While you may want to praise Universal for its decision to forgo the current trend of remakes, I’d contend that their plan to write a prequel is simply an ingenious way for them to remake the original without having to attach the much-maligned “remake” tag to the film. Now, it’s not necessarily Universal’s fault – the original film dealt the cards they’re now playing.
The Thing 2011 may not be an official remake, but it’s so trapped by what the original established, it’s no different. All of the events in Carpenter’s film are preceded by the mysterious abandonment of a Norwegian camp elsewhere on Antarctica. The Thing 2011 details the struggle in the Norwegian camp. Consequently, before the first frame hits the screen, the setting is already established (Antarctica), the antagonist is already established (alien creature) and events are already established (an unknown creature is found, it assimilates to the animals or people within the camp and kills most or all of them in attempt to reach a larger population).
Do those events sounds familiar? It’s Carpenter’s original film!
I see only the bookends of the film significantly deviating from Carpenter’s film. It’ll explain the origins of the creature, which anyone with half a brain could guess (hint: its spaceship crashed), and the creature will survive in the end. I’m not saying there won’t be any interesting additions to what the original established – I’ve already read that there are indeed such additions – I’m just saying a remake would’ve done the same damn thing: keep the major plot points in place as subtle changes are folded in. I see the appeal of creating a prequel or a sequel to a cult classic, you re-kindle the flames of the original while igniting an entirely new film (see: Tron: Legacy). I just don’t believe the studio is making this film for the fans.
The worst part is Universal may have their cake and eat it too… so long as nobody reads reviews of this one.