The Thing (2011 Prequel) discussion ... its not a remake!
- Thread starter Lustful Butchery
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Forever Knight
Eye See You
The ending for it still leaves us all with big questions, I was The Thing 3, I want answers dammit!.
Such a great horror flick.
sandman54301
Member
This is a pretty big gamble for me. The 1982 version is hands down one of my top 5 favorite films of all time. It made such an impact on me as a child, and I enjoy revisiting it about every year or two, and it never gets old. Sometimes you see a scary film when you are a kid, and then see it again as an adult and say 'why was I ever scared of this?' But not so with this movie. It's still just as terrifying to me as it ever was. They better not screw this up.
Lustful Butchery
Throwing Some Justice!
Well, everybody's favorite horror buff is back. YAY!
And your right, I'm hoping they don't **** this up.
Forever Knight
Eye See You
Go in with low hopes, I don't see this surpassing the original at all but at least we will get some answers to what the first film's opening scenes left us wondering about since 1982.
Lustful Butchery
Throwing Some Justice!
Interview with director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.:
I’m a huge fan of the original Thing. It’s one of my favorite horror films. These days, we’re so used to seeing prequels, sequels and re-imaginings that let us down in one way or another, but I was blown away by your film. It’s certainly the best prequel I’ve ever seen.
Better than The Phantom Menace?
As hard as that is to believe, yes! You nailed it. Your film fits perfectly into the story of the original while completely doing its own thing in several ways. You find all these new spins on the elements of that world.
Well, thank you so much. That was sort of my goal. I mean, I saw the movie when it was in theaters, when I was 16, and it made such an impression on me. Being able to do it 28 years later -- paying tribute to John Carpenter’s movie, not just copying it but trying to do my own thing -- was a huge challenge. But I looked in my heart and thought, “What’s the stuff I want to see?” As a European, I was always fascinated by the Norwegian story. That little thing gave me justification to do this.
::SLIGHT SPOILER::
A perfect example of the way your film ingeniously adapts the source material is the filling test. As classic as the original's blood test is, your scene manages to retain the essence of that scene while really ratcheting up the tension. I was cringing in my seat the whole time, waiting for a tentacle to shoot out of someone’s mouth.
Back when we started the project, I went to the writers and producers and said, “We have to come up with some sort of test scene that is as good as the iconic blood testing scene." We were thinking out loud about how it would work if you were replicated. Would you be exactly the same? Yes and no, because you could have inorganic medical stuff in your body that the creature can't replicate. Our scene came out of that logic.
::SPOILER END::
What were some of your fears when you first decided to take on this project?
Can it be as exciting as the original? Can I do justice to the original? There were moments in prepping this movie when I woke up at night, like, “Oh my god, I’m going to ruin the legacy of The Thing.” If you care so much for something, and you’re the one who’s going to spoil the party, that’s pretty daunting. But I made it from my heart, not any commercial motives, so it will probably end up fine.
Your creature operates in basically the same way as the original, but because we’re 30 years down the line, it has an agility that makes it all the more terrifying. How did you manage to bring that physicality to it, yet retain that sticky, organic feel?
I just imagined what would be scary. Exploding humans are nice, but watching the Thing transform is even better. For it to follow you and track you down, that’s even scarier. For me, as a fanboy, we had to be practical. We had all the monsters available on set, and we shot it all in camera. Some stuff worked really nicely, and some was digitally enhanced to get rid of that 80s-Muppet-feel. It's that cross between a monster and a human that scares the sh*t out of me -- like a passenger riding this horrific ride and not being able to do anything but witness her own destruction. I like that stuff.
What's next?
I haven’t properly searched for anything yet, because this has been taking all of my time. I like comedy, but really twisted dark comedy. So, maybe some sort of horror-comedy like An American Werewolf in London. I don’t write stuff myself, so I have to find something or something just crosses my path.
I’m a huge fan of the original Thing. It’s one of my favorite horror films. These days, we’re so used to seeing prequels, sequels and re-imaginings that let us down in one way or another, but I was blown away by your film. It’s certainly the best prequel I’ve ever seen.
Better than The Phantom Menace?
As hard as that is to believe, yes! You nailed it. Your film fits perfectly into the story of the original while completely doing its own thing in several ways. You find all these new spins on the elements of that world.
Well, thank you so much. That was sort of my goal. I mean, I saw the movie when it was in theaters, when I was 16, and it made such an impression on me. Being able to do it 28 years later -- paying tribute to John Carpenter’s movie, not just copying it but trying to do my own thing -- was a huge challenge. But I looked in my heart and thought, “What’s the stuff I want to see?” As a European, I was always fascinated by the Norwegian story. That little thing gave me justification to do this.
::SLIGHT SPOILER::
A perfect example of the way your film ingeniously adapts the source material is the filling test. As classic as the original's blood test is, your scene manages to retain the essence of that scene while really ratcheting up the tension. I was cringing in my seat the whole time, waiting for a tentacle to shoot out of someone’s mouth.
Back when we started the project, I went to the writers and producers and said, “We have to come up with some sort of test scene that is as good as the iconic blood testing scene." We were thinking out loud about how it would work if you were replicated. Would you be exactly the same? Yes and no, because you could have inorganic medical stuff in your body that the creature can't replicate. Our scene came out of that logic.
::SPOILER END::
What were some of your fears when you first decided to take on this project?
Can it be as exciting as the original? Can I do justice to the original? There were moments in prepping this movie when I woke up at night, like, “Oh my god, I’m going to ruin the legacy of The Thing.” If you care so much for something, and you’re the one who’s going to spoil the party, that’s pretty daunting. But I made it from my heart, not any commercial motives, so it will probably end up fine.
Your creature operates in basically the same way as the original, but because we’re 30 years down the line, it has an agility that makes it all the more terrifying. How did you manage to bring that physicality to it, yet retain that sticky, organic feel?
I just imagined what would be scary. Exploding humans are nice, but watching the Thing transform is even better. For it to follow you and track you down, that’s even scarier. For me, as a fanboy, we had to be practical. We had all the monsters available on set, and we shot it all in camera. Some stuff worked really nicely, and some was digitally enhanced to get rid of that 80s-Muppet-feel. It's that cross between a monster and a human that scares the sh*t out of me -- like a passenger riding this horrific ride and not being able to do anything but witness her own destruction. I like that stuff.
What's next?
I haven’t properly searched for anything yet, because this has been taking all of my time. I like comedy, but really twisted dark comedy. So, maybe some sort of horror-comedy like An American Werewolf in London. I don’t write stuff myself, so I have to find something or something just crosses my path.
KingRanger
Banned
While I love 1982 The Thing, I laugh every time some one calls it "the original"... :laugh:
Lustful Butchery
Throwing Some Justice!
I guess people just see the 50's version to be non-existent and just didn't care for it. Do you?
Forever Knight
Eye See You
How was the original comapred to the 82 ver?.
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