Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
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.
The 2011 Thing prequel largely retreads the same beats as Carpenter's 1982 classic — isolated Antarctic station, shapeshifting alien, paranoia among crew — without adding meaningful new dimension to the mythology. The plot is functional but predictable, hitting familiar story marks without the escalating dread of its predecessor. Acting is serviceable but unremarkable; Mary Elizabeth Winstead does competent work in an underwritten role. Cinematography is competent genre work with decent practical locations, though the shift toward CGI creature effects (versus Carpenter's legendary practical effects) is a notable step down. Novelty is low: as a prequel, it exists largely to explain the Norwegian camp from the original, and it does so in a by-the-numbers fashion. The ending, which ties directly into the 1982 film's opening, is a clever structural choice but feels obligatory rather than satisfying, and the credits stinger is the most interesting moment.