The Thing (2011) | Rotten Tomatoes

The Thing

R

Released Oct 14, 2011

1h 43m

Horror

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

List

34%

Tomatometer

174 Reviews

42%

Audience Score

25,000+ Ratings

After Norwegian researchers discover an alien ship buried in the ice, paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins the team at the isolated Arctic outpost to investigate. She finds an organism that appears to have perished in the crash eons ago but, in fact, is about to awake. Freed from its icy prison, the insidious life-form goes on the attack. Paranoia spreads like wildfire among the crew as they fight to survive against a creature that assumes the shapes of its victims.

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Critics Consensus

It serves the bare serviceable minimum for a horror flick, but The Thing is all boo-scares and a slave to the far superior John Carpenter version.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

It reduces things to nothing more than a highlight reel of terror, none of it particularly scary even if what is being presented is done so with a fair amount of skill.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 27, 2012

Full Review

Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

This isn't the real Thing; keep it at bay.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 2, 2011

Full Review

Phelim O'Neill

Guardian

Whatever good intentions were behind this prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 classic, the sloppy execution renders them moot.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 1, 2011

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

It’s actually a prequel to the 1982 movie, leading one to wonder why they didn’t more accurately name it The Thing: The Beginning, The Thing: The Early Days or even I Was a Teenage Thing.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 27, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Van Heijningen’s new film can’t decide if it wants to elaborate on Carpenter’s version or pay homage to it, and that indecision is where the fault lies.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 7, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

This prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic manages to capture enough of the shocks and paranoia of its predecessor to be successful.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 25, 2022

Full Review

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Mike P

Solid and watchable prequel to the 1982 masterpiece is perfectly fine...This one shows the genesis of how that ORIGINAL base got infected; the Norwegian Thule Station...before the German Shepherd escaped and infected US Outpost 31 in the 1982 Thing...And this little prequel is perfectly acceptable...Even though everybody hates it so much...It's one of those situations where the iconic original casts too big of a shadow...(And this movie proves what a rare breed masterpiece Aliens was, because James Cameron faced a similar challenge and similar resistance and hostility when he proposed rebooting the Alien franchise back in 1986; but then look what he did...It just shows that that SUPER successful sequel was not just an icon; it was a Unicorn, essentially...) But getting back to THIS one...the cast is fine, the script is fine; some of the kills are genuinely inventive and interesting. It doesn't give you stark chills and goosebumps the way the first one did; but it's kinda creepy here and there; and is a decent enough watch if you're into alien-sci-fi. The worst thing I can say about it is it's not very ambitious; it's just desperately trying to to keep up pace with the first one; which is does about half the time. So...Not great...But Watchable...Overall: Moderate Recommendation

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/17/24

Full Review

Zoe G

I don't understand the poor rating, this is a great prequel

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/04/24

Full Review

prawnda s

this deserves a fair shake. as some of the other reviews mention: many people may have confused this as a remake when it's actually a prequel. the cgi is not that great, and it would have been nice to see some practical effects to honor carpenter's original work, but theres basically nothing wrong with this film. it's important to remember that the dialogue and cinematography in the original was not that perfect, so i really just see this as a generational equivalent. the cgi doesnt bother me so long as i'm entertained, and it's not kinetically off from the live action character's movements. it looks a little fake because cgi was not great at the time in general, but it works just fine, and some parts actually look pretty solid.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/13/24

Full Review

Lennon B

What most people don't realize is that this film is a prequel to the 1982 film. While not even coming close to the John Carpenter Masterpiece, I feel this film has its own unique charm going for it. There is definitely a tone and mood this film has. Nothing disrespected the original lore of Carpenter's alien and was careful to not expand on it too much. It's a fun watch and a good addition to the franchise.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/29/24

Full Review

g j

Never really got the hate for this. I think its a really well-crafted love letter to the Carpenter film. Its not a masterpiece, but its pretty solid.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/28/24

Full Review

ThaMago L

I know its not The best Movie, but i just love monster/alien movies, so i Enjoy it very mutch, and im Norwegian so that helps to

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/24

Full Review

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Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

Director

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Dr. Kate Lloyd

Joel Edgerton

Carter

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Jameson

Trond Espen Seim

Edvard Wolner

Ulrich Thomsen

Dr. Sander Halvorson

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The Thing: Official Clip - The Thing Reveals Itself

2:33

The Thing: Official Clip - Everything's Fine

2:22

The Thing: Official Clip - Juliette Transforms

2:39

The Thing: Official Clip - Alien Autopsy

2:35

The Thing: Official Clip - Let's See Your Teeth

2:58

The Thing: Official Clip - How I Knew You Were Human

2:15

The Thing: Official Clip - Kate Confronts the Thing

2:52

The Thing: Official Clip - They Killed Lars!

1:33

The Thing: Official Clip - Trapped in the Kitchen

2:49

The Thing: Official Clip - We Find It, We Kill It

2:30

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Synopsis

After Norwegian researchers discover an alien ship buried in the ice, paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins the team at the isolated Arctic outpost to investigate. She finds an organism that appears to have perished in the crash eons ago but, in fact, is about to awake. Freed from its icy prison, the insidious life-form goes on the attack. Paranoia spreads like wildfire among the crew as they fight to survive against a creature that assumes the shapes of its victims.

Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Producer: Marc Abraham, Eric Newman
Screenwriter: Eric Heisserer
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Strike Entertainment
Rating: R (Gore|Disturbing Images|Language|Strong Creature Violence)
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.9M
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SRD, DTS

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