The Thing

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  • Opened October 14, 2011 
  • 1 hr 48 min
  • R | Strong creature violence and gore, disturbing images and language
  • Parents: Common Sense Media says Iffy for 17+. More on child suitability

  • Paranoia spreads like an epidemic among a group of researchers as they’re infected, one by one, by a mystery from another planet. Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has traveled to the desolate region for the expedition of her lifetime. Joining a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice, she discovers an organism that seems to have died in the crash eons ago. But it is about to wake up.
    When a simple experiment frees the alien from its frozen prison, Kate must join the crew’s pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. And in this vast, intense land, a parasite that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
  • Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr.
  • Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

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Fans say Go
566 fans
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So-so
Critics say So-So
49 out of 100
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Fan Reviews

Must Go!
Ultimate Prequel

by topherkinelo

First and Foremost, if you are not a Science Fiction/Horror fan, then stay home. You will not like the movie. For the rest of us, I can honestly say that this Prequel weaves perfectly into the John...

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The Thing review

by Muvie Reviewer

Loved the original back in 82' with Kurt Russell. I was skeptical in seeing this version of "The Thing" as many remakes are either hit or miss, mainly misses, but I was not disappointed. The 2011...

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A Pretty Good Remake

by itskuh

I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I'm a fan of the horror genre and of the original version of The Thing, The plot development was never lagging and moved at a good pace. Obviously as a...

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Critic Reviews

75
Chicago Tribune
| Michael Phillips

While I wish van Heijningen's Thing weren't quite so in lust with the '82 model, it works because it respects that basic premise. And it exhibits a little patience, doling out its ickiest, nastiest moments in ways that make them stick. Read full review

63
Boston Globe
| Tom Russo

The basic story is identical, and when there are fraught, climactic opportunities for the movie to make a gutsy departure, it passes up the chance. Read full review

60
New York Daily News
| Joe Neumaier

In terms of scares, this old-fashioned Thing is better than most new things. Read full review

58
Entertainment Weekly
| Lisa Schwarzbaum

The other thing The Thing has got going for it is a welcome hint of dour Scandinavian sensibility sneaked in by director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. whenever there's a pause in the unexceptional antics of aliens consuming humans. Read full review

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Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Kate Lloyd in ``The Thing.''