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The Thing

  • 20112011
  • RR
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
131K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,652
179
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Thing (2011)
At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson.
Play trailer2:31
7 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Horror
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi
At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson.At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson.At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
131K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,652
179
  • Director
    • Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
  • Writers
    • Eric Heisserer
    • John W. Campbell Jr.(short story "Who Goes There?")
  • Stars
    • Mary Elizabeth Winstead
    • Joel Edgerton
    • Ulrich Thomsen
Top credits
  • Director
    • Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
  • Writers
    • Eric Heisserer
    • John W. Campbell Jr.(short story "Who Goes There?")
  • Stars
    • Mary Elizabeth Winstead
    • Joel Edgerton
    • Ulrich Thomsen
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 673User reviews
    • 364Critic reviews
    • 49Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 nominations

    Videos7

    Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:31
    Trailer #1
    "The Thing Break Into the Shelter During a Standoff"
    Clip 0:54
    "The Thing Break Into the Shelter During a Standoff"
    "Kate Shows Everyone the Fillings She Found"
    Clip 1:04
    "Kate Shows Everyone the Fillings She Found"
    "Kate Locks the Americans in a Storage Room"
    Clip 0:58
    "Kate Locks the Americans in a Storage Room"
    "The Thing Escapes"
    Clip 0:49
    "The Thing Escapes"
    "A Look Inside: The Thing"
    Featurette 2:01
    "A Look Inside: The Thing"
    The Thing (2011)
    Promo 0:32
    The Thing (2011)

    Photos159

    Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Joel Edgerton in The Thing (2011)
    Joel Edgerton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in The Thing (2011)
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead in The Thing (2011)
    Joel Edgerton, Eric Christian Olsen, Trond Espen Seim, Ulrich Thomsen, and Kim Bubbs in The Thing (2011)
    Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. in The Thing (2011)
    Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in The Thing (2011)
    Eric Christian Olsen in The Thing (2011)
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead in The Thing (2011)
    Joel Edgerton in The Thing (2011)
    Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in The Thing (2011)
    Carsten Bjørnlund, Eric Christian Olsen, Ulrich Thomsen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kristofer Hivju in The Thing (2011)
    Ulrich Thomsen and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in The Thing (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead
    • Kate Lloydas Kate Lloyd
    Joel Edgerton
    Joel Edgerton
    • Carteras Carter
    Ulrich Thomsen
    Ulrich Thomsen
    • Dr. Sander Halvorsonas Dr. Sander Halvorson
    Eric Christian Olsen
    Eric Christian Olsen
    • Adam Finchas Adam Finch
    Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
    Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
    • Jamesonas Jameson
    Paul Braunstein
    Paul Braunstein
    • Griggsas Griggs
    Trond Espen Seim
    Trond Espen Seim
    • Edvard Wolneras Edvard Wolner
    Kim Bubbs
    Kim Bubbs
    • Julietteas Juliette
    Jørgen Langhelle
    • Larsas Lars
    Jan Gunnar Røise
    Jan Gunnar Røise
    • Olavas Olav
    Stig Henrik Hoff
    Stig Henrik Hoff
    • Pederas Peder
    Kristofer Hivju
    Kristofer Hivju
    • Jonasas Jonas
    Jo Adrian Haavind
    Jo Adrian Haavind
    • Henrikas Henrik
    Carsten Bjørnlund
    Carsten Bjørnlund
    • Karlas Karl
    Jonathan Walker
    Jonathan Walker
    • Colinas Colin
    • (as Jonathan Lloyd Walker)
    Ole Martin Aune Nilsen
    • Matias (Heli Pilot)as Matias (Heli Pilot)
    Michael Brown
    Michael Brown
    • Security Guardas Security Guard
    • Director
      • Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
    • Writers
      • Eric Heisserer
      • John W. Campbell Jr.(short story "Who Goes There?")
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      An enormous number of screen shots from the first movie were kept on the set while filming at all times, in order to ensure that the Norwegian station would be rebuilt to the smallest details.
    • Goofs
      (at around 57 mins) When Lars is guarding the helicopter pilots, he yells at them a line in Norwegian which the subtitles mistranslate as, "Don't move, demons". An accurate translation of the line would be, "Take it fucking easy".
    • Quotes

      Adam Finch: So, I'm gonna die because I floss?

    • Crazy credits
      SPOILER: There are a few short scenes during the first part of the end credits, which tie the ending of this film to the beginning of the 1982 film.
    • Connections
      Featured in De wereld draait door: Episode #7.31 (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      Who Can It Be Now
      Written and Performed by Colin Hay

      Courtesy of Lazy Eye Records America

    User reviews673

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    Pales in comparison to Carpenter's classic with nothing new or interesting to offer of its own.
    It's hard for anything to compare to John Carpenter's The Thing. It's one of the greatest horror films ever made, some would argue *the* best. Thankfully, they didn't go the remake route here and instead opted for a prequel that depicted the events that happened in the Norwegian camp prior to the '82 version. In that regard, this movie does an impressive job at tying some knots like showing how the two-faced thing came to be, as well as the origin of the dog from the start of Carpenter's Thing. Sadly, that's where most of the praise ends.

    The Thing suffers from what plagues many horror movies these days - underwritten characters and overwhelming CGI. One of the scariest things of Carpenter's version is the practical effects of the "thing". They were horrifying. Here, all subtlety is thrown out the window in favor of huge CGI monsters. It's effectively used in a couple scenes, but the monsters lose their scariness after a while and it just becomes gratuitous. The characters themselves are paper thin. What helped make the '82 version so fantastic is that we got to know the characters, their quirks, their personalities, and we were able to empathize with their situations. In this movie, half of the characters are interchangeable. I didn't even know most of their names. And worse yet, I didn't care about any of them. There's one particular scene that calls back to Carpenter's infamous blood test scene where I realized that most of these people are really dumb and I don't care if any of them die. That's not good in a horror movie. By that point it was just a waiting game for them to get picked off one by one.

    The lead performances are strong. For the material they were given, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton do a fine job. But that simply isn't enough to carry a movie like this. The Thing is supposed to be scary, and for the most part, it isn't. That's a failure by horror standards. There's some face-value entertainment to be had here, but if you're looking for a substantial prequel to Carpenter's masterpiece, you'll be sorely disappointed.
    helpful•151
    44
    • lnvicta
    • May 23, 2016

    FAQ31

    • Where does the song "I Gotcha" by Joe Tex appear in the movie?
    • At the beginning of the film, in the ice cave scene. Is that an alien queen frozen in the ice?
    • What is 'The Thing' about?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 14, 2011 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (France)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Norwegian
      • Danish
    • Also known as
      • The Thing: The Beginning
    • Filming locations
      • Canadian Forces Base, Trenton, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Morgan Creek Entertainment
      • Universal Pictures
      • Strike Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $38,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $16,928,670
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $8,493,665
      • Oct 16, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $31,505,287
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 43 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • Datasat
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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