“I wish Hollywood would stop remaking movies. They always suck!” Statements that hear time and time again in the horror community. There have been countless good remakes out in the word that for some reason get overlooked for simply being remakes. This list includes ‘The Fly,’ ‘Evil Dead,’ and the film that we will discuss today, John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’. These films weren’t necessarily overlooked but they are films that put up a strong argument against the “remakes are horrible” crowd. There’s not too much else that can be said about this iconic film that hasn’t already been said in thousands of retrospectives so I’m going to try to keep this short and sweet. It got the Scream Factory treatment and I finally got a chance to look at it. So grab your snow boots and your flamethrower, and let’s dive into this release of a horrifying tale of paranoia and madness.
Listen, I’m not going to waste your time with a summary of the film……..if you haven’t seen it… what are you doing here?! GO WATCH THIS MOVIE! Also, if you don’t own the film……buy the Scream Factory release!
As always the release is great. The new 2K scan, surpervised by DP Dean Cundey, looks phenomenal. It still blows my mind that a film over 30 years old can look like it was made yesterday with the right set up. Scream Factory provides us with two discs of content and boy is it jam packed with fun stuff! On disc one we’re given two commentaries: one recycled from a past release featuring Carpenter and Kurt Russell, and the other, a brand new commentary, featuring Cundey himself discussing what went into filming and this release.
Disc two is the heart and soul of this set. We have an all new set of interviews from the cast and crew, minus Russell. These are fun and hilarious stories provided by a group of people who had a great time making fantastic film. Also included is the remarkable 1998 documentary, “Terror Takes Shape”. This feature, though a bit dated, is the perfect companion piece to the film. It includes everything on the surface that you’d want to know about the film. Along with the documentary are 4 vintage featurettes, outtakes, a product reel, and the Network TV version of the film, if you’re into that sort of thing.
This is the essential release for any fan, as most Scream Factory products are. With the inclusion of the new features and the documentary, I feel this is the perfect time to double dip if you have the past bluray release. If you don’t own a copy of The Thing, I’m judging you a bit but now is the perfect time to grab it! Also, if you’re looking to meet a few of the stars, and yours truly, you can catch them, and myself, in Cherry Hill, NJ March 10-12th at Monster-Mania Con. Thomas G Waits, Joel Polis, Richard Masur, and Wilford Brimley (1st CON APPEARANCE!) will be signing and taking pictures all weekend long!
Obsessed with all things horror, video games, comics and vinyl, Dylan has been surrounded by all things geek culture since birth. Along with writing for Icon Versus Icon he’s also the co-host for the year long Christmas podcast, “Christmas 365”.
“No wimps. No False Metal.”
