The prequel The Thing tried to replicate this lightning in a bottle of tension, fear, and horror. While there are some clever moments to that film, it’s ultimately unsatisfying and unnecessary. Now, Blumhouse is apparently in the hunt to adapt John Campbell’s previously lost full-novel manuscript of the story originally titled Frozen Hell. In the right hands, this could be an interesting take on the story. It’s certainly material worth revisiting, but there’s got to be something unique about it to make it worth the time. I always thought an early 1930's period film with limited technology would be the best way to go. The last thing we need is another useless tired retread. Even if that’s all we get, nothing can take away from John Carpenter’s 1982 classic - or the badass 2002 video game. Couldn't agree more. Just looking at any of those comparison shots and it's so, so, so clear that one of those better brings "The Thing" to life than the other. Detail is very nice in close-up and long shots. The matte paintings used in the film have never looked better and we can see everything. Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative, supervised and approved by director John Carpenter and director of photography Dean Cundey

The Thing Blu-ray - Zavvi UK The Thing Blu-ray - Zavvi UK

Over the years, star Kurt Russell and master of horror John Carpenter have teamed up on a multitude of films (Big Trouble in Little China and Escape from New York to name a few) but of all their collaborations, 1982s horror/sci-fi amalgam The Thing surely tops the list. The Thing' Evolves(HD, 14 min.) - The filmmakers knew that they had a daunting and seemingly impossible task at hand – following up one of the most beloved horror movies of all time – so they describe the "reverse engineering" "story by autopsy" method they applied while writing it. This is a great feature for fans of Carpenter's 'Thing.' Deleted/Extended Scenes(HD, 9 min.) - Watch all seven scenes individually or watch them as a "play all" feature. Two scenes are needless chit-chat, one raises questions and leaves room for plot holes, two feature the fate of characters whose deaths we simply assume and two are barely extended versions of scenes in the final cut – one of "Two-Heads" creeping around the compound and the other being the final chopper scene shown in its entirety, not in pieces like during the credits. of the song would not fit in this instance, and here is one case where less is most definitely more.Who Goes There? In Search of The Thing – an all-new feature length documentary produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures exploring the history of The Thing, from the original novella to John Carpenter’s terrifying science fiction classic. Featuring new interviews with the cast and crew, as well as authors, historians, and critics

The Thing - Arrow Blu-Ray Review The Thing - Arrow Blu-Ray Review

Home 2016 Blu-ray Release Is One Thing (Blu-ray) Better Than Another? The Thing (Scream Factory) vs The Thing (Arrow Video) vs The Thing 4K (Universal) Explosions, gunshots, flares and flame thrower sounds (there are a lot of them) are fairly immersive in DTS:X. The opening scene when the alien spaceship crashes into Earth has a strong left-to-right pan, as do the helicopter flyovers that seem to circle around the viewing space. There's an unquantifiable atmosphere involved that isn't a function of the brightest cleanest shots and highest resolution. What you call excessive cold and blue hues isn't misguided impression, IT IS "THE THING". John Carpenter’s place as one of the true giants of genre filmmaking is secure thanks to his remarkable run in the 70s and 80s. Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, Escape from New York, Big Trouble In Little China, They Live... all of these are fantastic movies in every sense of the word. But The Thing is Carpenter’s masterpiece and it’s never looked or sounded better than it does here in 4K Ultra HD. Just be sure to hang onto those previous boutique Blu-ray editions for their better extras. Recommended. The good news is this new 2160p 2.35:1 transfer offers up a fair and welcome middle-ground between the 2016 and 2017 releases. With a natural film grain texture, there are impressive fine point details in clothing, facial features, and set design work. I’ve seen this film countless times over the last 25 years or so and I felt like I was seeing small things I’d never noticed before. As mentioned, film grain is apparent but well-resolved without ever appearing too noisy, nor is there any sign of waxy DNR or other compression artifacts. Soft shots that have always looked soft - well, guess what, they’re still soft. That’s just the way they are. But close-ups and middles shots look terrific, the gnarly autopsy sequences are still grotesquely beautiful offering up even more fine detail in the fleshy bits. You can really fully appreciate all of the incredible Rob Bottin special effects.

The Thing is out on 23rd October on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by Arrow Video. The new 4K scan transfer is a revelation. I haven’t seen the other Blu-Ray releases to compare, but it’s a huge improvement over the DVD versions I’ve seen and it looked magnificent blown up nice and big on my projector. It’s a clean, natural looking picture that’s incredible detailed and made me realise the film is more colourful than I remembered.

The Thing - Steelbook - Universal 100th Anniversary Edition The Thing - Steelbook - Universal 100th Anniversary Edition

Arrow thanks to scans of the original negative could deliver a more filmlike presentation, and they’re definitely better at handling remasters/restorations. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I would imagine the film's title creature However, the shots at around one hour and seven minutes when the guys are walking with flares have a really nice color effect with HDR. There is a glow to the pinkish magenta hue that isn’t possible on all TVs or PC monitors, only with HDR.

and colorless, but it looks worn and beat up, old and lived in, cold and lifeless, and every little Having recently seen the Arrow transfer without knowing that in advance (or about any of these differences), I spent the whole film with this impression of everything being "off", leaving me just trying to make sense of a magic that just wasn't there anymore. Only know do I understand what happened. Below are screenshots for the different releases. The Scream Factory release also contains the TV version of the film, so I did some screenshots for that too. next to no gore, relying instead on the other hallmarks of great horror to craft perhaps the finest Who Goes There? In Search of The Thing an all-new feature length documentary produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures exploring the history of The Thing, from the original novella to John Carpenter's terrifying science fiction classic. Featuring new interviews with the cast and crew, as well as authors, historians, and critics

The Thing 4K Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

US research station, Antarctica, early-winter 1982. The base is suddenly buzzed by a helicopter from the nearby Norwegian research station. They are trying to kill a dog that has escaped from their base. After the destruction of the Norwegian chopper, the members of the US team fly to the Norwegian base, only to discover them all dead or missing. They do find the remains of a strange creature the Norwegians burned. The Americans take it to their base and deduce that it is an alien life form. After a while, it is apparent that the alien can take over and assimilate into other life forms, including humans, and can spread like a virus. This means that anyone at the base could be inhabited by The Thing, and tensions escalateTechnically, 'The Thing' is a prequel, but the movie itself plays out like a remake, following the exact same formula as the original. Handy flamethrowers are stashed all over the station. Nobody knows who they can or can't trust. There's even a test that they administer to one another to see if they're human or not – but don't worry, it's not the blood test again, but something fresh, new, and fun. 'The Thing' is a prequel that plays out like an homage-filled remake, but with a fresh and fun story. It's a remake for audiences who don't know the '82 version, and a prequel for those who do know the story and want more. Critically panned at the time of its release, John Carpenter's The Thing has rightly gone on to become one of the most celebrated sci-fi horror efforts ever made now newly restored by Arrow Films in a stunning 4K transfer supervised by Carpenter and director of photography Dean Cundey. Alien and The Thing have quite a bit in common. Both movies feature a small group of disparate individuals trapped in a confined, remote location from which they can neither escape nor call for help. Both have a malevolent alien creature awakened after a long period of dormancy. But for all its many virtues (and believe me, I do think it’s a great movie), Alien is still just folks being hunted by a monster. It’s a story told with undeniable skill and style, but for all that it’s still a familiar story. The Thing is familiar, too, but the terror is more insidious than just a monster on the loose. Once this alien gets inside you, it becomes you, and Carpenter works this angle masterfully. The real terror in The Thing comes from paranoia, claustrophobia, and isolation. And these all come from within, not from some external source. But when the fear does come from without, as it does in the transformation scenes for instance, the movie works just as well. Carpenter is able to strike a perfect balance between inner and outer terror. Even after the movie ends, you’re still left wondering who you can trust. High Dynamic Range is provided via HDR10 and the BT.2020 spec that allows up to 10-bits of color depth. As far as color, The Thing has a less saturated palette than other HDR films but there is evidence of deeper color in the shadow and bright areas that were not possible in 8-bit color on Blu-rays. This is essentially legacy content from the original DVD release. The good news is, now you don’t have to use the U-Control option to watch the documentary (as was the case on the 2008 BD). And of course, the commentary by Carpenter and star Kurt Russell has been carried over. Carpenter/Russell commentaries are consistently top-notch and this is one of their finest. Obviously, none of the Scream Factory or Arrow Video-exclusive Blu-ray extras are here, so fans will certainly want to keep those regardless. You at least get the obligatory Digital code on a paper insert.