The Thing

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The Thing

R

Released Oct 14, 2011

1h 43m

Horror

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

34%

Tomatometer

171 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

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

Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Not only were audiences confused over whether this was a prequel or a reboot, but the film itself also didn't seem to know whether it wanted to do its own thing or just recycle tried-and-true sequences that made Carpenter's film so original.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 9, 2025

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

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C S

This one gets far too much hate and it might have played it a little too safe. However, the cast did great and it still has some excellent body horror moments. It's not the original and it would be hard to beat that film. It is one of the all time greats but this still deserves a little appreciation.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/22/25

Full Review

Zombii J.

I think I liked this more than most, but I went into it with low expectations. I like the way it tied into the original, I think it did a decent job of feeling like it came from the same era as the original, but I wish they had used practical effects instead of CGI. It also lacked the same level of paranoia that made John Carpenter’s so awesome. Ultimately felt a little flat and not too scary.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/14/25

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is scary and a great prequel for John Carpenters the thing. Although some continuity problems do exist. The actors are amazing. Mary Elizabeth Winsted is amazing as a leading lady. Joel Egerton is believable as a masculine helicopter pilot that is pragmatic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/13/25

Full Review

Nico S.

I know I’m quite alone in my thoughts on this movie but I genuinely like it. I know the pacing is very up and down but I like the monsters look a lot more then the original. Personally I feel this film is quite underrated.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/09/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Should have been rad. All they had to do was tell another isolation survival story against a gnarly alien foe. Instead it tried to out do the original with over the top and way too much wonky cgi. It pales greatly to the classic and that sucks. They could have made more.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/06/25

Full Review

Joseph M

Underrated prequel to a true sci fi horror classic.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/06/25

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

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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