The Thing

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The Thing

R

2011

1h 43m

Horror

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

34%

Tomatometer

172 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.

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

01/27/2012

2/4

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.

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

12/02/2011

2/5

This isn't the real Thing; keep it at bay.

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Phelim O'Neill

Guardian

12/01/2011

2/5

Whatever good intentions were behind this prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 classic, the sloppy execution renders them moot.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Apr 5

3/5

The Thing 2011 has a strong, moody atmosphere, some wild jump scares, some decent tension, and does feel like a loving tribute to the original film. It’s one case where it would be interesting to see a director’s cut...

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 9

2/5

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.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

04/27/2023

2/4

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.

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Ron S.

@RT12345102 3d

The choice from the studio for the CGI effect to replace practical effects. Ruins this great movie.

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Jorge H

@jorge02 Mar 13

A movie hated on its time because of his bad CGI effects and post production, but besides that its a good made movie that's actually not that bad as people say. 9/10

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Jett H

@Jettplane Feb 22

I wouldn’t compare it too the old one but if you loved the old one and want more of that exact same vibe this does it easily and well

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mean s

@MeanOne Jan 8

This is a well made film. I saw the original in 1982. This movie is a worthy prequal. Watch it.

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Jeff H

@JeffANH Dec 31

Brilliant prequel, ties everything up perfectly and leads you seamlessly into the original.

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Gregory S

@Gregory566 Nov 16

I enjoyed the movie, but no, not as good as the first. My primary issue was the CGI instead of practical effects, plus a couple of other things that I do not want to spoil. It is worth a watch though.

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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

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The Thing: Official Clip - Everything's Fine

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The Thing: Official Clip - Juliette Transforms

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The Thing: Official Clip - Alien Autopsy

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The Thing: Official Clip - Let's See Your Teeth

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The Thing: Official Clip - How I Knew You Were Human

2:15

The Thing: Official Clip - Kate Confronts the Thing

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The Thing: Official Clip - They Killed Lars!

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The Thing: Official Clip - Trapped in the Kitchen

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The Thing: Official Clip - We Find It, We Kill It

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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