In 1982, John Carpenter delivered what is arguably his masterpiece with The Thing. A sci-fi horror remake of 1951's The Thing From Another World (itself based on the short story 'Who Goes There?'), the movie broke new ground with its memorably repulsive make-up effects.
In fact, so grotesque were Rob Bottin's body-mangling efforts that The Thing alienated many reviewers and opened to poor box office returns. Opening on the same day as Steven Spielberg's behemoth E.T. surely didn't help either. Nevertheless, the critical frostiness thawed in the subsequent decades, and The Thing is now regarded as a pioneering horror classic.
This story of Antarctic scientists besieged by an invasive alien organism that can mimic human beings already spawned a 2011 sequel/remake. That particular take on The Thing aimed to fill in the gaps as to what happened at the Norwegian research station, whose scientists are seen pursuing a dog at the start of Carpenter's film.
Needless to say, with cheap-looking CGI grafted over the initially planned practical effects, it didn't work out. Now, Carpenter is looking to right those wrongs by teaming with horror specialists Blumhouse (Get Out; 2018's Halloween) to give The Thing a proper makeover.
Carpenter first revealed the news on Saturday on a panel for the Fantasia International Film Festival, reports Variety. There was, perhaps, an assumption that Carpenter himself had entered talks to direct a Blumhouse project, to which he replied: "I have? I don’t know about that. But we’ve talked about — I think he’s going to be working on ‘The Thing,’ rebooting ‘The Thing.’ I’m involved with that, maybe. Down the road.”
In recent years, Blumhouse have emerged as one of the saviours of intelligent, gripping horror movies. In addition to the Oscar-winning Get Out and the blockbusting Halloween, they've also turned their hand to The Purge, Insidious, Happy Death Day and Unfriended.
Although Carpenter wouldn't be drawn on specific details about the movie, we can't wait to see his cult sensibilities fused with Blumhouse's knack for scaring an audience.
Excited about the prospect of The Thing remake? Let us know @Cineworld.
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