The Thing Gets Scary First Preview Clip
Posted 09.08.11 by Ryan
Universal Pictures has released the first preview clip for their upcoming horror movie, The Thing. If you're aware of John Carpenter's 1982 movie of the same name, that might seem confusing, but the upcoming The Thing is a prequel to Carpenter's The Thing. Glad we could clear that up for you.
The prequel follows the Norwegian scientific team that was briefly revealed in Carpenter's version. The group discovers an alien spacecraft and an extraterrestrial frozen in ice that eventually thaws and turns out to be very unfriendly. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) plays an American paleontologist named Kate Lloyd that joins the Norwegian team after the discovery is made. In an interview with MTV, Winstead admitted that there "was definitely a lot of pressure" in making a prequel to Carpenter's well-respected and beloved movie, but that director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. was able to bring "a whole other level of paranoia" to the movie.
I think that it's exciting to wonder who is a Thing and who isn't, and that's really where the suspense lies. A lot of films in the genre, you kind of know it's not gonna end up well. I don't think anyone is really expecting a happy ending. But that kind of going along for the ride and being in the suspense of the moment is what's really exciting. Our story is so great and it's one that could be played out in so many scenarios, and I think with bringing in completely different characters from completely different backgrounds and countries brings a whole other level of paranoia. It takes it into a different direction, having this language barrier between the characters and having a lot of "us" vs. "them" between the Norwegians and the Americans and things like that was an interesting take on it, made it a not straight-up remake. And it was exciting to me to put a girl in the mix, which people have different opinions on it. But for me, that's what differentiates it from the John Carpenter version in a big way and makes it a different film, makes it a unique film and one that stands on its own.
There is certainly some tension in this first clip, which sees Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje get intentionally scared by a member of the Norwegian team, and then find another surprise as well.
While the glimpse is brief, it does show a bit of the creature, which looks different and similar to the one in Carpenter's version. Winstead explained the "somewhat new look" to the creature.
I think they definitely kept the John Carpenter version in mind when it came to the creature design. Definitely it is still that same world, but there is a somewhat new look to it and somewhat different take on it. It's sort of the 2011 version, but still with that spirit of practical effects. It certainly doesn't look exactly like the John Carpenter version. As awesome as those effects are, they are out of a certain period. And when you see that, you can kind of tell like, "Oh, those are really awesome '80s effects." So you can't really go exactly for that. You have to bring a little of the modern element in to it too, but hopefully keeping that real tangible quality the '80s effects had as well.
The Thing was written by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) and Eric Heisserer (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and co-stars Joel Edgerton, Eric Christian Olsen, Jonathan Walker, Dennis Storhøi, Trond Espen Seim, Jørgen Langhelle, Stig Henrik Hoff, Jan Gunnar Røise, Kristofer Hivju, and Jo Adrian Haavind.
Next Showing: The Thing opens October 14