Although I’m tempted to say that John Carpenter’s The Thing needs a prequel like a hole in the head, the upcoming prequel (due to reach us in the UK in December, but washing up in the US in mid-October) is actually looking pretty good from what we have seen so far. The Thing 2011 will be hard-pressed to come close to The Thing 1982 (a different title might have helped) in terms of suspense, bleakness or compelling characterisation, but hopefully it won’t try to paper over the cracks with cheap jumps and gore.
We now have a new TV spot, courtesy of YouTube, which is intelligent enough to tease with some creature/effect glimpses that will resonate with fans of the original, but without giving too much away. I think Winstead has shown herself capable enough in Die Hard 4.0 and Scott Pilgrim and should be able to avoid being too much of a one-dimensional screamer, but as for the overall final product, we can but hope.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iyvTpUnm8E’]
