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Parents' Guide to

The Thing

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Gory remake of two scary classics lacks their bite.

Movie R 2011 103 minutes
The Thing Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 10 parent reviews

age 12+
If you can handle some blood, lots of flesh, and occasional cusswords, this is a fun movie to watch!
age 2+
Yet you don't have either of the other "classics" haven't seen this one but I've seen the actually popular one.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10 ):
Kids say (14 ):

Howard Hawks' The Thing from Another World (1951) -- based, like this movie, on a short story by John W. Campbell Jr. -- used a particular, unique style to establish characters and build suspense. John Carpenter's brilliant remake The Thing (1982) managed to be truly frightening while playing with a subtle social and political commentary. But this "premake" -- directed by first timer Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. -- feels like nothing more than a marketing ploy, a move to cash in on a familiar brand with no further attempt to make it relevant.

The movie's visual effects, a combination of digital and latex, look good and manage to copy Rob Bottin's groundbreaking work from the 1982 movie. And by virtue of copying, the new movie manages to re-capture some of the same terrifying human/creature hybrids that caused such chills before. This movie also uses locations and timing to similar effect, but eventually it runs out of steam, forgetting all about the paranoia theme and ignoring any other potentially interesting themes.

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