The Thing (2011)

One of my memories of the eighties is seeing John Carpenter's The Thing on VHS with a mate and being completely blown away by the incredibly gruesome special effects.  I was always a huge fan of Kurt Russell.  The movie wasn't a big hit at the movies (mainly due to another alien movie coming out around the same time, ET) but got a cult status on home video.  It left a lasting impression on many of what science fiction could do.
When I first heard they were doing another The Thing film, I didn't think it was a good idea.  Then I read it was a prequel and I was a little intrigued but as time went by and I thought about the story, I couldn't imagine how they could pull off a good story considering we know where the story goes.  (Star Wars is a typical example).
Then I won a free double pass from Empire Magazine Australia to a special preview screening and I decided it was time to share this type of film with my eldest daughter so we went along, me with no real expectations and she having no background of the John Carpenter film.
The story is based around paleontologist, Kate Lloyd, played by Mary Elisabeth Winsted, being asked to join an expedition to the Antarctic where something strange has been found.  She is taken to the Norwegian base camp (that we saw in the 1982 movie) to help with the examination of a creature that was found in the ice.  It is cut away and brought back to the base.  The ice begins to melt and the doctors drill into the creature to get a tissue sample, which is shown to be very much alive.  Of course the creature escapes and begins to kill the members of the team one at a time and then take on their physical appearance.  Once again, no one knows who is friend and who is foe, which was the concept behind the original story and is very much still relevant in today's post 9/11 society.
The movie also stars Aussie actor Joel Edgerton, who funnily enough was also in the Star Wars prequel.
There are a couple of genuine scares that made me jump out of my seat but what I really loved was the attention to detail in the Norwegian camp in making it fit the original movie and of course the ending which is the actual beginning of the 1982 film.  This was wonderfully done.  The acting was good and the CGI enhanced special effects are quite gruesome.  There really are some disgusting effects, so a success I would think.
I was confused as to why they named it the same as the 1982 film but I can now see that they go together to make one complete story.  I can't wait to get it on Blu Ray so I can watch it back to back with John Carpenter's classic.  8/10