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The Thing From Another World (contains fan-speculation)


Mitth'raw'nuroudo
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I've said before that i consider this movie a quasi-prequel to the Carpenter version, and while that hasn't changed I do have a very different take on the titular Thing itself than what I get from Carpenter's monster. This Thing feels very much more like a stranded traveler being hunted by malicious natives than a malicious force itself. Obviously i give the guy at the beginning a pass for opening fire(this was the 1950s after all), but after that it's clear the soldiers want to kill the visitor simply for being alien. The final scene in particular seems like outright murder. As Carrington is talking to it, the alien stands there, seemingly listening to what he has to say, and after shoving him aside(not, you'll note, bashing him with its bit of wood), it approaches the rest of the group more slowly, almost tentatively, as if it were having second thoughts about these odd little creatures, thinking perhaps the small bearded man was telling the truth. And then it gets fried, giving it all the proof it needs that these beasts should be wiped out, so it sends a telepathic signal to its arm and unleashes the bio-weapon we see in the 1982 movie.

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What??? The Thing played by James Arness in the 50s is not connected to the John Carpenter version. The 50s Alien was like a plant. It had that 50s red scare like invasion of the body snatchers had.

 

The John Carpenter version is a remake/reimaging of the story.

 

Actually both are based on a short story called "Who goes there?"

 

I love both versions very much.

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I know, hence "fan speculation." While i've never read "Who Goes There?" i have seen the three Thing movies, and personally i'd rather fansplain the original into to prequeldom than have anything more to do with the "real" prequel. Perhaps the original was plant-like because the initial contact(before it froze) was with a plant.

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