John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of the best horror remakes ever made.
I’m sure very few of you would disagree with that statement. At this point, it’s almost accepted as fact. However, very few fright fans talk about the movie that inspired it, The Thing from Another World. Nobody hates it per se, though it is often dismissed as just the blueprint for Carpenter’s much-lauded thriller. While the 1982 Thing deserves every ounce of praise it receives, I think it’s high time we start acknowledging The Thing from Another World as the masterpiece of weird fiction that it is.
Released in 1951 and very loosely adapted from John W. Campbell’s Who Goes There? The Thing from Another World was one of the first alien invasion pictures. It’s also among the best sci-fi chillers of the 1950s, a decade often referred to as the Golden Age of Science Fiction. The Thing was produced by the incomparable Howard Hawks, director of such heavy-hitters as Bringing Up Baby, Rio Bravo, The Big Sleep, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and His Girl Friday. With a style described by Orson Welles as “great prose,” Hawks tended to focus more on character interactions rather than florid camera work; the actors and their fast-paced, overlapping dialogue were often the main attraction. Hawks also popularized what is known as the “Hawksian woman,” the archetype of a tough-talking woman who could verbally best her male peers. In an era when critics dismissed genre fiction as juvenile junk, the involvement of someone like Hawks was monumental.
Christian Nyby was the credited director of The Thing from Another World, though many people think it’s very similar to the films of Hawks. Like the future Poltergeist controversy, many believe that Hawks actually directed the picture. Whether or not he directed The Thing…, his influence on Nyby’s style is clear, and Nyby’s style is what makes the film special. I’m positively wacky about ’50s sci-fi, but I’d be lying if I said the characters in most of them weren’t stiffer than Marion Crane after a shower. That’s what makes The Thing… stand out: the humans feel authentically… well, human! We’re never bored when the monster isn’t around because we love the people it terrorizes.
Screenwriters Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht, and the aforementioned Hawks bring that His Girl Friday wit to The Thing from Another World. The banter is funny and charming without being too cutesy. A real sense of camaraderie among the characters gives the film a natural, laid-back feel. Well, until The Thing shows up, that is. That’s when the movie gets tense.
Margaret Sheridan’s drinkin’, sassin’ Nikki Nicholson is a badass heroine at a time when badass heroines were scarce in scare fare. She was the quintessential Hawksian woman in a setting that was— in more ways than one — alien. Douglas Spencer as reporter Ned “Scotty” Scott, stands out as the smartest aleck in a film full of smart alecks. He’s also given one of the greatest speeches in film history, which includes the immortal line, “Watch the skies!” James Arness doesn’t appear much, but he certainly makes an impression as the titular terror.
The most remarkable thing (ha!) about The Thing from Another World is that after decades of imitators and knockoffs, the film is still scary! Okay, so it probably isn’t going to keep an adult up in a post- Exorcist world, and it certainly isn’t as grotesque as Carpenter’s Thing, but there is a real sense of unease. I’d say that’s an impressive feat for a film that’s over half a century old. For all of its affability, the movie does an amazing job of keeping the viewer on edge. This Thing may not be able to assume the appearance of your best buddy (The Thing is basically Karloff’s Frankenstein Monster without a soul), but you just never know when it will pop up. I’ve seen this film with an audience several times, and a simple scene involving the Thing and a door never fails to elicit a huge response. The Thing is used sparingly and obscured by shadow, creating a mood not unlike that in Jaws. Sometimes, a monster unseen is scarier than a monster displayed.
Am I saying that The Thing from Another World is better than John Carpenter’s The Thing? Not necessarily, but more people should give The Thing from Another World a proper chance. It’s a remarkable film in its own right and was one of the first true alien horror pictures. Both Things are dissimilar enough that they can and should be appreciated as separate entities. The original is far more than just a historical curiosity. It’s not “good for its time”… it’s just good! Divorce it from Carpenter’s film, and take it as a particularly effective example of old-school horror. Don’t let the fact that it’s old scare you— let the film itself scare you!
