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I haven't seen The Thing since I was like 10 years old at my grandma's house I totally need to watch it again. It scared the #### out of me when I was a kid. It's been so long it will almost be like watching it again for the first time, sweet lol. Younger people today don't appreciate movies like Alien because they're too slow moving.
I love all of the Alien movies including Prometheus which was underrated imo..although I admit it had some silly plot holes. The new one should be awesome.
Personally I like neither. While I love sci-fi, these aren't really sci-fi stories, but much more like either the slasher flick or horror movie that happens to be set in a sci-fi world. If I want basic flash and dazzle sci-fi, I'll watch Star Wars. But if I want deep thought sci-fi, it has to be read. Movies are just too short to fit in the details that create good sci-fi.
I don't think that Alien and The Thing were trying to be real sci fi though. I mean that's like saying you don't like Lethal Weapon, cause it's not a real police procedural, for example.
Alien for sure. I can watch it over and over and yes it is the perfect monster in a box movie. The sci fi element makes it perfect. It makes it more than just horror because it isnt just some guy running around with a chainsaw that never jams or runs out of gas and can out run people half his size and be whereever he needs to be and cant be hurt or killed. On board a space ship is the perfect box and the alien is the perfect monster/slasher because we dont understand it entirely because it is an alien.
The Thing I have only seen a couple of times but I think you touched on a few flaws that Alien just doesnt have.
Enjoyed them both, A LOT! But I think Alien wins out for me, however, I haven't watched The Thing in ages and they were years apart when I saw them first to begin with. I do remember I had to watch The thing in bits as I was scared _hitless the first time I tried watching it, I was only finally able to get through it during the day time. I believe I had caught it on Showtime way back when. I'm pretty sure Alien had similar effect on me back then as well, but, I'll never forget how much TT scared me first couple times out.
Guess I'll have to watch The Thing again to see if it's as scary as I remember, I do know I didn't care for Malamute breeds all that much for a very long time and my landlady who lived below me, at the very time, had one.
I'm not sure that's entirely fair. The original THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) was based on the story Who Goes There? But based VERY loosely.
Carpenter's THE THING (1982) was not so much a remake of the original movie as it was going back closer to the original source material.
So if we're going to call THE THING (1982) a remake, we ought to stipulate that it was a remake of the original novella. But so was THE THING (1951). Technically, they're both remakes.
I'm not sure that's entirely fair. The original THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) was based on the story Who Goes There? But based VERY loosely.
Carpenter's THE THING (1982) was not so much a remake of the original movie as it was going back closer to the original source material.
So if we're going to call THE THING (1982) a remake, we ought to stipulate that it was a remake of the original novella. But so was THE THING (1951). Technically, they're both remakes.
Whatever.
The bottom line is that the original 1951 The Thing from Another World was a far superior movie to the 1982 remake. Alien is a masterpiece classic that stands along 1951's The Thing in stature and they both dwarf the 1982 film.
It is actually interesting to compare the two; I had never considered their similarities before. Alien is probably a better-made movie overall, and deserves its reputation. However, I thought the more modest-scale The Thing was a lot scarier to me. Part of it might even be the cheaper production values. Alien looks so good as a movie that it almost seems too clinical and antiseptic to be too scary, while the shadows and breath vapor and ramshackle base in The Thing makes it more foreboding. Plus, with Alien, I have to accept the premise of flying through deep space before accepting the alien itself, whereas with The Thing, I can accept the Antarctic base as a real location, which removes a barrier between the action and the audience's belief.
The bottom line is that the original 1951 The Thing from Another World was a far superior movie to the 1982 remake. Alien is a masterpiece classic that stands along 1951's The Thing in stature and they both dwarf the 1982 film.
Translation: you prefer The Thing from Another World to John Carpenter's The Thing. That's it. The former is not a "better" movie. The only thing the films share is the premise.
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