The Thing from Another World (1951)

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1. 

   Siskoid

   When I was a kid, a formative week for me was that one time some channel ran a daily creature feature in the afternoon. War of the Worlds, some Godzilla picture, the Blob... I was going to watch them all, but had to miss the Friday presentation on account of some family outing. That movie was going to be The Thing From Another World. Here I am 35 years later watching it for the first time. Obviously, I've seen the Carpenter remake AND Doctor Who's The Seeds of Doom a number of times, so it was fun to visit the original (well I guess the original is actually the short story, but you know what I mean), on an archaeological basis, you might say. But of course it works in its own right. The characters were actually the most striking, with real camaraderie on screen between the military men (and the reporter), and bouncy banter between the male and female leads. In most monster films from the 50s, good and bad, the focus is more on plot mechanics and characters come off as types (Them! is a good example of this). Not here, except maybe the head scientist who is an incarnation of the amoral science principle you see in this kind of story. But because it is such a "human" film, it feels alive and energetic. Its weakness is, ironically enough, the monster, which fails spectacularly at the task of being the "other" the scientists speak of. Just a shambling vegetative Frankenstein's Monster. It works when we don't see him, but it disappoints when we do. But we can accept it as a limitation of the time, because the rest works so well. 5 years 8 months ago
2. 

   AndrewB

   quote:

   Watch the skies, everywhere! Keep looking. Keep watching the skies!

   5 years 8 months ago
3. 

   pallmallandcoke

   I enjoyed Carpenter's version way more 10 years 6 months ago

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