George Lucas could learn a thing or two about prequels from The Thing (2011)

Usually I rant about prequels and remakes. Why? Because they are PROOF that Hollywood has given up. No more originality. No more innovation. Just regurgitated stories and twists that we have already seen but with a new cast in the roles. That, my loving readers, makes me sick. I can tolerate the Star Wars Prequels just fine, because I was never a huge Star Wars fan, but the thought that special effects and innovation are the same is when Lucas drops the ball with the franchise. Luckily, Director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. knows how to pick up the prequel “dropped ball” and run with it. The way he delicately handles the new material while weaving in set ups for the original film is something that most Hollywood “visionaries” should take note of.

Plot: When archeologist Kate Lloyd (Winstead) is hired to go to a site to help with an excavation, she is thrilled to take on the adventure. When that adventure turns out to be that an alien spacecraft has been discovered and the thing (get it? The THING?) that she is in charge of excavating is the frozen remains of the ships inhabitant, her position quickly changes from that of thrilled to that of cautious. After the remains are successfully removed, another scientist insist on taking a sample from the creature-sicle (TM pending) and confirming that it is, in fact, alien. The only problem is that this somehow brings the being out of its state of hibernation and it breaks free. After it is realized that this creature can replicate the cells of anything that it consumes, Kate’s position changes once again….to paranoia. Kate is convinced that this creature has replicated a person in the camp. When her fears are confirmed Kate must find a way to survive the horror that she has found herself surrounded by.

Worth the admission? It really is. Like I said above, I am overly cautious of movies that play off of original material, but when I realized that this was a prequel and not a remake, I was all on board. The prequel sets a few things in place that can actually be seen in the original film (such as an axe that is left in this film that is visible in the wall in the original) as well as using a lot of the same lighting techniques (making flashlights cause the same “blue flare” when the shine on the camera). All in all, one of the better prequels that you could hope to see.

If you picked up on anything else that joins the two movies together, like the ending scene from this film and the opening scene from the original, let me know at .

Note: Again. Do not let the fact that this movie and the original share the same name bother you. It is not a remake. Now go watch it!