adaptation

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: War of the Worlds

Dr. K1 Comment

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 29 June 2005
Director: Steven Spielberg
Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Budget: $132 million
Box Office: $603.9 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 76% / 42%

Quick Facts:
Byron Haskin’s award-winning 1953 adaptation of sci-fi classic The War of the Worlds (Wells, 1898) led to a television show and inspired similarly-themed alien invasion movies, knock-offs, and a widely celebrated musical adaptation from Jeff Wayne. This big-budget, modern-day reinterpretation reunited director Steven Spielberg with star Tom Cruise and drew visual and narrative inspiration from 9/11. Industrial Light & Magic designed the sleek alien walkers to be both intimidating and horrific to fulfil the filmmakers’ wish to emphasis the futility and devastation of war.

The Review:
Like the 1953 film, this big-budget adaptation of The War of the Worlds is set not in Victorian England, but in then-modern day America, beginning in Brooklyn, New York and following deadbeat dad and longshoreman Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) as he desperately tries to get his kids to the presumed safety of Boston, Massachusetts when aliens suddenly attack. Ray starts the film as a bit of an asshole. Though he’s said to be a hard worker as a crane operator down at the docks, Ray’s not in the business of working more hours than he has to, citing union rules about overtime (and, honestly, rightfully so), and is therefore seen to be arrogant and condescending. Ray’s a keen mechanic, filling his house with car parts and booming through the streets in his prized 1966 Shelby Mustang, and neglecting to fill his refrigerator and cupboards since he favours takeaways. Ray’s so self-absorbed that he completely forgets when he’s due to meet his kids at his house, though his pregnant ex-wife, Mary Ann (Miranda Otto), is well past arguing about his tardiness and irresponsibility. Instead, she glares at him and makes snap criticisms, all with the general idea of urging him to do better by moody teenager Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and inquisitive youngster Rachel (Dakota Fanning). Although Rachel is begrudgingly polite to her dad, Robbie has no interest, preferring to ignore him, call him “Ray”, criticise his lack of parenting skills, and generally give him a hard time. Ironically, Robbie emulates his father’s dress sense more than he realises and is just as irresponsible, stealing his car and dragging his feet on his homework and rejecting Ray’s questionable attempts to bond with a sneering angst. Rachel is surprisingly mature for her age, ordering healthy foods and giving Ray pointers, only for him to balk at both since he clearly doesn’t like deviating from his junk food or receiving criticism for his parenting.

When aliens suddenly attack, deadbeat dad Ray must rise to the occasion to protect his estranged children.

Luckily for Ray, he’s given the perfect opportunity to step up when a mysterious storm looms overhead and lightning repeatedly strikes the ground, setting off an electromagnetic pulse and fries all vehicles and electronics and terrifies Rachel. Curious, Ray wanders outside and is amazed when a gigantic alien machine bursts from the street with an ominous honk. The towering Tripod immediately sets to work vaporising the terrifying crowd, reducing them to dust and tattered clothes, and Ray races home covered in an ash-like substance that was once his neighbours, too shellshocked to properly explain what happened and desperately urging his kids to flee before the Tripod reaches their block. Despite Robbie demanding answers and Rachel suffering a panic attack, Ray loads his kids into the one working vehicle (thanks to a solenoid change) and races away as the Tripod decimates the area, barely able to describe what happened to his terrified kids. Ray’s struggling to hold together when they get to Mary Ann’s home in nearby New Jersey, desperately trying to keep his kids calm and wrap his head around the death and destruction he’s witnessed and succeeding only in scaring or alienating them further. Ray’s stress only increases when a Boeing 747 partially crashes into the house, littering the street with burning wreckage and bodies that Ray desperately shields Rachel from and angering Robbie so much that he becomes obsessed with fighting against the invaders. Ray’s very much against this not just because the Tripods are so massive, intimidating, and dangerous, but also because a newswoman (Camillia Sanes) reveals that aliens travelled through the lightning bolts to pilot the walkers, meaning humanity is facing a violent extermination from an extraterrestrial force. Refusing to risk their lives by joining the military effort, Ray frantically focuses on getting his kids to Boston, partially because he’s underequipped for the crisis but also because he knows the kids are better off with Mary Ann. Along the way, the car is literally ripped apart by an angry mob desperate to get to safety, forcing Ray to pull out his pistol to drag Robbie and Rachel out of their path as the mob fights over the vehicle.

The devastating attack inspires fear, rage, and paranoia as survivors fight or flee from the aliens.

A momentary respite at the Hudson River quickly turns into another fight for survival when the Tripods arrive, capsizing the ferry and abducting many survivors. Ray and his kids are caught up in the military’s desperate counterattack  and witness how unstoppable the Tripods really are as they shrug off damage with energy shields and vaporise tanks and troops alike. Ray sees this as a futile effort, seeing only death when the Tripods appear, and frantically argues with Robbie when he insists on witnessing and aiding the fight. In an emotionally charged moment, Ray’s resolve falters and his reluctantly lets Robbie go to forge his own path, hoping that they’ll be reunited in Boston when it’s all over. Still rattled from this, Ray gratefully accepts shelter in Harlan Ogilvy’s (Tim Robbins) basement, struggling to reassure and calm Rachel following her brother’s absence and quickly realising that Harlen is a danger to them. When the aliens carve up the grounds outside, spreading their disturbing red weed by harvesting their human captives, Harlen grows more unstable, ready to fight back when a probe and pilots investigate his house. Ultimately, Ray’s forced to have Rachel distract herself with a lullaby as he kills Harlan offscreen in a way we never see but which understandably unsettles him, both of them being severely traumatised by everything they’ve witnessed but doing whatever they can to survive. While I’m no fan of Tom Cruise, this is one of the few movies he’s in that I can tolerate and admit that he does a decent job. He makes for a great and very believable jackass father and has the stature to pull off an “Everyman” figure, one whose first instinct is to run rather than oppose such an overwhelming force. Like the book’s narrator, Ray bumps into many characters, learning more about the aliens as he goes and witnessing how devastating their attack is each time, which only compels him to keep moving. Like the book, the focus is squarely on our main characters and their attempts to survive rather than the fight the invaders, which only makes the aliens more ominous and dangerous.

As daft as the aliens look, their technology and assault of the planet are horrifying and intimidating.

Thanks to advancements in technology, H.G. Wells’ iconic Tripods were finally brought to life in all their terrifying glory, booming a trumpet call of war that echoes the long-running musical and appearing more horrifying than ever as Spielberg uses them as an allegory for the 9/11 attacks. Spielberg fully commits to the iconography of the Tripods, forgoing the other alien tech to focus on the massive, highly advanced war machines that vaporise everything in their path, crush buildings with their advance, and scoop up victims with their tentacles. Despite its different setting, War of the Worlds is far closer to the book than the previous adaptation, with the Tripods upturning a ferry and seeding the land with red weed from their victims to terraform the Earth. However, Spielberg alters the origin of the aliens, which apparently prepared for their invasion by burying their machine thousands of years ago and are never said to be from Mars. The aliens also look very different to the book and the first film, being strange, gangly creatures with three legs and little evidence of advanced intelligence beyond their unstoppable war machines. While the narrator (Morgan Freeman) repeats that the aliens were motivated to attack by envy, desiring Earth’s rich natural resources, they’re seen to be largely ignorant of our society, culture, and technology despite having observed us for generations. Their strategy is simply to overwhelm with superior numbers and force, littering cities with destruction and ash, leaving bodies floating in rivers and toppling entire cities within hours. I was impressed by the special effects used to bring the Tripods to life and they’re framed as especially intimidating against the rainy night sky, though I would’ve preferred to see the machines be simply armoured rather than having energy shields and for the aliens to look a bit more unique rather than appearing as cousins to the invaders from Independence Day (Emmerich, 1996).

Once again, Mother Nature defeats the unstoppable invading forces to ensure an emotional ending.

Having lost Robbie and living somewhere between denial and desperation, Ray wishes only to take shelter until the aliens leave but is driven to extreme measures when the paranoid Harlen endangers him and Rachel with his crazed obsessions. Despite this, the alien probe spots him and Rachel in the dilapidated house, forcing a terrifying Rachel to flee into the night and be abducted by one of the towering machines. Determined to keep Rachel safe, Ray grabs a grenade belt from a nearby military vehicle and voluntarily gets himself abducted to save her, revealing the grotesque bio-organic nature of the walkers as he’s sucked inside to make more red weed and instead feeds it the explosives. Exhausted and barely coherent, Ray and Rachel shuffle alongside a gaggle of other survivors into Boston, which has conveniently been largely spared much damage. Ushered on by the military, Ray’s amazed to find the Tripods have collapsed in the street. When another comes stumbling by, Ray and the others take shelter in an underpass but his keen eye spots that a flock of birds are nesting on the walker’s cockpit. Though struggled against the cacophony of the Tripod’s trumpet, Ray alerts the nearby soldiers, who quickly take up offensive positions and blast the Tripod with a barrage of rocket launchers. Damaged, the machine finally goes down and ejects one of its pilots, which quickly withers and chokes to death much like the decaying red weed. As ever, the narrator explains that the aliens were undone by the microbes we’ve become immune to over countless generations, Incredibly, Ray then carries Rachel to Mary Ann’s childhood home, which is unbelievably untouched by the devastation. Amazingly, not only are Mary Ann and her family alive, but Robbie’s somehow there too, allowing Ray to embrace his rebellious son and complete his character arc into a caring and determined father. While this makes for a sombre and emotional ending, I still think it would’ve been better to leave Robbie’s fate ambiguous (perhaps have Ray immediately leave to go looking for him?) if only to really sell how devastating this alien attack was for our main characters.

Final Thoughts:
While I’m a big fan of the original book, I have to say I’ve never been much of a fan of this big-budget adaptation. A lot of that is due to my personal dislike for Tom Cruise, who I just find annoying and underwhelming, and how disappointed I was that it wasn’t set in Victorian England to really hammer home how insignificant we are against the invaders. I also disliked changing their origin so they arrive on lightning bolts and pilot machines buried thousands of years ago. Simply having the Tripods and their pilots arrive on a meteor storm would’ve been far better for me, as would implying they came from Mars at least in a throwaway line. However, I must begrudgingly admit that War of the Worlds is far closer to the source material than the 1953 film, including mor side characters and events from the book since we’re following a regular guy rather than the military. I liked this aspect and how ill-equipped Ray is at dealing with this crisis since he can’t parent properly, so he’s completely out of his depth and survives only through sheer luck. I really liked Ray’s relationship with Rachel and Dakota Fanning’s work as a mature yet terrified little girl forced to rely on an unreliable father. Robbie was a pain in the ass who stupidly thought he could make a difference in an unwinnable fight. A commendable belief, for sure, but I would’ve preferred to see him die, be injured, or have his fate left ambiguous for his efforts. The Tripods are fantastically realised here, constantly lurking in the background and devastating everything in their path and depicted as a nigh-unstoppable force that only Mother Nature can topple. The snake-like probe and the weird alien designs weren’t as impressive, unfortunately, though it was chilling seeing the tattered clothes, wreckage, and bodies they leave behind, especially considering how the visuals echoed 9/11. Overall, I find this to be quite mediocre but it’s probably the best War of the Worlds adaptation I’ve ever seen…I just wish it’d starred someone else in the lead role.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Did you enjoy this big-budget version of The War of the Worlds? Do you agree that Tom Cruise drags the film down or did you enjoy his performance? Were you a fan of how the film changed the aliens’ origins and their physical depiction? What did you think to the Tripods and the film as an allegory for 9/11? Would you have wanted to fight the invaders or would you flee? Which adaptation of The War of the Worlds is your favourite and how are you celebrating sci-fi this month? Leave a comment below with your input, check out my other sci-fi reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other War of the Worlds media for the site

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: The War of the Worlds

Dr. K1 Comment

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 13 August 1953
Director: Byron Haskin
Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Budget: $2 million
Box Office: $2 million (allegedly)
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 89% / 71%

Quick Facts:
As one of the forefathers of science-fiction genre, it’s perhaps no surprise that Herbert George Wells’s seminal 1898 alien invasion story The War of the Worlds is so widely lauded in mainstream and academic circles alike. After the book gained widespread notoriety from a radio adaptation, George Pal spearheaded the film version, which noticeably differed from the source material and reimagined H. G. Wells’s Tripods as flying machines courtesy of Albert Nozaki and his award-winning visual effects. Heralded as a sci-fi classic, inspired a follow-up television show, similarly-themed alien invasion movies, a slew of remakes and knock-offs, and a widely celebrated musical adaptation from Jeff Wayne.

The Review:
After humanity decimated each other in two World Wars, the Earth was on the precipice of dangerous and terrifying times. Advancements in nuclear and atomic science saw devastating weapons created and stockpiled, which threatened to destroy all life on Earth. Yet, as the omniscient narrator (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) relates, there are beings in the universe far above humanity’s petty squabbles. Far away on the long-dead red planet, unseen and malicious Martians observed our world with curious and envious eyes. Determining that the Earth was their best shot at migration considering how cold, dead, and hazardous the other planets are, the Martians begin a methodical invasion of our world with the simple crash-landing of a red-hot meteor outside Linda Rosa, California. Naturally, this draws immediate attention from the locals, film crews, and the United States military, who struggle to contain the resultant flash fires and rope in visiting scientists like atomic expert Doctor Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) to offer their insight. Dr. Forrester quickly discovers the meteorite is radioactive and guesses that it’s hollow, explaining why the impact didn’t destroy the town (or the whole planet). He is so intrigued by the arrival – and clearly captivated by local Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) – that he decides to stick around and investigate the object further once it cools down, graciously accepting the hospitality of Sylvia’s uncle, Pastor Matthew Collins (Lewis Martin. While Dr. Forrester enjoys the square dance, part of the meteorite suddenly unscrews and a strange, mechanical, snake-like periscope emerges, flash-frying the nearby guards when they try to make contact and knocking out all the electricity and phone lines in the town with a burst of magnetic radiation (what we would now call an electro-magnetic pulse/EMP).

Dr. Forrester is at the forefront when Martian flying machines attack the world.

As more of the objects arrive, the military rolls in to secure the crash site. Major General Mann (Les Tremayne) takes charge, ordering a cordon and authorising lethal retaliation against the invader. Pastor Collins, reasoning that the Martians must be a higher lifeform and thus closer to God, attempts to make contact and is immolated by their “heat-ray”, alongside most of General Mann’s troops, when the Martians emerge from their meteorite (actually a cylindrical travel pod) in sleek, manta-ray-like craft that appear to levitate on magnetic beams. The flying machines obliterate everything in their path, easily resisting gunfire, mortars, and even aerial bombardment thanks to their impenetrable force fields. Dr. Forrester and Sylvia flee in a small plane but crash-land in a field, taking shelter in a nearby farmhouse and using the brief reprieve to bond. While Dr. Forrester has no family, Sylvia comes from a large, close-knit family unit and is thus terrified of the destruction caused by the Martians, who slowly sweep across the world as more of their cylinders crash to Earth. When one lands right by the farmhouse, partially destroying it and briefly injuring Dr. Forrester, the strange, squat aliens investigate and Dr. Forrester learns that they are as fragile as humans and, after reconvening with the remains of the military and scientific community, that they’re entirely dependant on their awesome technology. Research on the Martian’s blood also shows they’re highly anaemic while the severed electronic “eye” Dr. Forrester recovers gives some insight into how they perceive the world and humanity, but little advantage is revealed from this. As the world’s nations crumble under the Martian attack, the survivors are driven far from their homes, with the world’s military and surviving governments forced to co-ordinate from makeshift camps with the strangely untouched Washington, D.C., where efforts to mount an effective counterattack are explored.

Though the atom bomb fails and all seems lost, the Martians are undone by Mother Nature herself.

With the Earth on the brink of complete destruction, it’s decided to unleash a far deadlier and more powerful version of the atom bomb. Interestingly, no one (not even Dr. Forrester) objects despite the incredible risk and soldiers, civilians, and reporters observe the blast from dangerously close proximity, seemingly unafraid of any lethal fallout. The devastating force is barely an inconvenience to the Martians, however, thanks to their forcefields, and civilians are ordered to evacuate to the perceived safety of the mountains. Dr. Forrester and his colleagues are thus given the unenviable task of coming up a solution to the problem, an arduous request considering it’s predicted the Martians will conquer the world in just six days, and one almost immediately scuppered when those left behind descend into madness. Rioting, looting, and violence flood the streets, with Dr. Forrester forcibly removed from his car and separated from his vital equipment, seemingly dooming humanity thanks to greed and fear. Concerned only with reuniting with Sylvia, who was similarly forced from a bus heading to the Rocky Mountains, Dr. Forrester recalls a story she shared with him from her childhood where she took shelter in a church and finds her amidst a gaggle of terrified survivors praying for a miracle. Their prayers are seemingly answered when the flying machines suddenly lose control and crash midway through blasting the remains of Los Angeles. The survivors cautiously flood the streets and watch, amazed, as the Martians succumb to the bacteria and diseases humanity has long developed immunity against. Thus, at the very last second, the world is saved not by force or weapons, but by the simplest organisms of all as the planet itself repels its vicious invaders.

Despite some differences from the book and some strange choices, the film remains a sci-fi classic.

I’ve read The War of the Worlds a couple of times, but I haven’t committed it to memory. This film, while largely similar to the book, its noticeably different in that it’s set in America, follows a named (and somewhat educated) central protagonist, and depicts the Martians hovering around rather than stomping through cities in their Tripods. While the Martians utilised flying machines in the book, they were rarely seen, yet the visual of these sleek, deadly craft spewing red death has become iconic in the sci-fi genre. The film also places also more emphasis on the atomic bomb, as I recall, with the weapon depicted as humanity’s last, best hope against the invaders, and many supporting characters are omitted. Dr. Forrester and Sylvia take shelter in a farmhouse, but the curate is missing. The Martians don’t spread their red weed to terraform the planet, don’t capture or consume people, and are never seen engaging with the Navy. The Martians are also depicted very differently than in the book. Rather than being bizarre, octopus-like creatures with a mass of tentacles and bulbous main bodies (essentially being all brain and little else), the Martians are stumpy, gangly creatures with long, spindly arms and weird, biomechanic eyes. This was a strange choice that makes the creatures look more ridiculous than intimidating, though the scene where one fondles Sylvia is still somewhat striking and the cold, efficient ruthlessness of the flying machines more than makes up for how ridiculous the operators look. Indeed, the film emphasises that the Martians are biologically unremarkable, doubling down when they succumb to simple bacteria, and are only fearsome because of their machines, making for a startling allegory for the arrogance and warmongering nature of humanity.

Final Thoughts:
The War of the Worlds certainly earned its place as one of the quintessential sci-fi movies of the 1950s and beyond. It’s the classic story of aliens invading the Earth and set the blueprint for so many alien invasion movies, rip-offs, and parodies, and it all came from this loose adaptation of a centuries-old text whose message has only become more prevalent over time. The main showcase of the film might be the amazing special effects, but the character work is pretty good here, too. I liked Dr. Forrester as an unlikely hero. He knew enough to flee when faced with an overwhelming force and his first thought was also to learning more about their enemy than confronting it head-on, and to protecting others rather than giving in to fear and despair. Sylvia is largely here to look pretty, scream when the Martians attack, and lose herself to hysterics, but she gives Dr. Forrester strength and something specific to fight for and focus on. I enjoyed how stern but fair General Mann was and how utterly useless all our fancy weapons and military might were against this aggressive and advanced enemy. The visual of the Martians shrugging off an atomic bomb remains striking and seeing them slowly and methodically wipe out humanity across the world set the standard for later depictions of world-wide destruction. Sure, there are liberties taken with the text and the Martians themselves look kinda goofy, but their flying machines are now intrinsically linked with the story and have become a symbol of the genre. The War of the World’s message about the dangers of humanity taking their planet and lives for granted remains as true as ever, with us being hopelessly insignificant compared to Mother Nature, and the film remains a bleak, humbling narrative about how insignificant we are against such homegrown and outside forces.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Is The War of the Worlds one of your favourite sci-fi films? Did you like the changes made to the source material or were you annoyed to see the focus changed so much? Were you impressed by the special effects and the sleek flying machines or did you miss the lumbering Tripods? Do you believe alien life is seeking to conquer our world? Which version of The War of the Worlds is your favourite and how are you celebrating sci-fi this year? use the comments below to let me know, check out my other sci-fi reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other War of the Worlds media for me to cover.

Mini Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Bucky O’Hare (Arcade)

Dr. K1 Comment

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: September 1992

Developer: Konami

MobyGames Score: 7.0

Quick Facts:
Although Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) inspired a bunch of anthropomorphic knock-offs, one of the most well-known was intergalactic rabbit Bucky O’Hare. The brainchild of Larry Hama, Bucky O’Hare was first serialised in science-fiction anthology Echo of Futurepast and, unlike some of his contemporaries, expanded into a wave of action figures, all-too-brief cartoon, and a couple of videogames. Konami’s little known arcade title echoed the beat-‘em-ups that made them a force back in the arcade era, but was seen as a serviceable brawler praised mainly for its cartoonish visuals and for providing an epilogue to the short-lived, fondly remembered cartoon.

The Review:
Bucky O’Hare is a 2D, sidescrolling beat-’em-up that essentially acts as a series finale for the cult classic cartoon. In it, up to four players battle across eight stages, fighting the Toad Empire, who have conquered planets in the “Aniverse”, imprisoned their inhabitants, and stolen the life force of the worlds for nefarious purposes. Players can pick from titular space rabbit Bucky, four-armed Dead-Eye Duck, Bucky’s strangely alluring first-mate, Jenny, and boisterous robot Android First Class/AFC Blinky, each voiced by the voice actors from the cartoon. While each is armed with a different pistol and has a different special attack, all four play exactly the same and your options are naturally limited to three buttons: attack, jump, and special. You can float for a short time by holding the jump button, occasionally hold fire to rapidly shoot (or melee attack up close), press jump and attack together for a jumping kick, and activate your character’s special move as often as you like. Bucky tosses a bomb, Dead-Eye surrounds himself with a temporary energy field, Jenny tosses an energy wave, and Blinky unleashes a flame-like blast. You cannot dash and, as far as I can tell, there are no co-op moves, but temporary power-ups, health restoring orbs, and extra life gold bars occasionally spawn from special doors. These briefly power-up your standard shot or your bomb to deal greater damage, though there are no other weapons to pick up, no objects to throw, and no explosive barrels or destructible objects to mix-up the gameplay. Two stages see you flying around on a jetpack and one has you barrelling through the Toad mothership on a spacebike, avoiding barricades and blasting enemies, though there are no bonus rounds to break up the monotony.

Sadly, there’s little innovation or to differentiate the characters in this mindless brawler.

Bucky O’Hare mimics the cartoon to an impressive degree, featuring fully voiced, partially animated cutscenes that include cameos from Willy DuWitt and Mouse (who never appeared in the show). Cutscenes progress the story and raise the stakes between each stage and the sprites are full of life and character, with the Toads fleeing in fear, marching along or saluting, and each playable character sporting colourful idle poses or being scorched by flaming hazards. Everything looks ripped right out of the cartoon and there’s generally always something happening in the background, from battleships looming by or burning up, to Toad tech filling the horizon or the mechanical depths of the heavily fortified Toad Star. Things are a tad clunky, however, as your sprite often disappears when respawning (though this might’ve been an emulation issue) and characters are quite sluggish to control. While most stages simply have you travelling from the left to the right, gunning down nigh-endless enemies, Stage 4 is an autoscroller that forces you along an unstable asteroid belt. You must jump when prompted to avoid falling when the asteroids crumble and fight to rescue Mouse, who makes traversing the level much easier by spawning grassy platforms (though you’ll still have to watch out for meteor showers). When jetpacking in Stage 3, you’re hard pressed to avoid the electrical hazards filling and darting across the screen, and bursts of flame or erratic burning rods often dog your progress when on the ground. Stage 2 introduces diagonal, sloping paths and sees you freeing captive rabbits before fending off enemies and wall-mounted missile turrets in a rising elevator section. Turrets attack from the background or rise from the sand, giant cannons fire explosive shots from behind barricades, electrical hazards sometimes creep across the floor, and enemies occasionally spawn from pods or leap in from passing ships to add to your troubles.

A colourful and fitting finale to the cartoon, but largely forgettable as an arcade game.

It’s quite impressive seeing how many enemies fill the screen in Bucky O’Hare. The Toad Empire use laser rifles, knives, grenades, and jetpacks and are bolstered by mechs, robots, mines, and starships. Most bosses are cumbersome and simple to defeat, however, such as Al Negator who fires a pistol and whips with his cybernetic tail. Toad Borg appears in Stage 2 and Stage 7, where electricity hazards add a bit more danger to his jumping punch, extending fist, and energy wave attack. After bringing down Stage 3’s climate convertor and taking out a gigantic, rock-like fish-thing, you battle the crazed Total Terror Toad. This dude jumps all over, blocking your shots, tossing a meat cleaver, and comically falling down the screen upon defeat. A handful of slippery, rock-hardened Toads guard Mouse in Stage 4, which is cleared by destroying a heavily armed Toad attack craft, which blasts across the screen and fills the arena with various laser blasts. After making short work of a strangely archaic, gear-tossing tank-like vehicle, Stage 5 culminates in a disappointingly simple fight against the Cyborg Spider, who wanders about firing energy bolts from its abdomen and summons web pillars. Although the race through the Toad mothership is exhilarating and includes a fight against a mechanical, shark-like submarine over boiling lava, the stage ends with a largely forgettable fight against a deadly Toad tank. This thing may be a huge target and might sport a second phase, but that’s just the gear mech again and it simply uses lasers and drill appendages to attack. Although you first encounter the Air Marshall on Stage 5, he flees after you destroy his fortified cockpit and largely avoids the fight in Stage 7. Instead, he floats about in his hovercraft and lets his minions fight for him, which is a bit of a letdown. The game then ends with a three-phase confrontation with Komplex-2-Go. At first, it stomps about causing splash damage with its energy bombs, then it loses its legs and causes flaming rods to rain down, before finally careening about the central core spewing debris and bursting into flames.

Final Thoughts:  
Bucky O’Hare may be a sadly forgotten beat-’em-up title and franchise, but you’re not missing out on all that much if you’ve never played this mindless brawler. While the presentation is top-notch, with the game perfectly aligning with and providing a fitting conclusion to the cartoon, the gameplay is needlessly tedious and simple. It’s mindboggling to me that the developers didn’t try to differentiate the characters more, like making Jenny faster or Blinky slower or Dead-Eye hit harder or shoot faster (he fours have four arms, after all!) It might’ve helped if the game had more power-ups, perhaps allowing you to call in other allies or the Righteous Indignation for assistance, or included a bonus game or two to rack up your score and compete against friends. While the sprites look fantastic and are full of life and colour, the backgrounds are painfully bland until the late game, with only a few memorable moments springled throughout (the asteroid belt, for example, and the Toad Star). I liked that the bosses sported text boxes and voice clips and were huge sprite, but they were disappointingly simple for the most part (though this may have been intentional to balance how grossly outnumbered players will be in this obvious coin-muncher!) Fans of beat-’em-ups will likely find Bucky O’Hare lacking compared to others in the genre, though it has a colourful appeal and is a decent enough way to waste about an hour of your time, especially if you’re a big fan of the cartoon and wanted some closure on it. It can’t be denied that it’s not as good as it could’ve been, though, or that it’s noticeably lacking compared to other brawlers of the time.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Have you ever played Bucky O’Hare out in the wild? How do you think it holds up compared to other beat-’em-ups and the Nintendo title? Were you also disappointed that the characters all played the same? Which of the boss battles was your favourite? Do you agree that the game is lacking compared to other beat-’em-ups? Were you satisfied with how the game concluded Bucky’s story and would you like to see him back a comeback? What are some of your favourite sci-fi-orientated videogames? Feel free to share your memories of Bucky O’Hare in the comments and then donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other sci-fi content for the site.

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: The Fly II

Dr. K1 Comment

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 10 February 1989
Director: Chris Walas
Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Budget: $12.5 million
Box Office: $38.9 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 32% / 24%

Quick Facts:
Following David Cronenberg’s celebrated body horror reinterpretation of George Langelaan’s 1957 short story, Mick Garris repeatedly tried to pen a sequel to the 1986 hit under incredible studio pressure. Chris Walas, who created the gruesome special effects for the first film, helmed the sequel, and Keanu Reeves reportedly turned down the lead role. Though The Fly II was widely criticised (despite its impressive effects) and a third film fell through, the story continued in a 2015 comic book.

The Review:
If you thought watching a nightmare sequence of Veronica “Ronnie” Quaife (Geena Davis) suffering a gruesome childbirth in the previous film was bad, The Fly II doubles down by depicting another, very real birth, which convinced Davis to skip the film. Despite everything, Ronnie (Saffron Henderson) opted not to have an abortion, presumably out of her love for the tragically doomed Doctor Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) and also because the deceptive Anton Bartok (Lee Richardson) gave her some assurances about the birth. As Brundle worked for Bartok Industries, it makes sense that Bartok would claim the miraculous (if flawed) Telepods, but he reveals his true colours early on when he has Doctor Jainway (Ann Marie Lee) remove the distraught Stathis Borans (John Getz) from the birth and watches on dispassionately as Ronnie dies delivering a ghastly little larval sac containing her son, Martin. With his staff watching behind two-way mirrors, Bartok observes Martin’s rapid growth, the result of his father’s unique genetic malformation, which also sees his DNA contain dormant mutated cells. Young Martin (Matthew Moore) grows at an accelerated rate and boasts a photographic memory and advanced intellect, though he never sleeps and the staff quickly become exasperated with him. Bartok encourages Martin to think of his as his dad and has Dr. Jainway and Doctor Frank Shephard (Frank Turner) administer regular placebos to placate him while they monitor his development. Even as a youngster, Martin (Harley Cross) questions these shots, which are clearly haphazardly administered, and is infected by an insatiable yearning for knowledge and curiosity. Martin constructs a fun little helmet for himself that foreshadows his later fly form and reprograms his access to the Bartok laboratory as easily as he solves mazes.

Brundle’s genetically altered son is drawn into completing his father’s work with the Telepods.

While exploring, Martin befriends a Golden Retriever (Unknown) and shares his fears of dying comparatively young because of “Brundle’s Accelerated Growth Syndrome”. Martin also sees his father’s Telepods for the first time. However, while Seth solved the issue that caused the machines to rip living tissue inside out, the Telepods are damaged and they destroy everything sent through them. Despite the best efforts of Doctor Trimble (William Taylor) and the others, the Telepods are next to useless and Martin is horrified when his dog is reduced to a rabid, grotesque monster by the process. On his fifth birthday, the physically adult Martin (Eric Stoltz) finally gets his privacy when a seemingly remorseful Bartok gifts him a home off site and asks him to help with the Telepods. Though reluctant, Martin’s won over by a deleted scene of his father, who talks about how the Telepods “improved” him. While working late, Martin seemingly solves the problem on a whim, successfully teleporting a telephone, and excitedly searches for some organic material to test. He bumps into beautiful data filer Beth Logan (Daphne Zuniga) and is inspired to teleport her cactus, though is ashamed and embarrassed when the machine still struggles with organic matter. Luckily, Beth’s won over by Martin’s boyish looks and awkward charm and agrees to help with the problem. Martin finally feels a human connection after five years in a clinical environment, only to be taunted by Bartok’s depraved head of security, Scorby (Garry Chalk). Beth encourages Martin to come out of his shell and invites him to a party elsewhere in the office, where he overhears talk of a malformed creature kept under observation and is distraught to find it’s his dog. Heartbroken, Martin lashes out at Beth, assuming she knew of the animal, and mercifully puts his friend out of his misery in a truly heart wrenching scene.

While Beth isn’t much but a pretty face, the villains are theatrically despicable.

After having grieving, Martin invites Beth back to the lab to apologise and impresses her by showing that he cracked the Telepods in very much the same way his father did: by admiring the “beauty of the process”. Relieved to make amends with Martin, and to be gifted a cute little kitten (Unknown), Beth takes their relationship to the next level (a somewhat questionable act considering Martin’s still technically five years old…) However, Martin’s puzzled when a wound from a routine injection gone wrong becomes alarmingly infected and explores options to cure his condition with the Telepods, discovering (much like his father) that he can substitute his mutated genes for healthy ones by sacrificing a life. While working, Martin’s confused when he suddenly can’t reach Beth and she’s transferred to another building. Thanks to his genius, Martin patches through to Beth’s boat house and is infuriated to learn that Bartok deceived him again and placed cameras in his home. Oddly, Scorby reveals this by handing Beth video footage of them having sex, something he really didn’t need to do but then The Fly II isn’t exactly subtle about how devious and evil its antagonists are. Dr. Jainway and Dr. Shephard are constantly scowling at Martin or talking down to him and Bartok openly discusses his plans to study Martin once his transformation kicks in, which happens at an alarming rate once Martin discovers the hidden cameras. Upon viewing footage (that shouldn’t technically exist) of his father’s deterioration, Martin confronts Bartok, hurt to see the man he loved as a father figure so cold-hearted and dispassionate about encouraging his transformation and using his unique genetic material (alongside the Telepods) to be at the forefront of a “new age” for the world.

Martin’s transformation ramps up by the end, creating a monstrous fly/human hybrid.

Enraged, Martin showcases superhuman strength and speed as he flees the complex, his face noticeably growing tumours that are disappointingly second rate compared to the first film. After begging for Beth’s help, Martin seeks out Stathis, who has become a drunken, cantankerous, crippled recluse who vehemently refuses to help them and openly mocks Martin. When Martin forces his way into his home (an opulent abode I assume Bartok paid for to keep Stathis quiet), Martin learns of his father’s fate and adamantly refuses to utilise the Telepods to cure himself at the cost of another. Stathis begrudgingly sends the two on their way and, despite him experiencing bouts of despair, Martin’s demeanour turns to spite and arrogance as his condition worsens. As a natural born genetic anomaly, Martin’s transformation is far less ghastly than his father’s (though he still pops out his eyeball for some fun body horror) as he forms a cocoon, one Bartok gleefully watches over after Beth calls him in desperation. Bartok’s elation turns sour when Dr. Trimble reveals Martin boobytrapped the Telepods and things go even worse when “Martinfly” bursts from his cocoon and goes on a rampage. Bartok’s intentions couldn’t be more explicitly evil. While he talks of ending concepts like surgery with the Telepods and advancing science and medicine with the machines and Martinfly’s unique biology, it’s clear he’s primarily interested in profit and power. He visibly scoffs at Martin’s affection for him during their confrontation and thinks nothing of manipulating the boy-man into doing his dirty work, focused entirely on the big picture and willing to sacrifice anyone, even his closest supporters, to get what he wants.

The Fly II abandons all subtlety for a grotesque gore-fest in the finale.

While Martin’s physical transformation is nowhere near as gruelling or disturbing as Seth’s, with the make-up effects being more subtle and oddly incorporating webbing, his demeanour noticeably changes much like his father’s. Martin goes from rage to anguish to smugness across a few scenes, embracing his transformation even as Beth is horrified by it. It’s quite rushed as most of the film prior depicts Martin as an aloof and unique but otherwise healthy young man, so I think it might’ve been better to start his metamorphosis a bit sooner just to see how it changes him physically and emotionally. Martin forces a large cocoon to expediate his transformation and emerges not as a sickly, asymmetrical monster wracked with pain and struggling to survive but as a monstrous, four-armed brute at the peak of his strength. Martinfly is large, powerful, and quick, easily manhandling his prey, fleeing to the rafters, and navigating the facility’s ginormous ventilation shafts. Like his father, Martinfly retains a degree of intelligence, certainly enough to tell friend from foe and to drag Dr. Shephard’s dead body around to unsuccessfully use his key card. While the Martinfly puppet and animatronic are impressive, The Fly II abandons all the subtlety and emotional nuance of the last film to present a monster movie finale, with Martinfly strangling Dr. Shephard to death, breaking Scorby’s spine and tossing him like a sack of potatoes, and absolutely wrecking a poor, unassuming security guard (Pat Bermel) with his projectile “vomit drop”. The corrosive “fly vomit” melts this dude’s face to a screaming, steaming, skeletal mess (“Medical emergency”, indeed!) and leaves him shrieking on the floor as a barely breathing corpse. Another security guard (Andrew Rhodes) gets his head (and body) crushed by an elevator thanks to Martinfly, meaning The Fly II certainly focuses more on gore and a hefty body count by the finale.

Martinfly’s gruesome rampage sees him returned to normal and Bartok receive his just deserts.

Though he insists on capturing Martinfly alive for further study, Bartok’s not a complete fool. He has the Telepod lab sealed, keeps Beth as leverage, and orders Scorby and his men to cover every possible entrance. Naturally, Martinfly easily gets the drop on them and murders them in gleefully disturbing ways, pausing only to pet a dog (Unknown) and share a glance with the horrified Beth. While Beth showed some moxie when they first met and is a pretty face who offers Martin nothing but love and support, she’s easily overpowered by even Bartok when she wrestles with him over Scorby’s pistol and is basically here just to look good and scream when heads burst like water balloons. She has a touching romance with Martin but it’s a shadow of what Ronnie and Seth had in the first film. Martinfly dwarfs Brundefly, though, being a hulking, malicious monster driven to avenge himself on those who’ve wronged him and cure his condition. While Bartok threatens to shoot Beth and even blasts Martinfly a couple of times, the guy’s one monologue away from being a moustache-twirling James Bond villain and completely underestimates Martinfly’s durability and cunning. Martinfly grabs Bartock, forces him to input the Telepod code (fittingly enough, “DAD”), and muscles him into a Telepod, encouraging Beth to initiate his gene-swapping program. Despite Bartok’s protestations, Beth complies just as Bartok’s back-up arrives, successfully achieving what Seth couldn’t and swapping Bartok’s healthy genes for Martinfly’s mutated ones. This sees Bartok reduced to a misshapen, maggot-like mess and Martin fully restored (if covered in disgusting goop). Fittingly, the Bartok-Thing is placed into the same dungeon as Martin’s dog and left to endure an agonised existence as another failed experiment of the Telepods.

Final Thoughts:
I feel like I’ve ragged on The Fly II a bit more than I intended. It’s not as good as the last film, that’s for sure, but I think it’s better than many realise. Much of the plot is essentially the same, with a genius scientist struggling with a genetic abnormality trying to perfect teleportation, embarking on a romance along the way and transforming into a hideous creature by the end. However, The Fly II is definitely much more of a monster movie, especially in the finale, and has little of the same disturbing subtext of the last film. I guess it could be read as an AIDS allegory as Martin suffers for the sins of his father much like someone who’s HIV positive, but much of this subtlety is swept aside in favour of a deception so obvious it’s almost explicit and some delicious gore. Eric Stoltz does his best, portraying Martin as brilliant but shy and awkward, but pales in comparison to Jeff Goldblum and only really shines during his “I’m getting stronger!” speech. I majorly crushed on Daphne Zuniga as a kid and she’s still gorgeous now, but there’s not much for Beth to do here, meaning the villains steal the show with their smarmy, conceited, and unashamedly evil depictions. The late Lee Richardson seems to be relishing the role, tackling it was a theatrical glee that makes Bartok a truly despicable character. While I found Martin’s transformation lacklustre compared to the last film (the cocoon, especially, feels very cheap and rushed), I do have a soft spot for Martinfly. A powerful and nigh-unstoppable man/fly monster, Martinfly is the stuff of nightmares and yet seems more ungainly than Brundlefly as the creature is perhaps a bit overdesigned and veers too far into the monstrous. Still, The Fly II is a decent enough epilogue to the first film (if you can forgive the plot hole concerning Ronnie’s abortion) and has a lot of gruesome moments for gore fans even if it is a much weaker film overall that Cronenberg’s masterpiece.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Do you also consider The Fly II to be under-rated and unfairly forgotten? Did you enjoy Eric Stoltz’s performance or do you agree that he struggled compared to Jeff Goldblum? Were the villains a bit too obvious and one-dimensional for you or did you like seeing them be unapologetically awful? Are you a fan of the monstrous Martinfly or do you think it was over designed? Would you like to see another film set in this continuity? How are you celebrating sci-fi this January? Leave a like and comment below with your feedback, check out my other sci-fi reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other sci-fi movies for me to the site.

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: The Fly (1986)

Dr. K5 Comments

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 15 August 1986
Director: David Cronenberg
Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Budget: $9 to 15 million
Box Office: $60.6 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 93% / 83%

Quick Facts:
A reinterpretation of George Langelaan’s 1957 short story and a remake of Kurt Neumann’s 1958 sci-fi classic, The Fly was surreptitiously produced by comedy legend Mel Brooks, featured creature effects by Chris Walas, Inc., and almost starred Pierce Brosnan or John Malkovich. Though a sequel and stage play followed, Cronenberg’s proposals for another follow-up never materialised, despite Jeff Goldblum’s enthusiasm.

The Review:
I think it’s fair to say that, for shy, insecure recluse Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), meeting Veronica “Ronnie” Quaife (Geena Davis) at a Bartok party was love at first sight. Cradling a glass of Scotch and claiming to be working on something that’ll “change the world and human life as we know it”, Brundle is excited to discuss his work with the beautiful Ronnie, misreading her interest as anything other than a story for Particle Magazine since, by his own admission, he “doesn’t get out much”. Equally, I think it’s fair to say that Ronnie’s intrigued by Brundle’s doe-eyed naivety; she later admits that he’s “very cute”, indicating that she was attracted to him despite his somewhat bumbling nature and acute travel sickness. This, and the perception that Brundle is a harmless cook, drives her to visit his isolated laboratory/apartment, housed within a rundown building in what looks like a pretty rough area of town (red flags if I ever saw them). Once there, Ronnie immediately regrets her decision upon seeing Brundle’s sparse apartment, which is the furthest thing from a clinical, scientific setup you can imagine. Brundle, however, is a closet showman as he tries to impress with his piano skills and introduces her to his revolutionary Telepods. While Ronnie’s unimpressed by the “designer phonebooths”, Brundle’s extremely protective of them, even the “clunky” prototype, since he literally cobbled them together from bits and pieces of other Bartok technology. Yet, Brundle isn’t some hack or fraud; Stathis Borans (John Getz) later reveals that Brundle has a distinguished scientific career and almost won the Noble prize for Physics at just twenty-two! It seems, then, that Brundle is being unnecessarily humble regarding the Telepods, which he controls via a simple computer interface and voice recognition software and which are apparently so efficiently designed that they cause no power drain to his apartment or the immediate area.

While Brundle and Ronnie grow closer and solve the Telepod enigma, Stathis threatens their relationship.

Ronnie, however, is incredibly sceptical of Brundle’s claims to be able to teleport inorganic matter between Telepods. However, when she witnesses it after seductively handing over her stocking, Ronnie immediately recognises that they’re an exciting scientific breakthrough and begins grilling Brundle, causing him to panic when he realises that he’s misread the signs and prematurely revealed his project. Thus, Brundle’s relieved when the creepy, condescending Stathis dismisses Ronnie’s account, initially believing Brundle’s a “con man” before spitefully running with the article after the two become lovers. Brundle offers Ronnie the chance to follow his work more closely, eager to publish a complete record of his world-changing invention and, intrigued, she agrees. However, ever the curious journalist, Ronnie questions the teleportation process, so Brundle naturally demonstrates the system’s fatal flaw by teleporting a baboon (because I guess lab rats or rabbits are too hard to come by!) While Ronnie is horrified when the process turns the baboon inside out, Brundle is both grief-stricken and enraged by the continued failure, blaming himself for the flaw since the computer is only following his commands. Luckily, he gets an intense and passionate sermon on the “flesh” when Ronnie, smitten by his intellect and drive, seduces him. This sexual escapade inspires Brundle to realise that the computer is being too analytical about organic matter, so he excitedly rewrites his program and is elated when the second baboon is successfully teleported. While Brundle and Ronnie celebrate and begin a whirlwind romance, the jealous Stathis descends into a malicious tantrum, angrily confronting Ronnie and threatening to expose Brundle’s work just to get back at them. Ronnie’s forced to pay her editor and former lover a late-night visit to try and reason with him, leaving poor Brundle to drink himself into a stupor. Drunk, believing Ronnie is cheating on him, Brundle spontaneously decides to teleport himself, completely unaware that a seemingly harmless housefly has snuck into the machine with him.

Brundle undergoes a slow but horrific transformation after a teleportation mishap.

Though Ronnie allays his fears regarding Stathis, she’s alarmed to learn about this and relieved to find he’s unharmed. Her relief turns to amazement when Brundle immediately undergoes physical changes, suddenly becoming far stronger, having more stamina, and being more excitable than ever, After being physically exhausted by his sexual appetite and discovering coarse hairs on his back, Ronnie reacts with horror when Brundle suddenly urges her to undergo the process, believing the Telepods purified his genes and made him superhuman, only to lash out with anger and take to the streets to find someone more willing, leaving her devastated. Brundle impresses barfly Tawny (Joy Boushel) with his gruesome physical strength and Telepods, though he’s further frustrated when she also refuses to use the machines and when Ronnie reveals that he’s sprouting insect hairs. Drunk on his newfound physical strength and ignoring Ronnie’s concerns about his health and erratic behaviour, Brundle throws her out in a rage, only to beg her to visit him some time later, his condition having noticeably deteriorated. After realising Ronnie was right when his fingernails fall off, Brundle is horrified to discover that his Telepods spliced him and the fly on a molecular level and surmises that the foreign DNA is manifesting as a “bizarre form of cancer” that’s causing gruesome tumours and decay. Terrified, Ronnie begs Stathis for help, those he’s disgusted upon viewing footage of the rapidly worsening Brundle, whose despair is replaced by a manic glee as he finds he can scale walls and vomit a corrosive enzyme to eat, now excited to be transforming into a unique lifeform he dubs “Brundlefly”. Though Brundle’s mental health degenerates alongside his body and he laments his declining humanity, he works tirelessly on a solution using his Telepods, only to be wracked by agonising spasms and to realise his only viable option is to sacrifice a healthy life. Ronnie’s nightmare only worsens when she finds she’s pregnant and, fearful that the baby could be contaminated by Brundle’s mutated genes, struggles with telling the increasingly monstrous and animalistic Brundle of her plans for an abortion.

Brundle’s initial delight at his superhuman abilities soon turns to despair and madness.

The Fly is very different from the original film, and the source material, replacing concerns about nuclear annihilation with a very blatant AIDS analogy and marrying the fear of scientific curiosity with the tragedy of watching a loved one succumb to a cancerous disease. For me, The Fly is one of the quintessential examples of how to do a remake as it takes the basic premise of the book and adds a new spin to it, modernising it and recontextualising its themes into an unforgettable, tragic sci-fi body horror piece. The Fly takes itself very seriously, showcasing Brundle’s mental and physical decline in gruesome and uncomfortable detail, so much so that Cronenberg famously cut a scene where Brundle beat a cat/baboon hybrid to death as audiences lost sympathy for him. While it’s admittedly odd that Brundle cobbled together his Telepods largely by himself, operates in a less than sterile environment, and uses baboons as test subjects, his eccentric and secretive nature speaks to these decisions. These are also early warning signs that Brundle isn’t quite prepared for how dangerous his Telepods can be. Not only were they not calibrated to handle living tissue, they also can’t comprehend the presence of two lifeforms, essentially killing Brundle during his first jaunt since what emerges is an “insect… who dreamt he was a man… and loved it!” Brundle’s pained soliloquy about “insect politics” is easily one of the film’s most emotional and horrifying moments, largely because The Fly does such a great job building the romance between Brundle and Ronnie. It helps that Goldblum and Davis were dating at the time, but their characters have great chemistry together, with Brundle finally having someone to talk to and be open with and Ronnie excited to be at the forefront of a scientific breakthrough and involved with such a passionate and selfless man.

The squeamish need not apply for The Fly, which is a masterpiece of body horror!

It’s thus even more tragic and horrifying to see Brundle go from an eccentric, loveable goof to a conceited, temperamental jerk and a broken, literal shell of his former self. At first, Brundle’s excitement at reaching his physical potential is infectious but, when he subscribes his condition to the purifying nature of the Telepods, be becomes uncharacteristically violent. Brundle’s mood swings only increase as he deteriorates; he constantly goes from despair, to anger, to sarcastic acceptance even when collecting his decaying body parts. Brundle initially tries to put a positive spin on his condition by urging Ronnie to document his fly-like abilities, before becoming resentful of Ronnie’s frequent absences and trashing his apartment during one of his many outbursts. Brundle noticeably struggles to maintain his logic, reason, and humanity as his body hideously warps, barely holding onto himself long enough to warn Ronnie to stay away for her own safety. However, when he learns that she’s pregnant, Brundle sees the unborn child as potentially the last link to his humanity. Rather than stumbling around with a big fly head, Goldblum endures a horrific physical transformation that is brought to life through top-notch make-up and prosthetics and showcases his deterioration in multiple stages. At first, things aren’t so bad with a few extra hairs, skin blotches, and bad hygiene but, within about a week, Brundle struggles to stand and his skin is covered in disgusting boils. The foreign DNA essentially turns him into a living, slowly decaying cocoon, at first bestowing him with the proportional strength of a fly and then crippling him with pain as the mutation grows more severe. Brundle loses his fingernails, his teeth, his ear, and his penis (judging from his ghastly medicine cabinet); his fingers and toes fuse together; and his speech is so badly distorted that his computer doesn’t recognise him. All throughout Brundle’s transformation, he’s pained by a growth on his side, which another deleted scene reveals birthed a gruesome, fly-like appendage! Brundle loses the ability to properly digest food, using “vomit drop” to liquify sugary treats, and is eventually reduced to a rotten, limping, tumour who’s barely recognisable as a man in a startling gruesome analogy for the AIDs epidemic, the aging process, and cancer.

Brundle’s final, monstrous transformation leaves him a mangled mess of meat and tragedy.

After a horrifying nightmare about her baby, Ronnie pleads with Stathis to help her and he takes her for an abortion since she refuses to risk giving birth. Desperate for a part of himself to live on, Brundle pleads with her to keep the baby but, when she refuses, he’s forced to bring the distraught and terrified Ronnie to his lab. Barely able to speak, Brundle explains his insane plan to teleport himself, Ronnie, and their unborn child and fuse them together into one body, his warped mind seeing this as the only way for them to be together as the “ultimate family”. Though Stathis bravely tries to stop Brundle, he ends up getting his hand and foot melted by vomit drop, though his harrowing moment is merely the appetiser for The Fly’s most impressive and unsettling scene. While fighting off Brundle, Ronnie dislodges his jaw, kickstarting Brundle’s final, gruesome metamorphosis as his sickly shell splits, his flesh tears to ribbons, and his eyes explode as the sickly, gangly Brundefly emerges! Driven only by his insane plan to undo his condition, the “Spacebug” launches Ronnie into a Teleport, activates the sequence, and settles his into another Telepod. However, the horribly injured Stathis fires a shot that shorts out Ronnie’s Telepod. Enraged, Brundefly smashes his way out, only for the countdown to complete and the Telepod to activate! As Howard Shore’s haunting score rises to a crescendo, the Telepod deposits Brundlefly, now little more than a howling, mangled mess of meat, piping, and machinery. Barely breathing, clearly wracked with agony, the twisted Brundlefly/Telepod-thing crawls along on pure instinct. Traumatised and wary, Ronnie grabs Stathis’s gun to defend herself but is crippled by heartache at the sight of what’s left of her lover. With the last vestiges of his strength and humanity, Brundlefly weakly presses the gun to his bulbous forehead. Though Ronnie hesitates, struggling to kill the man she loves, Brundlefly emits a heart wrenching groan and silently pleads to have his torment ended and, more on instinct than anything, Ronnie fires, atomising Brundlefly’s head and causing what’s left of him, and his tormented lover, to collapse to the floor.

Final Thoughts:
I was way too young to watch The Fly when I first saw it, and yet it didn’t traumatise me like other horror films back then. There are many reasons why The Fly is so well regarded, even when it first released, and I largely credit The Fly for being one of a handful of movies that made me appreciate the beauty of practical effects, prosthetics, and animatronics. Brundle’s physical and mental decline is disturbing to witness, with him becoming this monstrous, pain-wracked hunchback who grows increasing volatile as his humanity is stripped away. This final transformation into Brundlefly remains as captivatingly horrific as ever, with the sickly, almost alien creature being unpleasant to look at and yet deeply sympathetic, especially when he’s mewling on the ground after being spliced with the Telepod. Add to that the horrifying maggot birth sequence and you have a movie that largely cemented David Cronenberg as the king of body horror. Cronenberg’s visuals are even more potent when you watch The Fly as an allegory for sexually transmitted diseases, a plot point just as prominent in this first-class remake as the dangers of meddling with science and which works so well because of the chemistry between the leads. Brundle and Ronnie make an adorable pair, a couple you really root for due to their undeniable chemistry, and Stathis makes for a despicably loathsome third wheel. The fact Stathis becomes someone to root for by the finale is almost as unsettling as seeing him get dissolved by fly vomit since he’s such a vile creep, but it speaks to how well-written The Fly is that every character is so well rounded. The Fly may very well be the quintessential Jeff Goldblum performance as he throws his all into the role, enduring unimaginable discomfort to showcase Brundle’s declining state and being the perfect mixture of lovable goof, erratic jerk, and enraged monster. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that The Fly has aged beautifully and is just as impactful and emotional now as it ever was, especially for me, and it remains one of my all-time favourite movies of any genre…and the standard bearer for how good remakes can be!

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Are you a fan of this gruesome remake of The Fly? Did you enjoy the ways it reinterpreted the book, or do you think it strayed too far from the original text? Were you invested in the romance between Brundle and Ronnie? What did you think to the horrific make-up effects and Brundle’s mental and physical deterioration? Is The Fly your favourite remake? Would you like to see a new adaptation of Langelaan’s book? How are you celebrating all things sci-fi this January? Leave a like and a comment with your thoughts, go check out my other sci-fi reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other sci-fi movies for me to cover.

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: Return of the Fly

Dr. K1 Comment

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 22 July 1959
Director: Edward Bernds
Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Budget: $225,000 (estimated)
Box Office: Unknown
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 36% / 26%

Quick Facts:
Following the surprising success of Kurt Neumann’s ambitious 1958 adaptation of George Langelaan’s 1957 short story, the studio rushed a sequel into production with a lower budget and shooting in outdated black-and-white. $25,000 of the budget went to returning actor Vincent Price, potentially affecting the revised practical effects, though the barely related follow-up was deemed to be far worse overall.

The Review:
Return of the Fly immediately loses points by being filmed in black-and-white. While I have nothing against a good, grainy, black-and-white horror flick, this was the age of Technicolor, where black-and-white was not only a step backwards but almost an insult, especially as the first film was in colour, so Return of the Fly looks cheap and dated as a result. The film opens with Hélène Delambre (formally Patricia Owens) dead, apparently so haunted by the ghastly accident that cost her ambitious husband, scientist André Delambre (formally David “Al” Hedison) his life, that she was consumed by anguish. André’s devoted brother, François Delambre (Vincent Price), is especially heartbroken as he’d harboured a deep love for Hélène and stepped in to help raise her son, Philippe Delambre (Brett Halsey), as a surrogate father (and potentially married Hélène following André’s death). Alongside the sadly absent Inspector Charas (formally Herbert Marshall), who’s replaced by Inspector Beecham (John Sutton), François covered up the gruesome truth of André’s final days, which have long concerned the now-adult Philippe. Desperate for answers, Philippe begs François to tell him what happened and he reluctantly relates how André, consumed by scientific passion and curiosity, accidentally transformed himself into a bizarre human fly using his “Disintegrator-Integrator”, a potentially world-changing invention left in shambles after André destroyed it to avoid others suffering his fate. Intrigued by his father’s work and seeking to vindicate him, having become a keen scientist himself, Philippe vows to rebuild the machine and perfect his father’s dream, though François strongly advises against it and even refuses to bankroll him with what’s left of the Delambre wealth, believing André meddled in things man should leave alone.

Philippe looks to complete his father’s work, unaware he’s working with an industrial spy!

Undeterred, Philippe returns to his childhood home alongside his friend, Alan Hinds (David Frankham), who agrees to assist him and even waves off a salary to be part of the project and co-own it once they’ve changed the world. Both are quite taken by Philippe’s beautiful childhood friend, Cecile Bonnard (Danielle De Metz), who’s largely just here to be a pretty face, scream when she sees something awful, and babble in French about their childhood. Philippe and Alan quickly rebuild the Disintegrator-Integrator and successfully test it on inanimate objects. They also program it to “store” disintegrated objects to be reintegrated later (apparently a workaround for them only having one chamber), though they encounter a bizarre defect where the machine enlarges living organisms. It doesn’t take long for François to discover their progress and be coerced into aiding them, financially and with his knowledge, to keep Philippe from selling his half of the family company for additional funds (though François continues to oppose the project). Although disheartened that he effectively has to threaten his beloved uncle and encouraged by their progress, Philippe has no idea that Alan is secretly Ronald Holmes, an industrial spy looking to sell the secrets of the Disintegrator-Integrator to the unscrupulous Max Barthold (Dan Seymour) for an even greater profit. Having fled England for crimes so terrible he would be hanged if caught, Alan frantically overpowers Inspector Evans (Pat O’Hara) and sends him through the machine, only to produce a dead body with the hands and feet of a guinea pig and a guinea pig with human hands! After killing the animal and disposing of the body with Max’s help, Alan’s confronted by Philippe, who becomes concerned by his friend’s suspicious nature, only to be easily forced into the machine at gun point alongside a fly, which Alan spitefully tosses in with Philippe since he knows he’s deathly afraid of the insects.

Philippe goes on a rampage as a comical fly-thing, but is ultimatley restored to normal.

François arrives too late to help, taking a surprisingly non-fatal bullet to the gut and collapsing upon seeing Philippe emerge as a grotesque human/fly hybrid (Ed Wolff) with an enlarged and disappointingly comical head, stumpy fly leg, and claw-like arm. Like before, Philippe’s head is transposed onto the tiny fly, which buzzes around the laboratory begging for help before being captured (rather roughly) by Inspector Beecham so they can restore Philippe. Unfortunately, the fly-headed Philippe flees into the night and the police struggle to find him; they even threaten to kill him if he won’t come peacefully. Somehow, the fly-Philippe knows to head to Max’s funeral parlour and throttles him with his augmented strength. Conveniently, Alan shows up shortly after and gets his neck brutally crushed by the fly creature. When François hears of this, he worries that his nephew has already been consumed by the “murderous brain of the fly!” but Philippe apparently has enough of his humanity left to stumble home and collapse in Cecile’s bedroom. Despite still being injured, François helps Inspector Beecham get the fly-Philippe and his insect counterpart into the Disintegrator-Integrator and successfully restores his nephew, sparing him the same fate as his father. While I cut The Fly a lot of slack, it’s difficult to do the same for its sequel, primarily because the enlarged fly head looks so goofy. It’s technically impressive, I guess, but it’s too big and cartoony and makes it too obvious that it’s just a man in an uncomfortable headpiece. Return of the Fly has a higher body count than the first film, which is nice, but Philippe isn’t as interesting as his father. He lacks André’s boundless charisma and enthusiasm and his desire to recreate his father’s work seems paper thin, at best. It might’ve been better if it was Alan pushing Philippe to do this and if Philippe was somewhat reluctant. I also don’t get why the filmmakers didn’t just recast Inspector Charas or bring back Herbert Marshall as Inspector Beecham fulfilled essentially the same role and it was weird seeing a third party be aware of the awful fly experiment.

Final Thoughts:
While it has some flaws and has largely been surpassed by the 1986 remake, The Fly was still a fun, classic sci-fi film and a stirring cautionary tale about the mysteries of science. Return of the Fly hits many of the same story beats as its predecessor, focusing on a budding scientist seeking to make a historic breakthrough and being undone by that same technology, but Philippe wants to vindicate his father by completing his work; the benefits to humanity are merely a bonus. While Cecile is a pretty face, she and Philippe lack the same loving (if corny) relationship as his parents; indeed, they are never explicitly stated to be a couple by the end. Return of the Fly focuses more on the devious Alan, who plots to steal the Disintegrator-Integrator and is willing to kill for a profit. Having befriended Philippe, Alan knows how best to spite him and is perfectly positioned to manipulate him, a faulty plot point considering he stood to greatly profit from Philippe’s work. Vincent Price tries his best to elevate the material, but he doesn’t get much to work with and the effects are laughable compared to the last film (which didn’t exactly set a high bar!) Return of the Fly devolves into a simple monster movie when the fly-Philippe goes on a rampage, one that makes little sense as I have no idea how it knew to target Max and it’s still odd that the transformed people retain their intellect. You’re not missing much if you skip Return of the Fly, but I guess it’s an interesting coda for those who wanted to see more after watching the first film, but I’d be lying if I said it was a worthy follow-up.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Were you also disappointed by Return of the Fly or do you think it’s surprisingly good? Did you also think the enlarged fly head looked too goofy to be horrifying? Do you think the film wasted Vincent Price’s talents and agree that Philippe wasn’t as interesting as his father? Were you disappointed that so much of the film focused on Alan’s nefarious scheme? Would you like to see a new adaptation of The Fly and how are you celebrating the sci-fi genre today? Leave a like and comment below with your thoughts, check out my other sci-fi reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other sci-fi movies for the site.

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: The Fly (1958)

Dr. K3 Comments

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 16 July 1958
Director: Kurt Neumann
Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Budget: $350,000
Box Office: $1.7 million (or $3 million)
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 95% / 71%

Quick Facts:
A relatively faithful adaptation of George Langelaan’s 1957 short story, The Fly saw star David Hedison struggle with the ambitious and surprisingly terrifying practical effects as much as co-star Vincent Price struggled with the film’s iconic final moments. Regarded as a sci-fi classic, The Fly spawned a couple of sequels and a widely praised remake in 1986.

The Review:
Set in Montreal, Quebec, The Fly opens with all the major action having already taken place and aspiring scientist André Delambre (Al Hedison) crushed by a hydraulic press at his family factory. His equally wealthy brother, François Delambre (Vincent Price), is shocked by this but knocked for a loop when André’s beautiful wife, Hélène Delambre (Patricia Owens), confesses to killing her husband. Stoic and apparently remorseless, Hélène openly admits to the act, refusing to paint herself as a “murderess” as André willingly placed himself under the hydraulic press but confessing to activating the machine twice to crush his head and arm. Having adored his brother, his curious young nephew, Philippe Delambre (Charles Herbert), and having secretly been in love with Hélène for years, François is desperate to know why she’s saying such awful things and to get to the truth of the matter. François aids Inspector Charas (Herbert Marshall) in this endeavour, eager to understand why Hélène is so desperate to find and kill a white-headed fly. As Hélène faces either hanging for murder or being committed to an asylum on the grounds of insanity, François pretends to have captured the fly and threatens to give it to Inspector Charas unless Hélène tells the truth. This breaks Hélène’s crazed demeanour and she reveals she’s been pretending to be mad to protect Philippe. Assuming that François has seen the truth of the fly he’s supposedly caught, Hélène agrees to tell him and Inspector Charas the whole story, meaning most of The Fly is framed as flashback to a couple of months ago, when the Delambres’ were a healthy and happy family very much in love and enjoying the opulence of their home.

Hélène shares a fantastical story of her ambitious husband’s incredible new invention…

Back then, the charming André was a loving, if reclusive, scientist who spent days in his basement laboratory working away but always greeted his wife and son with a smile. One day, André bounded from his lab and eagerly brought Hélène to witness his latest, greatest creation: the “Disintegrator-Integrator”. Hélène watches in amazement as André’s machine teleports a plate from one glass chamber to another and shares his elation in the potential applications of the machine, which promises to solve world hunger and change concepts of transport. Unfortunately, André’s delight quickly turns sour when Hélène discovers the reintegrated objects are not perfect duplicates, so André immediately returns to work, shunning his family for several days before he solves the problem. Once satisfied that the flaw’s been corrected, André moves to live animal testing by transporting the family cat, Dandelo (Unknown). However, Dandelo mysteriously fails to reintegrate (possibly because she was transported alongside a saucer of milk) and is apparently reduced to atoms, with only her disembodied cries echoing throughout the lab. Grieved by this mishap, the cause of which he never discovers, André returns to work on his machine and finally re-emerges to demonstrate the revised Disintegrator-Integrator to Hélène, now able to teleport living objects and allowing her to care for a reintegrated guinea pig to atone for Dandelo. Though eager to celebrate his breakthrough, André hesitates to inform the wider scientific community as even he doesn’t fully understand his machine, though he excitedly requests that Hélène bring François to witness the fruits of his labour and bask in what promises to be a world-changing creation. However, when François arrives, he and Hélène are disappointed to find a badly written note taped to the door of André’s lab asking them to stay away. Assuming André has lost himself in his project once more, the two leave him to it, only for André to remain in the lab for several days.

Hélène’s desperate search for the fly leaves the horrifically altered André contemplating suicide.

Concerned, Hélène goes to check on him and finds him hiding his face behind a black cloth and keeping his left hand obscured. Though unable to speak, André converses through written and typed notes and by banging once for “yes” and twice for “no”, forcing Hélène to turn her back as he slurps his food and revealing that he experienced a horrible accident when he transported himself through the Disintegrator-Integrator. A common housefly got into the chamber with him and mixed up their DNA, leaving André with a deformed, fly-like hand and head and the fly with a human head and arm. Strangely, André retains his logic and reason but, knowing it’s only a matter of time before he loses his humanity, he orders Hélène to find the white-headed fly. Hélène spends a couple of days frantically searching all over for the fly, aided by her eager son and confusing their housemaid, Emma (Kathleen Freeman), who somehow misinterprets Hélène’s clear instructions to capture the fly and goes around swatting them. Determined to help her husband, Hélène repeatedly tries to corral the fly and is constantly met with failure: it slips out of Philippe’s net and eventually escapes into the garden, presumably acting as a fly would and slowly having its instincts overridden by André’s consciousness just as André becomes increasingly animalistic. Indeed, the frustration at his wife’s failure only exacerbates André’s condition. He struggles to type and write and keep his thoughts straight and warns that he will have to “destroy himself” if the fly isn’t found. Refusing to accept this, Hélène desperately begs André to try transporting himself again, confident that this will undo the damage, only to be left a shrieking, horrified wreck when she whips off André’s cloth and witnesses his gruesome fly head!

Despite the bizarre story, Inspector Charas is convinced to spare Hélène from the law.

While quaint by today’s standards, this practical effect is surprisingly shocking. It twitches and moves like a fly’s proboscis and effectively transforms the beautifully handsome Hedison into a tragically monstrous figure. This is further emphasised by how hard André fights the animalistic urges of his fly genes; he struggles to keep his fly arm from harming Hélène, and this same limb actively fights against him when he destroys his lab in despair. Realising that he’s meddled in forces beyond human understanding and wishing to destroy all evidence of his experiment, André uses what little humanity he has left to ransack his lab and scrawls a final declaration of love and plea for help on his chalkboard. Thus, Hélène helps her husband to the hydraulic press and, following his instructions, activates the machine to crush his fly parts into indistinguishable mush (though not before his fly arm tries to bring her under with him!) Though amazed by Hélène’s story, Inspector Charas begrudgingly returns with a warrant and the men in white coats to take her to the nut house. While he’s also sceptical, François is desperate to save Hélène and frantically alerts Inspector Charas to a white-headed fly Philippe found caught in a spider-web in the garden. Dubious, Inspector Charas entertains François’s plea one last time, taking no pleasure in causing him pain, and is appalled when he sees the fly has André’s head! Inspector Charas and François watch in horror as a spider advances on the half-human fly as André screams for help. Unable to stand the screaming, Inspector Charas crushes both and François immediately condemns him as being as guilty of murder as Hélène. Shocked by the whole ordeal, Inspector Charas reluctantly agrees to François’s suggestion that André committed suicide, sparing Hélène from death and the asylum. Some time later, Hélène and Philippe return to normal, with François now much closer to them, and François sadly tells Philippe that his father died in a reckless search for the “truth”.

Final Thoughts:
Although I grew up with the 1986 remake, I’ve always had a fondness for the 1958 adaptation of the The Fly, which I read and wrote about at university. Aside from a few changes, this is surprisingly faithful to the original short story and certainly one of the more ambitious sci-fi efforts of the late-1950s. Although some of the dialogue is a bit clunky and André and Hélène’s relationship is sickeningly sweet, André has an enthusiastic and affable charm about him thanks to the charismatic David Hedison, who adeptly captures André’s despair and torment after his horrific accident. Vincent Price brings his peerless authenticity to the film, perfectly portraying François as a lovestruck, tormented man trying to do his best by Hélène while struggling to comprehend her fantastical tale. Philippe was kind of annoying but did his best to be helpful, while Patricia Owens did a fine job carrying the bulk of the drama, portraying Hélène as a devoted wife desperate to help her husband. The Fly does a great job of building tension to the big reveal, giving glimpses of André’s malformed hand and depicting his obvious desperation and struggle to maintain his humanity. Sure, the fly head might be quite laughable by today’s standards but that reveal scene is an iconic moment in sci-fi cinema and has immortalised the film as much as the infamous ending. Again, the fly-André’s anguished cries of “Help me! He-ll-p me-e!” might be absurd, but it’s played so straight and so horrific that I can’t help but get shivers as that painfully fake spider devours him. While The Fly was completely outshined by its remake, it’s still a classic sci-fi morality tale of the dangers of science and a surprisingly effective exploration of madness and devotion, to say nothing of having some memorable moments that make it a truly timeless experience.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Did you enjoy this sci-fi classic? Did you like how accurate it was to the book? Were you won over by the seemingly perfect life shared by André and Hélène? Did you like the build up towards the big reveal or did the endless chasing for the fly get on your nerves? Were you impressed with the practical effects or do you think they’ve aged badly? Would you like to see another adaptation that was as closely tied to Langelaan’s book? How are you celebrating sci-fi this January? Like this review and leave a comment below, check out my other sci-fi reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other sci-fi movies for me to cover.

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: The Thing

Dr. K2 Comments

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 14 October 2011
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Distributor: Universal Pictures

Budget: $38 million
Box Office: $31.5 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 34% / 43%

Quick Facts:
Despite being a critical and commercial failure at the time, John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) became a sci-fi/horror classic but spawned only comic books and videogames rather than a sequel. Universal Pictures eventually revisited the iconic Who Goes There? (Campbell, 1928) with a prequel to both expand upon and pay homage to John Carpenter’s classic. Despite the filmmakers utilising traditional practical effects by Amalgamated Dynamics, the studio demanded they be replaced with digital effects, dramatically changing the ending and leading to much unfair critical backlash and the cancellation of a follow-up.

The Review:
Nonsensical title aside (The Thing: Zero or The Thing: Origin might’ve worked better), The Thing is a rare example of a clever way to do a remake, even if the execution isn’t as memorable as John Carpenter’s film. The Thing is set in 1982, just like Carpenter’s movie, and follows the crew of Norwegian research station “Thule” in Antarctica, making it a direct prelude to John Carpenter’s movie. We saw glimpses of the Norwegian’s discovery and their gruesome fate in 1982 film, but The Thing expands upon what happened at Thule and even incorporates some elements from The Thing from Another World (Nyby, 1951). The film opens with the Norwegians randomly discovering a vast and ancient alien spacecraft buried deep under the ice, estimated to have been there for over 100,000 years. Though Thule houses a few scientific minds, Doctor Sander Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen) and his assistant, Adam Finch (Eric Christian Olsen), assemble a team to investigate the crash and its ejected pilot. Adam suggests recruiting beautiful palaeontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and, despite the lack of details, she eagerly agrees and is as amazed as the others are by the discovery. Although they question why the pilot would’ve ejected, geologist Edvard Wolner (Trond Espen Seim) enthusiastically organises his men to help Kate excavate the creature, which they bring to Thule in a massive block of ice. Against Kate’s warnings, Dr. Halvorson orders a tissue sample to be taken from the entombed creature, chastising her for contradicting him and arrogantly wishing to be at the forefront of the find of the century. To be fair, Dr. Halvorson does promise to credit everyone with the discovery, which he verifies is the first recorded example of an extraterrestrial visitor to Earth. Despite her unease, Kate celebrates the reveal alongside the others, including pilots Sam Carter (Joel Edgerton) and Derek Jameson (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).

Norwegians and Americans alike are stunned to excavate an aggressive alien predator.

While inspecting the thawing ice block, Jameson is horrified when the titular “Thing” bursts free and, after a moment’s disbelief, convinces the others to search for it. When Henrik (Jo Adrian Haavind) and Olav (Jan Gunnar Røise) find the vaguely insectile creature under a building, Henrik is ensnared and seemingly devoured, splattering Olav with blood and leading the others to burn the Thing alive. The shell shocked team barely hold it together as Dr. Halvorson conducts an autopsy and finds a disturbing copy of Henrick within the mangled corpse. Against Dr. Halvorson’s wishes, Kate reviews the Thing’s tissue and is horrified to discover that the alien cells are attacking, absorbing, and replicating living tissue. Her warnings fall on deaf ears, however, as even Adam is in denial despite witnessing it for himself, meaning Kate’s powerless to stop Derek, Griggs (Paul Braunstein), and Sam from taking Olav to a medical facility (and, as Sam promises, getting military aid). However, after discovering bloody dental fillings in the bathroom, Kate rushes to flag down the helicopter, sure that someone onboard is the Thing. Turns out it was Griggs, who violently splits apart and crashes the chopper, though the others are still sceptical about Kate’s warnings, especially as the evidence has been cleaned up. Juliette (Kim Bubbs) offers to help Kate get the keys to Thule’s vehicles to keep Edvard and the others from leaving and potentially spreading the Thing’s reach, only for her to also be revealed as a Thing and kill Karl (Carsten Bjørnlund) before being immolated by the surly Lars (Jørgen Langhelle) and his flamethrower. Echoing a similar scene from the 1982 film, the survivors dig a ditch in the snow and burn all the bodies, agreeing to quarantine themselves until they can figure out who’s who using a blood test devised by Dr. Halvorson and Adam, just like in Carpenter’s film. Similarly, this test is sabotaged when the laboratory goes up in flames, which also raises tensions in the group.

While the execution is somewhat flawed, the film works as a decent prelude to the 1982 movie.

I like that The Thing largely commits to having the Norwegian characters speak in Norwegian and that it closely emulates the aesthetic of John Carpenter’s film, with Marco Beltrami’s foreboding score reminiscent of Ennio Morricone’s work in 1982. The film quality is noticeably better but the set design seems to perfectly match with what we saw in 1982, and The Thing goes to great lengths to explain how Thule ended up in the state it’s found in the previous film. Although the survivors briefly turn on and suspect each other, with Adam, Sam, and Jameson prime suspects since the former was the last person in the lab before it burned up and the latter two inexplicably survived the helicopter crash. Although the test is ruined, Kate checks everyone for fillings, leaving Adam, Colin (Jonathan Lloyd Walker), Edvard, and Dr. Halvorson suspects as they claim to have porcelain fillings. This scene isn’t as tense as the 1982 blood test but it’s a great way to show that the Thing cannot replicate inorganic material, meaning fillings and other metal implants are rejected during the absorption process. While fetching the isolated Sam and Jameson to check them, the Thing attacks and, in a bout of paranoia, Peder (Stig Henrik Hoff) is shot dead and Edvard is injured by an explosion. He’s dramatically revealed to be the Thing and goes on a rampage, infecting Jonas (Kristofer Hivju) and Dr. Halvorson killing Jameson, and gruesomely crawling over Adam to partially merge with him and create the abhorrent two-headed Thing discovered in John Carpenter’s film. After finally destroying this creature, Kate and Sam spot Dr. Halvorson fleeing in a snowcat. While Sam’s happy to let him drive off and freeze to death, Kate realises the Thing would benefit from that and that it’s heading back to the space craft, so she encourages them to pursue, relieved to find that Sam still has his ear piercing and is thus human.

While CGI isn’t as impressive as practical effects, it’s not as bad as many  would have you believe.

While there are moments of tension and suspense in The Thing, this is far more akin to a monster movie than John Carptener’s film, focusing more on large, ungainly alien abominations and giving us a bigger body count. The Thing is still an unknowable, shapeless creature that’s cunning, patient, and extremely volatile, happy to imitate a victim and bide its time. While hidden as Griggs, the Thing almost escapes and, much like in the 1982 film, many characters are infected offscreen to keep the audience guessing. The Thing is noticeably more insectile at times and far more bloodthirsty, skewering and impaling prey with its razor-sharp tentacles and devouring them afterwards rather than immediately trying to absorb them. It still detaches parts of itself, notably its hands, to attack and is particularly vulnerable to fire, especially when in the middle of imitating someone. It cannot replicate inorganic material, though, raising some questions about how it has time to get dressed after imitating someone. It still imitates people flawlessly despite this, even attacking other parts of itself to maintain the ruse and being smart enough to lure others to a quiet area to attack, though Thule is well stocked with flamethrowers and grenades. Unfortunately, as many have said, The Thing ditches traditional practical effects for CGI visuals, and the results are noticeably mixed. When I first saw it, I didn’t think it was all that bad and thought it did a decent job of capturing the same vibe as Carpenter’s film but being just different enough in fun and clever ways to be enjoyable. I still think this, and this extends to the visuals, which are still disturbingly gruesome even if the CGI can be quite dodgy and cartoony. It does mean The Thing is a little less gory at times, especially when the alien is revealing itself or attacking someone, which is a bizarre choice considering how ghastly the effects are when it splits apart and erupts into a mess of tentacles, teeth, and moaning humanoid faces.

Despite the bizarre ending, the film segues nicely into the beginning of Carpenter’s cult classic.

Kate and Sam follow the Halvorson-Thing back to the spaceship, which it activates in a bid to either return to the stars or infect larger civilised areas. The commotion separates Kate and Sam, leaving Kate to wander the highly advanced alien craft and stumble upon a glowing, geometric hologram that leaves her mesmerised for some time. This was initially a biomechanical alien pilot, not unlike the “Space Jockey”, that was originally planned to have been collecting alien samples before being attacked by the Thing. Other versions of the film had an animatronic version of this pilot (or a horrendous amalgamation of Dr. Halvorson, the pilot, and the Thing) attacking Kate for the finale. Instead, Kate stares at this weird lightshow before the disappointingly cartoonish, CGI Halvorson-Thing attacks, forcing her to find space to toss a grenade into its gaping, teeth-riddled maw. Luckily, Sam appears just in time to unload with a flamethrower, destroying the grotesque creature and shutting down the ship’s engines. Though exhausted and battered, Kate still has the wherewithal to notice that Sam is now missing his earring and burns him alive without hesitation, reducing him to a squealing mess of alien meat as the Thing is finally destroyed. While Kate heads towards a nearby Soviet base in the snowcat, pilot Matias (Ole Martin Aune Nilsen) returns to Thule from a refuelling mission and finds it in ruins, Colin having slit his wrists out of fear of being assimilated, and is confronted by a paranoid, trigger-happy Lars. After verifying that Matias is human, Largs desperately urges Matias into the chopper to pursue his fleeing snow dog, which was discovered brutally killed soon after the Thing first awoke, perfectly tying the end of this film into the beginning of John Carpenter’s The Thing…

Final Thoughts:
I’ve always been a big fan of John Carpenter’s The Thing, even if it can drag a bit in the middle. It’s a fantastic example of horror, paranoia, and gruesome practical effects that would be difficult for any film to emulate. Rather than try to remake John Carpenter’s cult classic, The Thing opts to act as a companion piece, a prequel to show what happened at Thule before the 1982 film. In that respect, I maintain that The Thing does a decent job. The attention to detail in the set design and the fates of Thule’s residents is admirable, revealing that these twisted, mangled corpses were once people driven to desperation and paranoia or overtaken by a violent alien organism. I really liked the abundance of subtitles and Norwegian being spoken and it made sense to bring in some Americans as Thule wasn’t equipped to properly excavate or study the Thing. I adore Mary Elizabeth Winstead and won’t hear anything against here. Kate was a forthright and level-headed character who kept her cool, even when being attacked by the Thing, and came up with practical solutions. Joel Edgerton is no Kurt Russell, though, and most of the other characters are interchangeable and forgettable compared to those in Carpenter’s film, but I liked the smarmy, arrogant Dr. Halvorson, who seemed to be channelling the equally egotistical Doctor Arthur Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite) from The Thing from Another World. While I don’t think the CGI is that bad, it’s true that it’s not as impactful as practical effects and appears very slap-dash, lacking the visceral horror of animatronics and puppets. The weird hologram-thing in the spaceship was a strange decision (it might’ve been better to just cut that scene) and the Halvorson-Thing wasn’t as grotesquely disturbing as the monstrous Blair-Thing, despite being more mobile thanks to CGI. I truly think The Thing is better than a lot of people think and is worthy of re-evaluation. It works really well as a double feature with John Carpenter’s The Thing and has some good moments, but even I must admit that it’s lacking compared to its predecessor and sadly missed the mark with its overall execution.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Do you agree that The Thing is better than most people think? Did you like that it aligned well as a prequel? Were you disappointed that much of the suspense was downplayed in favour of monster horror? Did you find the CGI disappointing and what did you think to that hologram thing? Would you like to see a new version of Who Goes There? on the big screen? How are you celebrating sci-fi this month? Whatever you thought to The Thing, comment down below and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other sci-fi films for me to review.

Back Issues [Sci-Fanuary]: The Thing from Another World #1-2

Dr. K1 Comment

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Story Title: “The Thing (from Another World)”
Published: 1991 to 1992

Writer: Chuck Pfarrer
Artist: John B. Higgins

Quick Facts:
Published by Dark Horse Comics, known for creator-owned stories and licensed adaptations of horror and science-fiction films, The Thing from Another World continued where John Carpenter’s sci-fi classic left off but utilised the title of the celebrated 1951 adaptation of John W. Campbell’s influential 1938 novella to avoid legal issues with Marvel Comics.

The Review:
The Thing from Another World is set twenty-four hours after the team at United States Antarctic Research Outpost #31 discovered an aggressive, parasitic alien organism (the titular “Thing”) that drove them to paranoia and violence through its ability to gruesomely mimic living creatures. The comic immediately answers the question about whether or not the final survivors from Outpost #13 lived or died by showing that Childs carried the unconscious R.J. “Mac” MacReady through a bitter snowstorm and out onto the ice fields and left him to be rescued by the Misaki Maru, a passing whaling vessel. The confused and disoriented Mac is horrified to learn that Childs returned to Outpost #13 to look for more survivors, leading to him being sedated to keep him calm. When he awakens again, Mac quickly cuts himself free and dresses, pondering why Childs would save him if he (as in Childs) was infected by the Thing. Suddenly paranoid that he may be the one that’s infected, Mac quickly replicates the blood test depicted in John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) and is relieved when he gets the all-clear, lending some credibility to the notion that the infected don’t know they’re a Thing until they’re threatened. Easily snaking around the ship, Mac (being a fully qualified pilot) commandeers their helicopter and quickly picks up Childs’ trail, which heads East rather than North towards Outpost #13. Although Mac’s forced to ditch the helicopter when he runs out of fuel, he successfully makes it back to the remains of Outpost #13, where he quickly gets to work burning the brutalised remains of his former friends.

The paranoid Mac is so determined to eradicate the Thing that he seems willing to die to do it!

Mac discovers the mangled, monstrous hibernating form of another mishmash of lifeforms and promptly blows it to pieces. However, he’s stopped from destroying the separate chunks by United States Sea, Air, and Land troops (SEALs). The SEALs were dispatched to investigate Outpost #13 but appear to have no idea of what really happened there and believe Mac murdered everyone and destroyed the base. Despite being cuffed, Mac leashes out when one of the SEALs, Pybus, curiously touches a piece of the Thing, leading to him taking a rifle butt to the head and the oblivious Lieutenant Commander Les Erskine to order that the mutilated remains be left for the bio-team. Just as the SEALs are boarding their evacuation helicopter, Pybus sprouts tentacles and mutates, firing on his stunned teammates, gunning most of them down and destroying the helicopter. Freed from his cuffs, Mac blasts the Pybus-Thing with a pistol, only for its corpse to birth a bizarre, tentacled alien that finally makes a believer out of Erskine before Mac blows it up with a grenade. After tending to their wounded, Mac and Erskine explore their options, only to find they’re out of fuel and with no hope of rescue. Erskine’s aghast when Mac reveals his plan to eradicate all traces of the Thing, including the both of them, to ensure there’s no chance of even a small part of it reaching civilisation. Erskine offers an alternative solution by holding Mac at gunpoint and ordering him to help get the wounded soldiers to a nearby research station, though they continue to clash regarding their chances and one man dies from his wounds (or the severe cold) on the way. Erskine is livid when he discovers Mac intentionally led them in the wrong direction, leading to another brief scuffle in which Erskine suspects Mac wants them to freeze to death because he’s the Thing!

Mac and Childs must set aside their differences to stop the Thing from reaching civilisation.

Their scuffle is interrupted by Childs and some Argentinians from the base, though the paranoid Mac immediately attacks Childs. After Mac is subdued, Childs confirms that he left Mac to be rescued and went back to destroy the others, though Mac remains suspicious. Mac’s horror only increases when they reach Campo Del Sur and see how many people could get infected, though Childs assures him that the Argentinians are conducting routine blood tests to stay safe. While Mac’s still hostile even after he and Childs are tested negative, he’s startled when Erskine’s unconscious trooper bursts into a bloody mass of tentacles and teeth! Though injured, the Thing quickly escapes, forcing the others to pursue and discover the gruesome remains of its latest victim. Despite Mac’s protests, Childs insists on proceeding further before the Thing can freeze and ends up almost devoured by the gigantic, cephalopod-like Thing before it’s destroyed with a grenade. Erskine urges them to return to Campo Del Sur so he can radio for assistance, leaving Mac to share his concerns about the commander to Childs. While Childs has his doubts since Erskine was so “gung-ho” about destroying the Thing, Mac’s fears are soon proven when they find three men dead in the trashed radio room. Realising that the Erskine-Thing radioed for a submarine, Mac and Childs race to intercept it, riddling the Erskine-Thing with bullets and causing it to wildly mutate. The Thing slaughters its way onto the submarine and goes on a rampage, with the sub performing an emergency dive and eventually crashing after the Thing wrecks the controls. With the submarine quickly flooding and the Thing heading for the escape capsule, Mac quickly catches the survivors up to speed and forms a hunting party and finds it in the torpedo bay. Despite Mac being ready to die to end the Thing’s threat, he objects when Childs goes to blow the hatch and end the nightmare once and for all. Childs thus destroys the submarine and all onboard except Mac, who’s inexplicably blasted from the wreckage and emerges on the frigid surface, passing out on an ice float despite his determination to stay alive…

Final Thoughts: 
John Carpenter’s The Thing ends with perhaps one of the greatest cliff-hangers in all of cinema and fans have debated for years about whether Mac or Childs have been infected or not. One of the reasons it’s such an intriguing debate is that it’s presented as a stalemate between the two. Both are equally suspicious of each other and likely to be either human or the Thing, but both are too exhausted and paranoid to do much about it but “wait and see” what happens. The Thing from Another World isn’t the only piece of ancillary media to provide a definitive answer to this long-debated cliff-hanger, but it’s equally questionable about whether these answers work or not and may come down to personal preference. On the one hand, it’s cool to continue Mac’s nightmare and to see him hunt down and destroy the Thing, and to see how he and Childs react to each other when reunited. On the other hand, it feels like a disservice to the film to provide a definitive answer and it’s possible this story could’ve been just as effective if it followed a researcher or soldier investigating Outpost #13 and perhaps working from the remains of Blair’s notes. The fact that subsequent issues double-down and continue Mac’s story only compounds the issue, though I liked that Mac was even more proactive than ever and used his traumatic experiences and first-hand knowledge of the Thing to his advantage against the shape-shifting alien. I was also intrigued by the twist that he was ready to die to ensure the alien is destroyed. However, it’s bizarre that he so vehemently objects when Childs sacrifices himself and the others on the submarine at the end, especially as Mac was ready to sacrifice Erskine in the mountains. At the same time, Mac was hesitant to murder Erskine so maybe this is just a poorly executed expansion of the fear and paranoia that have so tightly gripped Mac’s heart.

If nothing else, the comic perfectly captures the paranoia and horror of John Carpenter’s movie.

Overall, I’d have to say the artwork was very impressive, perfectly capturing the dark, desolate atmosphere of Antarctica and bringing the gore to life with intricate brushwork. It was a little difficult to make out what was going on at times, especially when the Thing reveals itself, but this may have been intentional to replicate the “less is more” approach of the movie and emphasise how chaotic it is when the infected suddenly sprout tentacles and gnashing teeth. Indeed, the art is at its best when depicting the Thing and its victims, recreating the memorable special effects of the movie and playing upon the reader’s familiarity with the film to depict the remains of Outpost #13 and the mangled corpses of its inhabitants. Mac blows up a hibernating mass of flesh and teeth that closely resembles the Thing’s final form in the film, the defibrillator scene is evoked when Erskine’s soldier suddenly explodes with tentacles and dangerous alien appendages, and we get a better idea of how capable the infected are as we see them using rifles and having the wherewithal to signal for help. The Thing from Another World also introduces a couple of additional forms for the Thing, ones possibly too outrageous and ambitious to be brought to life by John Carpenter’s paltry budget. These include a bug-like Thing, a larger one out in the snow, and the strange, bipedal mess of meat that Erskine devolves into to tear through the submarine. The only real downside is that the Things are dispatched quite easily each time, with a single grenade being enough to destroy or at least subdue them long enough for their pieces to be incinerated. The Thing still slaughters a bunch of people, to be fair, but they’re largely nameless, faceless SEALs whose deaths mean little compared to those of Outpost #13. Ultimately, this was a decent enough epilogue to The Thing, but I think it would’ve been better, overall, to avoid answering what happened to Mac and/or Childs and instead follow wholly original characters as they encounter the Thing.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever read The Thing from Another World? Were you happy to see the film’s cliff-hanger answered here or would you have preferred the story to focus on original characters? What did you think of the art work and the call-backs to John Carpenter’s movie? Did you guess that Erskine was infected? Can you explain why Mac suddenly abandoned his suicidal crusade at the end? How are you celebrating the sci-fi genre this month? Whatever your thoughts on The Thing from Another World, drop a comment down below and send me some love on Ko-Fi if you want me to review more Thing comic books.

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: John Carpenter’s The Thing

Dr. K5 Comments

January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history: “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and 12 January being when Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000 was created. Accordingly, I dedicate January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Released: 25 June 1982
Director: John Carpenter
Distributor: Universal Pictures

Budget: $15 million
Box Office: $20,847,529
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 85% / 92%

Quick Facts:
The second big screen adaptation of John W. Campbell’s iconic 1928 novella Who Goes There?, The Thing was almost helmed by horror maestro Tobe Hooper before John Carpenter got involved and pushed for a story closer to the source material. Bill Lancaster modernised the story to focus on paranoia and fear while Rob Bottin delivered the gruesome practical effects to meld numerous bizarre and horrific alien aspects into the titular “Thing”. A critical and commercial failure at the time, John Carpenter’s The Thing is now widely regarded as a sci-fi/horror classic and spawned comic books, videogames, and a divisive 2011 prequel.

The Review:
Life within the remote, frigid United States Outpost 31 is suddenly turned upside down when a couple of Norwegian researchers suddenly circle their snowed-in facility, where the isolated inhabitants wile away in the rec room or, in pilot R. J. “Mac” MacReady’s (Kurt Russell) case, swigging whiskey and being beaten at computer chess. The Norwegians are chasing a sled dog (Jed) through the snow and, when they fail to shoot it, land to try explosives. The commotion alerts Mac and his cohorts, who rush into the snow to see what’s up and unknowingly shield the dog, leading to the desperate and ranting Norwegian (Norbert Weisser) to threaten them at gunpoint after accidentally blowing up his helicopter and co-pilot. Startled, the Americans open fire, with station commander M. T. Garry (Donald Moffat) executing the Norwegian with his prized revolver. Confused by all this, Mac takes station physician Doctor Copper (Richard Dysart) to the Norwegian base, despite the inclement weather, and finds it a burned out, frozen wreck full of gruesome bodies. While Dr. Copper gathers the Norwegians’ notes to try and understand what happened, Mac discovers the frozen remains of a mysterious ice-like tomb and a charred, inhuman corpse that’s hideously malformed. They transport the remains back to base for analysis, only for microbiologist Doctor Blair (A. Wilford Brimley) to be bemused by the Thing’s malformed, misshapen biology. Still puzzled by whatever fate befell the Norwegians and the bizarre, steaming corpse sitting in their medical room, the team return to their games, pondering the day’s events and niggling each other, unaware that the sled dog has snuck into one of their rooms.

Mac and the others discover a horrifying alien parasite that assimilates anything it touches.

Sombre dog handler Clark (Richard Masur) later takes the adopted dog to the kennels, where it suddenly and violently erupts into a writhing, thrashing, screaming alien creature! Ensnaring the other dogs and spraying them with goop, it assaults the panicked dogs, drawing Clark and the others. Horrified, Mac and Garry blast the Dog-Thing and the other dogs, much to Clark’s dismay, and surly mechanic Childs (Keith David) incinerates the creature with a flamethrower. Dr. Blair’s subsequent autopsy reveals that the burned corpse isn’t a dog, but an “imitation” of one that was attempting to absorb and imitate the other dogs. Reviewing the Norwegians’ data, which includes video footage similar to the 1951 film, the crew discovers that the Norwegians discovered an alien space craft buried deep in the ice. They risk another helicopter ride to the site and find the craft, which is estimated to have crashed thousands of years ago and which was uncovered when the Norwegians used explosives, leading them to recover a frozen occupant who subsequently overran their base. Shaken by the implications, Dr. Blair runs some tests and determines that the parasitic organism aggressively latches onto and absorbs living cells, perfectly imitating any living creature it samples and sprouting teeth, tentacles, and other appendages from potentially thousands of other worlds. Realising that the Thing could overtake the entire world within three years if it reaches civilisation, Dr. Blair snaps and wrecks the outpost’s communications array and much of their equipment before he’s subdued and isolated. This leaves out of his depth assistant biologist Fuchs (Joel Polis) to pour over Dr. Blair’s mad ramblings for a solution and Garry shell-shocked when the Dog-Thing’s remains slither to life and absorb his friend, meteorologist George Bennings (Peter Maloney), forcing the others to set his half-transformed form alive and burn every trace of the alien from the outpost.

Paranoia and fear run rampant as the Thing assimilates those around it and feeds their distrust.

With radio operator Windows (Thomas Waites) unable to call for help and their vehicles trashed during Dr. Blair’s breakdown, the survivors prepare to weather an incoming storm, tensions flare when soiled long johns appear in cook Nauls’ (T. K. Carter) kitchen and the shredded remains of Mac’s clothing are found out in the snow. Dr. Copper suggests they use the blood bank to test who’s human and who’s the Thing, but this is scuppered when someone destroys the blood bank and they descend into arguments and finger pointing when this is discovered, accusing Garry since he’s the only one with the keys and Dr. Copper since he regularly accesses the blood. The distrust being thrown around knocks Garry’s confidence and, after a tense showdown with Windows when he frantically grabs a shotgun, Garry relinquishes his revolver and command to Mac. While Mac tries to hold the group together, being the coolest and most logical head despite his growing fear and paranoia, the others descend into anger and distrust after Fuchs is mysteriously burned alive and any chance of employing Dr. Copper’s blood test. However, but soon decide Mac is the most untrustworthy  and strand him in the blizzard. They’re even more convinced he’s the Thing when he stumbles back to base without a guideline and, enraged by their betrayal and wracked by the cold, Mac threatens to blow them all up with dynamite if they don’t listen to reason. The tense standoff sees Mac and Childs clash and Clark, also a chief suspect due to his close proximity to the dogs, ready to shank Mac at the first opportunity. During the scuffle to disarm Mac, terrified geologist Norris (Charles Hallahan) is tossed aside and seemingly dies from a heart attack, only to be shockingly revealed to be the Thing! This revelation does little to allay Mac’s suspicions and, after the ghastly Norris-Thing and its offspring are incinerated, Mac forces those he begrudgingly trusts to tie up those he doesn’t and ventures that their blood with violently react to a hit needle if they’ve been assimilated.

Recovered from a crashed ship, the Thing is a hideous amalgamation of various organisms.

Rather than being a strange vegetable creature, the titular Thing is a parasitic organism like in the book. Although we see its flying saucer crash to Earth in the pre-title sequence, there’s no way of knowing if the Thing was the pilot or was simply held captive on the ship (though I’d venture to say the ship crash-landed after the Thing broke out). The Thing has no true form and instead hides behind imitation, perfectly replicating living creatures and even mirroring their personalities, to the point where the assimilated seem unaware that they’re the Thing until they’re threatened. Assistant mechanic Palmer (David Clennon), for example, appears completely human until Mac performs his blood test, whereupon Palmer violently explodes into bloody, gnashing jaws. Norris also appears normal, even tackling Mac alongside the others, until he appears to die and Dr. Copper performs CPR and Norris’s chest splits open and rips his arms off! The Thing’s only goal is to assimilate and procreate everything it can, picking off potential threats and fighting to survive when threatened. Although it appears inhumanly strong and durable, shrugging off shotgun blasts and easily manhandling Windows, it’s not invulnerable. Fire is especially effective, as is dynamite, with the creature being most vulnerable mid-transformation, as seen with the Bennings-Thing. Rather than being a singular organism, every cell of the Thing is alive and thinking, allowing it to disgustingly detach part of itself when the main “body” is destroyed and meaning it can infect multiple targets at once. The Thing is also seen to be very shrewd and intelligent, allowing the survivors to waste their energies on paranoia and accusations rather than formulating strategies, and having intelligence enough to cobble together a miniature flying saucer in the case of the Blair-Thing. The Thing is also incredibly patient, happy to let the humans destroy themselves and hibernate in the snow until the rescue team arrives and then assimilate them…and the rest of the world, in short order.

Although Mac destroys the Blair-Thing, there are lingering questions about who can be trusted. 

When Mac’s blood test outs Palmers and leads to him and Windows dying, a slither of trust is reignited as the cleared survivors go to test Dr. Blair. However, they find he’s built a small flying saucer and tunnelled his way out, revealing himself to also be a Thing. After the Blair-Thing destroys the outpost’s power generator, Mac realises it’s willing to outlast them in the cold to escape and that they’re unlikely to make it out alive without any heat and rescue far away. Resolving to keep the Thing from reaching civilisation, Mac and the others prepare to bring the whole outpost down by setting dynamite charges. However, paranoia rears its ugly head as Nauls and Childs go missing; the Blair-Thing also ambushes Garry in the tunnels, leaving Mac alone. The Blair-Thing then spectacularly erupts from the floor as a massive, mewling amalgamation of repulsive alien and vaguely animal parts in a fantastic combination of practical effects, stop motion techniques, and puppetry. While the monstrous Blair-Thing is quite lumbering and mainly just stands there roaring, its tentacles whipping about as it emits that disturbing hissing, it devours Mac’s detonator and seems poised to take him. Defiant until the end, the rugged, exhausted Mac tosses a stick of dynamite at the creature and destroys it, along with the entire outpost. Barely escaping the blast, Mac stumbles through the burning debris and finally collapses from fatigue, whiskey in hand. Childs emerges from the blizzard, claiming to have gotten lost while pursuing Dr. Blair, and sits with him, both too tired to argue or to fight. Realising the flames will die out soon and they’re likely to perish from the cold, the two acknowledge the futility of their situation and their mutual distrust and resolve to simple share a drink and wait to see what happens, leaving their ultimate fate up to the audience…

Final Thoughts:
John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of the quintessential remakes of all time. While the original film was an ambitious B-movie that took huge liberties with the source material, The Thing stays very close to Who Goes There? in its interpretation of the titular alien parasite and the destructive paranoia that tears the humans apart. There’s a sense that many of the characters barely tolerated each other to begin with, meaning tensions fray very quickly once they realise the Thing can perfectly imitate them down to their memories and behaviour. The film perfectly conveys this by rarely, if ever, showing who’s been assimilated and when, meaning we never really know who to trust as everyone – even rugged protagonist Mac – is a suspect. It’s thus shocking when characters turn out to be human or suddenly explode into a thrashing, shrieking mess of flesh and teeth and even destroying the Thing and performing tests doesn’t stamp out the unease felt by the survivors. Kurt Russell did a great job as reluctant leader Mac, who seems ready to pack it all in at a moment’s notice. I liked his heated rivalry with the immortal Keith David and how easily he took charge, and how physically and emotionally exhausted he was by the whole ordeal. Some aspects, like Dr. Blair’s computer simulation, are rather quaint but they get the job done and the gruesome special effects more than make up for them. The Thing is constantly sprouting new appendages and forms and surprising audiences by springing to the ceiling, becoming a scurrying spider-like head, or clamping down on its prey with its massive teeth. It’s a spectacularly ghastly creature that’s nauseating to look at as you never know what it’s going to do next as it clearly retains knowledge of other alien creatures and is a highly adaptable and versatile parasite. The ending may be one of cinema’s greatest cliff-hangers and the simple story of distrust and desperation remains as palpable as ever, making John Carpenter’s The Thing a timeless sci-fi/horror classic that’s difficult to beat.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Do you agree that John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of the greatest remakes of all time? How do you feel it works as an adaptation? Which character were you most surprised to find out was human (or the Thing)? Did you enjoy Kurt Russell’s performance and his rivalry with Keith David? How amazing were those gruesome special effects? How did you interpret the ending and what sci-fi films are you watching this month? Use the comments below to hap some praise on John Carpenter’s The Thing and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other sci-fi films you’d like to see me cover.