Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Running Time: 102 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: December 2nd, 2011
From the second it was announced a film was in the pipeline that was somehow related to John Carpenter’s 1982 movie, The Thing, there’s been much grumbling from fans. However this is a slightly unusual case, as while Carpenter fans have been predictably wary of anything tampering with a classic they love, the early 80s film was actually a remake itself, of the 1951 movie The Thing From Another World. As a result it’s tougher to argue here that things from the past should be preserved in aspic and never touched.
What we have here though isn’t a straight remake, but (as the movie studio insists on calling it) a ‘prelude’ to the Kurt Russell movie. Quite why they gave it the exact same name as the other film is a bit of a mystery then, but it just goes to show some of the muddle-headed business-butting-up-against-entertainment thinking that went into the new The Thing. [Read more…]
It seems the US simply can’t get enough of Paranormal Activity, with the low-budget franchise (the third film still cost less than $5 million to make) taking a huge $54 million in its first weekend. That’s not just a record for the franchise, it’s also the biggest autumn opening (classed as September and October) ever, topping Jackass 3’s $50.3 million last year. If that’s not enough it’s the highest opening for a pure horror movie too.