The Thing from Another World

I spent my time watching The Thing From Another World watching it in two ways simultaneously. One was just experiencing it as is. The other was looking for through-lines that connected it to its incredibly more famous and revered remake 30 years later. Not that I was comparing it on quality -- that would be futile, as John Carpenter's remake is one of the best horror movies ever made, full stop. No, just to see if I could see threads of inspiration from one to the other, because, aside from setting and the feeling of fear, this is vastly different from its progeny. This version of The Thing still takes place in the frozen tundra, but that's just about where the similarities end. This arctic base is far more densely populated, with a dozen or more people at least. And their nemesis isn't a shape-shifting parasitic alien, but a massive, Frankenstein's monster-looking alien that is genetically similar to vegetables. That was an original touch, and the movie uses it well; without organs or a physiology similar to Earth life, the creature can't be damaged by conventional weapons. It is basically a plant in humanoid form. The movie plays out like just about all 50's creature features do. Seriously, there must've been a template. Hero with a strong jawline is brought into a meeting in an office (with either a professor or a military officer), dispatched somewhere, goes there, things go pear-shaped, defeat monster, kiss girl, credits. Unlike the remake, this movie isn't about dread and paranoia, but about direct fear. If you've watched MST3K, you've seen a dozen movies of similar ilk. TTFAW is well made, sure -- the monster is kept in shadows for much of the movie to enhance his terrifying aura, the love interest is sassy and spunky, there's a dissenter in the ranks who contradicts the hero at every turn -- but it is formulaic as all hell. What was scary then comes off a bit campy now, but in a charming, quaint way. I had no trouble ignoring the qualities that dated it, because it is earnest in its attempt at being what it is, and it wasn't a template in 1951, but it is something that has to be ignored for modern audiences. If you can, it's a fun enough time. Less easy to ignore are the BLATANT propagandizing that runs through the movie. This movie is built on a strong backbone of anti-communism and anti-science, and given the timeframe, neither is surprising. It's just surprising how unsubtle this is. The lead non-plant-based antagonist is a professor who believes the hostile alien must be protected and studied in a peaceful for the good of humanity, even if it costs everyone at the base their lives. He stops just short of saying "the needs of the many ...". It doesn't help either that he looks like a hybrid of Stalin and Lenin. And of course, he's very pro-science, and given how close this was to the end of WW2, when there was a backlash to science after the atomic bomb, one can see how this movie might come off heavy-handed. And what saves the day? MURICAN MILITARY MUSCLE BABY. Yeah, it's heavy-handed alright. But the question is if you can ignore it or not and just enjoy the stupid simple fun of the movie. I could. I internally chuckled at the oh-so-50's of it all. The characterization of the antagonist and his beliefs are painted in the broadest of broad strokes, the kind of misunderstanding and ignorance one can only accomplish when one forgets that behind an ideology they disagree with is a human being who believes it just as strongly as they believe in their own. I'm not taking sides in the ideological battle here. I just think it's funny how basic the caricatures are in this movie. I can't get mad at a movie that has such a weak grasp on the concepts its trying to convey. You wanna get mad at Barbie or They/Them for how they present their politics, okay, there's a discussion to be had. Those put their ideologies right out front and make them central to the movie in much finer detail. But this is so simplistic, so basic, I can't get worked up about it being a Cold War relic. It's like getting mad over a child's drawing of the American flag that doesn't have the right amount of stars or stripes. Ultimately, TTFAW is a harmless, silly, fun creature feature from way back. Yes, it wears its politics and sentiments on its sleeve, but they're so crude and obvious, I can't be bothered to care. The trappings of the era date this movie tremendously, leaving it more a campy movie to have fun with than a genuinely scary horror movie, but in this case, I'm okay with that.