The Thing from Another World

An intelligent 1950s sci-fi flick with elements of horror and an idea. However, it would have been scarier and more suspenseful if it hadn’t been so wordy and had instead focused more on the confrontation between the people and the titular Thing rather than on the interactions of the people with each other (especially the needless romantic relationship between the captain and the assistant). And the screenwriters could have dramatized the last third more imaginatively and brought in more victims. As it is, it just coasts to the closing credits. (11/20/2011)

For me a clear disappointment, and since the comparison with Carpenter's remake can’t be avoided, I declare the winner and it is John Carpenter. Hawks's black and white classic lacks everything that made the remake interesting. There is no feeling of confinement and isolation, no paranoia and distrust among colleagues that add to the tension, no palpable fear of unknown threats. Howard Hawks had a wide genre range, he made comedies, historical westerns and, in this case, science fiction, and all of his films are characterised by his signature overlapping dialogue. And that's exactly what happens ninety-five percent of the time in this film. There's talking and talking and talking, and although the dialogue is well written and the plot feels lively, Hawks builds absolutely no tension. A couple of promisingly interesting scenes are nipped in the bud, or are just plain sloppy (finding the spaceship). Despite my great fondness for old science fiction films, I did not enjoy this one, and after seeing this classic, I appreciated its remake all the more, with Carpenter mixing in all the ingredients such a film should have. Some films have really aged a lot. (10/17/2004)