Fiction vs. Fiction vs. Fiction: The Thing- Films vs. Short Story

 I love The Thing.  The 1982 one to be clear.

I'd never read the original Short Story that it is based on until I found it in a Short Story Hardback Collection from 1985.

How does it compare to the 1951 Film and Carpenter's Classic Film?

Let's find out...

****VS****

****VS****

What's the Same?

Arctic Researchers accidentally run across a frozen alien and it thaws out.  It starts to kill everyone until they manage to take it out...but at what cost?

What's Different?

In the Short Story and 1951 Film, our group is the one that blasts open the ship and finds the creature.
Carpenter's Film has the creature infiltrate their base as a dog, having been found by a Swedish group.

In the Story, the creature is a strange, blue guy with head tendrils and three eyes.
In the 1951 Film, it is a big dude played by James Arness.
In the 1982 Film, we never *really* see its true form.

In Carpenter's Film, it kills the dogs directly, revealing itself to the group.
In the Story and 1951 Film, it attacks the dogs and is wounded by them. 
In the Story, the rest of the dogs die due to eating part of the creature during said attack.

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In the Story and Carpenter's Film, the creature can impersonate the Crew (after killing them) and grow freaky new tendrils/claws/blades.
In the 1951 Film, it is a big, old Vampire and never changes shape.

In the Story, they can burn it with an electric torch, last killing the final creature after it pretended to be Blair in isolation.
In the 1951 Film, it is electrocuted and turned into ash.
In the Carpenter Film, it is a flamethrower.

In the Story, McReady is described as a bronze giant, complete with red beard and giant frame.
I guess Jonas in the 2011 Prequel of the same name is the closest fit.
Weirdly, McReady is replaced with 'Patrick Hendry' in the 1951 Film.

****

In the Story, they defeat the creature and learn that it was making a jetpack to escape with when they stopped it.
In the 1951 Film, the creature is defeated and they go all 'Watch the skies!'
In the Carpenter Film, they are famously ambiguous as to whether either survivor is truly human.

Thoughts

The original Story is a true classic, giving you a good balance of intrigue, creature feature and isolation.  The 1951 Film is still good, but definitely doesn't go as far as you'd hope for after reading the Story.

Carpenter's Film is great.  Duh.

Which is Better?

The Carpenter Film.

The original Story really holds up well.  You can tell that Carpenter and company wanted to honor the spirit of it and made some tweaks along the way.
Not 100% faithful in Story, but 1,000% faithful in spirit.

Tubi Thursday: Scary Movie (1991)

 A Film forgotten to History thanks to a Parody of a Slasher Film.

Confused?  It will make sense...

A man named Warren is not a big fan of crowds and social events.

Even so, he's invited by his friend to go on a double date to a Haunted House...on Halloween!

Nobody seems to like him.  He's socially awkward.

When people keep spooking him, it only gets worse.

Elsewhere, a man escapes from a transport from a Mental Hospital.

Warren sees a masked man in the House after he finally goes inside.

Is this the escaped Patient?!?

Mind you, he finally goes in about halfway through the Film.

Inside the House, he's freaking out over the news of the escaped Patient.  He can't contain himself!

He chops off the masked man's hand and calls for help, but nobody believes him.

Outside, the Cops and News are covering the Story of the escaped Patient.  

This does speak to how well (or not) the WNUF Halloween Special nailed the look.

As poor Warren is jumping at every shadow and every sound, he tries to avoid the killer.

When he shoots the killer, is he the Hero?

SPOILER Below

Not so much.  He was actually attacking innocent people and shot the Sheriff.  Whoops.

The End.

A Film with many good ideas and a few really bad issues.

The premise is a good one.  Follow one guy as he loses his mind in the worst place at the worst time.

John Hawkes is really good here.  It's a fully committed performance that reminds me of a Crispin Glover performance or that of the Lead in My Soul to Take.

Will you necessarily like him by the end?  Maybe not.  He's a lot to take in.

I wish that there was someone else nice to work with him.  Look at stuff like Sleepaway Camp and not, say, Return to Sleepaway Camp to see what works and what doesn't.

I wish that this Film worked better (for me at least) than it did.
It took so long to get past the setup that engagement is an issue.

It's a genuinely good idea that needed a rewrite, a bigger Budget and...dare I say it...a Remake?

A Film with an interesting premise and a very strong performance by John Hawkes.  I just wish it was shorter or just paced better.

Shudder Day: Hallowarrior (2026)

 It's been a busy week and, besides, getting this one out closer to Saturday is ideal.

This is...

It is Halloween.

Everyone can celebrate, right?

Not so much.

A worldwide plague has apparently killed most of the people on Earth.

The plants and environment are also dying.

It's been 4 years for our Heroine and she's trying to enjoy the Holiday all alone, with only memories and grave markers.

She gets her wish for company when a Couple arrive with a young woman in tow.

The Wife leaves to get the rest of her Family, but it soon becomes clear that they have bad intentions.

Our Heroine uses her Mom's gun to stop the Husband.

...but the Family arrives before the duo can leave.

If you've got someone in a Tilda Swinton mask staring through your window, things have gone south!

Can her and her new friend trust each other enough to work together?

Will they survive the night?

Is this also Channing Tatum?
To find out, stream the Film now.

A good to great example of making the most of a low-budget with creativity and style.

The Film looks great.
You accept that many shortcuts are taken - Tell Don't Show with the plague, for example- and realize that they spent the money where it was needed most.

Putting in a House surrounded by, well, nothing really helped the feeling of them being trapped, in spite of the wide open space.

This definitely feels more than a bit inspired by The Strangers and/or The Purge. 
That's not to say that it is a bad thing if they managed their own unique looks.

Pacing is a bit weird, but also not terrible.

It is a good, low-budget Thriller with a Halloween vibe that is a bit short.
That said, I felt what they were going for.

A Film that falls short of being a truly amazing Film.  It might make your Halloween rotation in the future, depending on your mood though.

Poor Bastards of Cinema: The Redeemer (Son of Satan)

 In a Film about killing people who have Sinned, what happens when you haven't?

In The Redeemer (...Son of Satan!), the titular killer is planning to take out six targets.

To do, however, he has to replace the Caretaker...

He pretends to be someone doing an inspection.

He drops the keys by the pool to make the man pick them up...

...and shoots him, dumping the body in the pool.

He's dead.

In the aftermath, the Redeemer takes the body and makes a mold of it.

He does it for a mask...to look like someone that they wouldn't recognize.

I get that you BOTH can't be the Caretaker(s), but you could send him away.

Oh, and his body is later displayed to scare the victims.  One last indignity.

Did the guy commit some sort of sin?  Probably.  
Did he deserve to be a body on the pile just because he worked at the Building?  No.

The moral: don't trust strangers.
Ever.

VHS for the Win: The Redeemer (Son of Satan)

 After looking at the actual Film, I might as well cover the alternate release it got.

In the '80s, VHS came about and *most* Films found their ways onto it.

Many of them were rebranded or retitled for release.

This is one of those cases...

I guess this Title is not a lie.

You definitely don't get context of the Film and why it is so weird.

Is it a better Title than The Redeemer?
You decide!

Tubi Thursday: Night of the Demons (1988)

Is this a great Film to show at your Halloween Party?

Since I don't ever go to those, I'll help you find out...

It's Halloween.  What are you going to do?

Me- I'm going to watch Vincent Price Movies.
They, however, are going to a Halloween Party at an abandoned Funeral Home....as you do.

They get plenty of party favors, aided by Linea Quigley distracting the Clerks by bending over.

Quigley showing skin in a Horror Film?  Shocking!

Everyone enjoys drinks and dancing at the Party.

All goes well until they do a ritual to summon a spirit (or two).

Shockingly this- and the broken mirror- go poorly.

The Hostess is the first to be possessed and kills the guy who looks like Bulk from Power Rangers.

Quigley is also possessed and the killing begins.

The Cast is whittled down via methods like stabbing, eye gouging, neck snaps and more.

Shockingly, the Film's lone Black Guy is still alive (for now).

The survivors must find a way out or try to survive until sunrise.

Either way, it won't be easy.

They made 3 more of these (and a Remake), so clearly something went right.  
The End.

A fun little Horror Film, even if it does take a bit of time to get going.

In a way, it makes for a good Party Film.  Everyone can get settled in and maybe a little tipsy before the bodies pile up.

As a Dario Argento fan, I do wonder how much his (he produced and co-wrote it) Demons inspired this one.  It features people getting killed and turning into latex-faced monsters.

It's not the only Film to do it, mind you, but how many others also have Demons in the Title?

Putting that aside, the Film features your usual assortment of stereotypes like Horny Guy, Fat Guy, Goth Girl and Final Girl.
I could have probably done without Creepy Brother Who Talks About His Sister's Tits though.

Once it gets going, the Film has some creative kills, good visuals and a nice use of Chekhov's Gun.  It's not mind-blowing, but it might be worth a rewatch for me in the future.

Now, if she asks, her makeup looks perfect!

A somewhat overlooked- in spite of many Sequels and a Remake- Halloween Film.  Your love of '80s cheese will determine how much you love it though.

'70s Trash?: The Redeemer (Son of Satan) {1978}

 A Film whose Title confuses you almost as much as the Film itself does!

This is The Redeemer, a 1978 Film also released as The Redeemer... Son of Satan!  There's a third, vastly different Title, but that's for a different Post.

The Film appears to be the only Film made by its Director Constantine S. Gochis.  The man also has no Wikipedia Page, nor does most of the Cast.
Only Jeanetta Arnette does, as she's got credits as recent as 2021's Impeachment: A Crime Story.

The Plot is just plain bizarre.  A strange man invites 6 people to a 10-Year High School Reunion, traps them inside and plans to kill them all.

Thiis is why I've skipped my Reunions so far.  You never can be too sure!

Since it is the '70s, there's weird sounds, weird angles and lots of bizarre things going on.  It's a Film that never makes you bored...but definitely befuddled.

To see how this one and done turned out, read on...

The Film begins with a VERY LONG shot of this Lake, this weird bit of text and then a young man emerging from it.

He walks out of the water casually and boards a Bus to sing in a Church Choir.

A fire and brimstone Preacher in the Church rails against people who sin as the Film cuts to 6 different people that are apparently guilty of said sin.

This includes a Lawyer for the Mob, an Actor, a Letch and...a closeted Lesbian Woman?!?

Earlier, we saw a strange man kill the Caretaker and make a mold of his face.

Now he lets the group in and they find nobody, save for a full Buffet.

This lady is so concerned that she asks the same question twice in 30 seconds...

******

...and gets the same answer twice.  Did you do 'two for coverage' and not pick one to use?

Anyhow, they soon find the dead Caretaker and realize that they are locked inside by a crazy man, dressed here as Death (or Skeletor).

The letch- a former Jock who looks like Robert Wuhl- sneaks up on the killer...or so he thinks.

When he spins the chair around, a dummy is revealed...holding a flamethrower...which then goes off.

Ow.  His friend only decides to put out the fire...after he's fully engulfed.  Dick.

The killer takes out more of the group- via gunshot and falling knife- as he shows a strong flair for the dramatic.

What was his personal Costume Budget?!?

****^+**

With the Cast nearly all dead, he explains to one of them that he's planning to kill them over their various sins.

One of them, by the way, is one that even I had to look up.

The last survivor- manages to shoot the Redeemer, but is then killed by the marionette from earlier...somehow.

Now the final reveal(s).

We learn that this all happened in the recent past as the Preacher- who was obviously the killer- recovers from his gunshot wound.

He also has a double thumb on one hand, which soon transfers to the strange boy (along with his gunshot wound) as he leaves via bus (after killing a kid and framing someone).

He goes back into the water and...that's it?!?

The (confusing) End.

Well, you get lots of points for creativity- that's for sure.

Remember too that this is 1978...and the Film was actually shot in 1976.  These kinds of Films hadn't become the rage yet, since Friday the 13th and Halloween were years and months (respectively) away.

This one definitely does some weird stuff.
I can't fault it for trying stuff.

The execution is a really mixed bag, with confusingly long shots, a real lack of Editing and so-so Production Values.

The Plot will leave you thinking about it for days...but not necessarily because it is so clever.  It's not quite, say, Memento, but nor is it, say, Monster A Go-Go.

Oh and you can make out the kid walking away from the Lake in the final Wide Shot (even in 360p).
Whoops.

Next up, I want to revisit a Film that I only know from MST3K.  Does it have any qualities that make it good un-riffed?  Stay tuned...