The Thing premiered in New York City on October 10, 2011, and opened in the United States on October 14, 2011. This week it turns 15, and its troubled production remains a fan fascination—especially the way the creature effects were built.
A prequel, not a remake
After creating the Dawn of the Dead remake, producers Marc Abraham and Eric Newman searched the Universal Studios library. They found John Carpenter’s 1982 The Thing and convinced Universal to make a prequel instead of a remake, because remaking Carpenter’s film felt like “painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa”. Newman said no one should ever try to do Jaws again or remake The Exorcist, and the same was true of The Thing—until they saw “a new story to tell” about the Norwegian camp.
The director arrived after Army of the Dead died
In early 2009, Variety reported the prequel project, with Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. as director and Ronald D. Moore as writer. Van Heijningen joined after his first planned feature—Army of the Dead, a Las Vegas zombie film written and produced by Zack Snyder—was cancelled by the studio three months before production began. Alien and The Thing are his favourite films, and as a European he had always wondered what happened at the Norwegian camp.
Hiding the Thing added paranoia
Moore described his script as a “companion piece” to Carpenter’s film and “not a remake”. Eric Heisserer was later hired for a complete rewrite. In Moore’s original draft it was clear who would be the Thing; in rewrites it was decided the audience should not know who was infected, adding to the sense of paranoia. Heisserer researched every detail the first film revealed about the Norwegian camp.
Matching Carpenter’s camp on 35mm
The film was shot in the anamorphic format on 35mm film because the director dislikes the look of films shot digitally. He avoided fast cutting and chose a slower pace to build dread. Filming took place at Pinewood Toronto Studios, Port Lands from March 22, 2010 to June 28, 2010. On set, the director kept a laptop with “a million” screen captures of the Carpenter film as a point of reference.
The alien in the ice was almost a silhouette
Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. of Amalgamated Dynamics created the practical creature effects. The alien in the ice block was initially intended only as a silhouette, but the director liked their designs and encouraged the team to fully create the creature. That became a creature suit worn by Tom Woodruff.
Cable animatronics and Fraggle Rock puppeteers
The effects team chose cable-operated animatronics over more complex hydraulic controls because they gave a more “organic feel”. Heisserer said traditional practical effects would be used on the creatures whenever possible. The puppetry team included several Canadian puppeteers—Frank Meschkuleit, Gord Robertson, Rob Mills, Fred Stinson, Mike Petersen, Trish Leeper, Ron Stefaniuk, Karen Valleau, Ronnie Burkett, Matt Ficner, Jason Hopley and Marty Stelnick—many of whom had worked on Fraggle Rock and The Big Comfy Couch.
Image Engine added the CGI extensions
The film’s computer-generated imagery was created by Image Engine, the visual effects house behind District 9. Computer graphics were used to digitally create extensions on some of the practical animatronic effects, as well as digital matte paintings and set extensions. Alec Gillis said the advancement of animatronic technology since 1982, combined with digital effects, let the team expand the possible creature conceptions.
Physical props beat tennis balls
Matthijs van Heijningen preferred practical effects over computer imagery because he believed actors give better performances when they have something physical to react to. He said acting with physical props “is much better than working with tennis balls [as markers]”.
From cable-operated animatronics to Image Engine’s CGI extensions, the production tried to honour Carpenter’s creature legacy. Which detail will you save as your favourite?
Facts from Wikipedia: The Thing (2011 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.