A fan of John Carpenter’s The Thing has recreated the chilling horror classic using Grand Theft Auto V. Despite being considered a classic by modern viewers, The Thing was roundly rejected and bashed upon release in 1982. The movie itself was a remake of the 1951 film The Thing From Another World, and many found Carpenter’s version to be much too violent, nihilistic and gross. The amazing practical effects got some praise, but the movie itself was widely panned; it didn’t help that the much more uplifting E.T. came out a few weeks before it.

Thankfully, The Thing was rediscovered on VHS and television viewings, where its combination of slow-burning dread, excellent cast and unique monster saw its reputation start to grow. The movie even spawned a prequel in 2011’s confusingly titled The Thing, starring Elisabeth Mary Winstead. That movie told the story of the destroyed Norwegian camp from the 1982 movie, and what really happened there. Sadly, the movie lacked the tension of Carpenter’s version, and the CGI monsters were no match for the original either.

Related: The Thing Cinematographer Reveals A Long-Hidden Secret

While The Thing prequel may have failed at the box-office, the 1982 version is still considered a masterwork. Now a fan named David Vann (aka gigerbrick) has recreated the movie using the game engine of Grant Theft Auto V. He’s used dialogue from the original theatrical trailer and remade several scenes from the movie in the mod. Grand Theft Auto V already had an easter egg nod to Carpenter’s movie where players could find an alien body buried in ice, which is how this fan trailer opens.

It’s a fun piece of work and does a surprisingly good job recreating The Thing’s chilly atmosphere. The Thing actually received a video game sequel in 2002, where a rescue team arrives at the destroyed American camp to rescue survivors, and soon find themselves fighting off hideous shapeshifting monsters. The game featured a unique trust system, where the player could recruit other survivors and could give them items (weapons, health etc) to gain trust - while also having to trust they weren’t infected either.

The Thing game was rough around the edges, but it was a solid survival horror experience in its day, and even featured a surprise cameo from John Carpenter himself as a doctor. While Carpenter is semi-retired from directing, he’s currently composing the score for Blumhouse’s new Halloween sequel. The movie also marks his first time back to the franchise he created with the 1978 original. While he produced and composed music for Halloween II & III, he bowed out of later sequels because he felt they were just recycling the same formula.

More: John Carpenter Has Started Scoring Halloween

Source: YouTube (via Consequence Of Sound)