John Carpenter's 1982 The Thing is widely regarded as the best, though it was not the first; even so, another remake is coming from Blumhouse Productions and Universal, for better or for worse.
The first adaptation of the movies' source material, Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr., was made in 1951 with The Thing From Another World. However, the novella hit major acclaim and a permanent space in most horror fans' best-of lists when Halloween's own John Carpenter took it on over thirty years later. Another thirty years passed, and in 2011, The Thing was made again, this time as a prequel from director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. While John Carpenter's The Thing was no breakaway hit in 1982, it has become more beloved with age, and so beloved, in fact, that horror fans completely dismissed 2011's remake. As of this writing, 2011's version has a 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but Carpenter's has an 84%.
After 2011's prequel bombed, it didn't seem necessary to put The Thing up on the remake slab again for consideration, but in 2018, it was discovered that Who Goes There? wasn't Campbell's full story. Alec Nevala-Lee discovered Campbell's manuscript in a box that was sent by Campbell to Harvard University; Frozen Hell, the complete version of Campbell's story, was amongst the manuscripts found by Nevala-Lee. John Betancourt manages Campbell's literary estate, and launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2018 to raise funds to get Frozen Hell published in its full form. The project raised over $155,000 and the novel was published in 2019. The new remake of The Thing is an adaptation of Frozen Hell, and will mark the first time that Campbell's full story is shown on screen.
The Thing Remake Can Redeem Itself With Killer Practical Effects
While news of another The Thing does have horror fans excited, there's a lot that could go wrong. Alan Donnes is set to executive produce the upcoming film; the bigger draw, however, is Blumhouse and Universal's connection to the project in its early stages. Blumhouse has established itself as a major name in the horror space, shifting aside studios like Lionsgate and becoming the go-to name for horror fans. Most of the time, when news of Blumhouse being attached to a major franchise in some way breaks, fans tend to be more enthusiastic than upset. However, Blumhouse is also known for making lower budget horror films, and sees a great amount of success there. The studio managed to turn an insane profit with Happy Death Day in 2017, which was made on only $4.8 million and ended up grossing $125.5 million at the box office.
Blumhouse has been attached to many long-running horror franchises, such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and The Purge. However, they aren't just a horror studio; Blumhouse has produced major heavy-hitters in the drama category of film as well, including Whiplash and Black KkKlansman, which both received major recognition at the Academy Awards. They've also managed to successfully adapt another of Carpenter's horror franchises with the 2018 Halloween reboot. This comes in stark contrast to the 2011 version, which was distributed by Universal, but didn't have the same pedigree that comes from Carpenter or Blumhouse to bolster it. The Thing 2011 was written by Eric Heisserer, who penned the screenplay for 2010's A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, which was universally hated by fans.
Most importantly - likely the single factor that will make or break the remake - is the effects. John Carpenter's The Thing had beautiful practical effects that were the cornerstone of the entire movie. The 2011 remake had a good budget ($38 million), but cashed it in on CGI effects, which hindered the film. Carpenter's movie was made on a $15 million budget which, adjusting for inflation, would be about $42 million in 2020. The practical effects, done by Rob Bottin in '82, have to be cutting-edge in order to win over Carpenter's dedicated fanbase. Rob Bottin worked with Carpenter on The Fog, and was given a Special Achievement Award at the Academy Awards in 1991 for his body of work, which includes RoboCop, Total Recall, Seven, and Fight Club. Blumhouse's The Thing could be incredibly successful, but has very big shoes to fill.