Blu-ray/DVD Release: The Thing (2011)

Blu-ray/DVD Release Date: Jan. 31, 2012
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $34.98
Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment


The Thing movie scene

Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ulrich Thomsen check out The Thing.

The science fiction-horror movie , directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., is a prelude to John Carpenter’s 1982 film of the same name.

In other words, the 2011 Thing is a prequel serving as a sequel to a remake of a movie that was originally made in 1951 and directed by Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks. Hmmm.

The movie is set at a remote Antarctic research station where paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and pilot Carter (Joel Edgerton, Warrior) discover a mysterious organism buried in the ice. It’s not too long before a simple experiment frees the strange creature, seemingly an extraterrestrial lifeform, from its frozen prison. The shapeshifting alien quickly unleashes a flood of chaos and paranoia upon the camp, pitting the team members against one another.

Produced by Marc Abraham and Eric Newman (Dawn of the Dead), the thriller film also stars Ulrich Thomsen (Season of the Witch), Eric Christian Olsen (TV’s NCIS: Los Angeles), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (TV’s Lost) and Kim Bubbs (TV’s Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures).

Released wide to U.S. theaters in October 2011, The Thing rang up a rather disappointing $16.9 million at the box office.

The Blu-ray/DVD Combo includes the following features:

  • commentary with director Matthijs van Heijningen and producer Eric Newman
  • deleted and extended scenes
  • “The Thing Evolves” featurette
  • “Fire & Ice” featurette
  • UltraViolet
  • digital copy

The Blu-ray also includes BD-Live elements and  Universal’s branded Pocket Blu app.

The movie doesn’t have a separate DVD.

Check out the rather frantic — and chilly — trailer:

 

Buy or Rent The Thing (2011)
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About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.