Discovering The Thing From Another World. The True Sequel To John Carpenter's Classic.

Although John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) wasn’t a critical or box-office success, when it first came out in 1982, over the decades, it has become a cult favorite, and has received reappraisal by mainstream critics.

With its foreboding tone, startling and stylish visuals, deliberate pacing, and terrifying special effects, The Thing, is now considered John Carpenter’s greatest film.

With its belated success on cable and home video, there has been talk of producing a sequel to The Thing, since the 1990s, including Return of the Thing, a four-hour miniseries, and a direct sequel to the Carpenter movie, for the Sci Fi network. It was to be produced by Frank Darabont, the acclaimed director of The Shawshank Redemption, and The Mist, and written by David Leslie Johnson McGoldrick, of The Conjuring franchise.

But the project was shelved, partly due to budget concerns, and Universal Pictures decided to go for a big screen feature, unimaginatively called The Thing, a 2011 prequel set at the Norwegian camp featured in John Carpenter’s original.

But before that, a sequel was made, taking place mere hours after the events of Carpenter’s film.

The Thing From Another World, written by Chuck Pfarrer, was released by Dark Horse Comics, and is, arguably, the only true sequel to John Carpenter’s The Thing.

The graphic novel begins after the destruction of the U.S. Outpost 31, where the events of the film took place, by the shape-shifting extraterrestrial creature.

The only survivors are MacReady and Childs. MacReady is found and picked up by the crew of a Japanese whaling ship, and is held captive after a hysterical outburst. But soon after, he escapes, and tries to find out whether he is human, or just another version of the thing.

Pfarrer, a self-avowed student of Carpenter’s original film, writes a tense story in a hard-boiled, straightforward style, that propels the reader headlong into a series of set-pieces that never let up. He also ingeniously gets around the problem of dealing with the ending of Carpenter’s original, which basically painted the story into a corner.

In the novel, Pfarrer slowly reveals what happened to MacReady and Childs, and introduces a new complication that could have apocalyptic consequences.

The Thing From Another World is a dream come true for fans of Carpenter’s original. It picks up right after the events of the film, the characters remain true to their portrayals in the original, and Pfarrer's tone and style capture, to a large extent, the mood of the original.

The only caveat is that the headlong pace and grim tone, leave little room for character development, as this is pure story, with no real revelations about the main players. But this too, it could be argued, follows Carpenter’s original approach, which stuck to basic survival psychology, rather than delve deep into the minds of its characters.

With great artwork by John B. Higgins, The Thing From Another World is a treat for fans of the original, and it serves as a worthy sequel to Carpenter’s film.

Carpenter himself has endorsed the graphic novel on many occasions, to the extent that, according to him, if he ever got a chance to make a sequel to The Thing, he would closely follow Pfarrer's story.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2022.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. He is also the host of The Dark Fantastic Podcast. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @DFantasticPodcast

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Movie Review: Killer Joe (2011) ** and 1\2 out of ****

William Friedkin is a master filmmaker. His mastery of technique and impressionist storytelling is evident in such masterpieces as The Exorcist (1973), Sorcerer (1977), and the much maligned Cruising (1980). But, in the past thirty years or so, his choices have been underwhelming at best, and mind-boggling at worst. Killer Joe (2011), Friedkin's second collaboration with playwright Tracy Letts after the unforgettable Bug (2006), is a film that is hard to like, but easy to watch.

The story, about a redneck Texas family that decides to enlist the services of a killer for hire, the titular Killer Joe - a corrupt Dallas detective who moonlights as a paid assassin - and then suffering the consequences of their choice, is compelling at first, thanks to Friedkin's sure hand, and a bevy of arresting performances by all involved, especially Emile Hirsch, Gine Gershon, and Juno Temple as the brain-damaged teen who is slowly revealed to be more than meets the eye. But as the film progresses, and Killer Joe, played with charming menace by Matthew McConaughey, starts to take over the story, scenes grow more and more incoherent and overwrought, till we reach a climax so hysterical and heavy-handed, that one is relieved when the credits roll and Clarence Carter's Strokin' starts to play.

It is obvious that Friedkin and company are having a blast with the pitch-black comedy of it all. But Friedkin is obviously not interested in reining in the story's excesses in favor of clear storytellling and believable characters. On the contrary. He seems to relish the story's over-the-top violence and characterizations, piling layer upon of layer of vulgarity and ugliness, scene after repetitive scene.

In the end, the point of the story, if there's any, is lost under the noise, blood, and gags, wasting a fine cast with it.

But that is not to say Killer Joe is a bad film. No, sir. It is a well-made, memorable movie, even entertaining, in its own twisted way. But it is also crass, loud, and ultimately underwhelming. Watch it at your own peril.

© Ahmed Khalifa. 2019.