Description: Members of an Antarctic research team are killed off by a frozen alien they uncover.
Amazon.com essential video: With its modest special effects, lean plot, and small cast of lesser stars, this 1951 thriller remains a sturdy blueprint for fusing horror and science fiction. The formula has been employed countless times since, fleshed out with more extensive and elaborate production values, and manned by higher profiled marquee names, but the results have yet to improve on The Thing from Another World, Howard Hawks's lone foray into sci-fi.
The story begins as military airmen are dispatched to a remote Arctic research station where scientists have detected the crash of a spacecraft. An effort to retrieve the saucer-shaped vehicle fails, but the team returns to the station with the frozen body of its sole occupant. When the extraterrestrial pilot is accidentally thawed, the crew, headed by a tough-talking pilot (Kenneth Tobey), grapples with a massive, chlorophyll-based humanoid (James Arness) thirsty for blood and in no mood for galactic diplomacy.
Hawks takes only a production credit for this low-budget exercise, but his filmmaking style transcends Christian Nyby's nominal direction: rapid-fire, overlapping dialogue, an ensemble of comrades whose professionalism is tempered by wisecracks, and unsentimental female characters (embodied by feisty romantic interest Margaret Sheridan) recall Hawks's signature works, while propelling the plot over any potential gaps in credibility. It's hardly surprising, then, that The Thing from Another World remains among the most influential science fiction movies ever shot, or that it remains exciting entertainment a half century later. --Sam Sutherland
A Very 'Scary' Classic ! "The Thing From Another World", affectionately known by 'older kids', as simply "THE THING!" Is a must for every lover of fright. Although it is older and in black and white, it is well produced and believable! [Review by Ypsilee]
Another Hardcore Classic!!! Even though this is a classic, to me it's just alright. I've only seen it twice in my lifetime so far. It kinda sucks that you only see 'the thing' three times throughout the entire film, and every time you do see him, it's either too far away or in the shadows. An Air Force re-supply crew travel to Alaska and find a flying saucer and a man deep beneath the ice. Sometime later, the man thaws out and begins to attack Can they stop THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD!!!
The Thing is the thing My wife has long enjoyed & sought The Thing. Oddly, it is her favorite Mother's Day present.
Great Classic Sci-Fi :-) This is one of those timeless Science Fiction movies; no matter how many times I've seen it, I still enjoy watching it.
If you love classic Sci-Fi, get this one. You won't be sorry. :-)
Comical and laughable in today's standards This movie may have been a thriller in it's day, but almost 60 years of Sci-Fi and Horror have managed to numb those of us that are hard-core horror fans. Having said that, it is an enjoyable weekend movie that's actually family friendly. It should be noted this movie scared my Father In-Law so much when he was still a teen that to this day he cannot and will not watch a horror movie. I can only laugh.
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