Prey's Success Gives This Classic '80s Sci-Fi Horror The Perfect Blueprint For A Revival (2024)

If John Carpenter's legendary The Thing is going to get a revival, it should follow the blueprint set by Prey. Released in 2022, Prey was a shot in the arm for the Predator franchise. While the film embraces the key elements of the sci-fi action films that came before it, it also reinvigorated the premise by shifting focus to a Native American tribe in the 17th-century northern wilds. It was a clever idea, utilizing core concepts and iconic aspects of the franchise while exploring it from a fresh perspective.

Prey was a terrific idea for a film, with the simple act of relocating the story reinvigorating the Predator franchise. This success could easily be translated to other horror/sci-fi movies in search of a new direction that also honors the elements that made them successful in the first place. There's one film in particular that could benefit from a similar approach. In fact, it might be the best way for the franchise to return to the big-screen and still feel fresh.

The Thing Should Use Prey's Blueprint For A Successful Revival

The Thing franchise should try to learn from Prey's success and apply it to their future entries in the series. Based on John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There? (which also inspired 1951's The Thing From Another World), all three versions of The Thing focus on the titular alien life form. Frozen for centuries until being discovered by humans in Antarctica, the creature replicates living beings. As it spreads through the group, the surviving humans are tasked with figuring out what it is and how to stop it — all while combating their own fears and paranoia.

It's a great and quietly adaptable concept, one that could potentially work in numerous settings. However, the Thing hasn't really gotten the chance to prove that. Instead, both adaptations of Campbell Jr.'s story (as well as the 2011 prequel to John Carpenter's film, also titled The Thing) have remained firmly locked in their modern perspectives. Instead, there might be a great Thing movie that relocates the threat and changes the focus, placing the events in a far distant past and forcing a less technologically advanced group to confront an unknowable and unbeatable threat.

The '80s Sci-Fi Horror Movie Already Has The Perfect Story For A Prequel Movie

In fact, there's already a tie-in comic that highlights how well The Thing would translate to other time-periods and settings instead of following up on the ending of The Thing. The Thing: The Northman Nightmare (by Steve Niles, Patric Reynolds, Dave Stewart, Nate Piekos, and Blambot!) takes place centuries before the events of the other films. The story focuses on a group of Norsem*n traversing through the frozen landscape of Greenland. However, they encounter a shapeshifting and eternally adapting creature in a desolate village. The story retains the natural tension and horror that comes from the premise of The Thing.

However, by relocating the action and story to the distant past, The Northman Nightmare is able to infuse the concept with unique elements that bring a sense of fresh terror to the familiar idea. The Northman Nightmare takes away the technological advances that Mac and his allies can rely on in The Thing, giving the story a harsher and more desperate edge. It makes the horror all the more unknowable and alien. A story like The Northman Nightmare highlights the elements that make The Thing work so well, and how adaptable it is in terms of setting.

Why The Thing Needs A Prequel More Than A Sequel

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The Thing should follow Prey's example and relocate the central threat for any prospective follow-ups. Part of this is because any potential sequel to The Thing threatens to remove the ambiguity from The Thing's ending. One of the best aspects of John Carpetner's film is the way it ends, closing the film on a bittersweet but resilient note that underscores the themes of the story. Following up on that plot thread threatens to undermine the effective mysteries of the original. There's also the risk of simply repeating the general beats of the original film.

This was what sunk the critically maligned 2011 The Thing, as it was too indebted to the original to feel unique. Shifting the focus to another period and setting is a natural fix, just as Prey breathed new life into the Predator franchise by shifting the focus and style to a different period. It allows for a gritty and grounded take on a sci-fi classic, with a dangerous physical edge. Any prospective follow-up to The Thing should learn the right lessons from Prey and try to reimagine the story from a new perspective and new time period.

The Thing (1982)

A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter's 1982 film is a remake of 1951's The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.

Director

John Carpenter

Writers

Bill Lancaster

Cast

T.K. Carter , David Clennon , Keith David , Kurt Russell , wilford brimley

Franchise(s)

The Thing