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The Thing from Another World (1951)

★½ — The Thing from Another World (1951)

Based on John W. Campbell Jr.'s 1938 novella "Who Goes There?", this early 1950s science-fiction horror was produced by Howard Hawks (who many believe directed significant portions of the film himself, despite Christian Nyby receiving sole credit, a question that has never been definitively settled). Nyby had worked closely with Hawks as an editor, most notably on Red River, and this was his feature directorial debut. RKO and Winchester Pictures produced it at a fairly modest budget for the era, and it arrived at a moment when Cold War anxieties were beginning to reshape American popular culture, with alien invasion stories serving as a fairly transparent metaphor for outside threats to the American way of life. John Carpenter would later return to Campbell's source novella for his considerably more faithful 1982 remake.

Not as good as the Kurt Russell version Typical RKO movie really. Super thick dialogue, corny adversary, hints of misogyny. I know they were restrained by 1950s technology but the Thing is basically just a big bald man who slowly lumbers around. I'd be surprised if this didn't inspire Night of the Living Dead but honestly The Thing from Another World is pretty shit by today's standards.

Rating: ★½ | Year: 1951 | Watched: 2025-04-26

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