The Thing [Blu-ray]

Now, this was an awesome horror movie. It had gore action and it keeps you constantly wondering who the monster is. I would recommend this for any horror movie fan.

Though The Thing shocked with its new level of gore when it came out in 1982, popular taste has pretty well caught up to the gore factor. Now fans will be able to see it all in Blu-ray high-def.

The Thing takes its title from the influential 1951 sci-fi classic The Thing from Another World, a film it otherwise resembles only in similarity of location and a few plot points. (If you're interested in a less scary, more campy, funnier black-and-white version, with women in it, check out the older one.) The location is an isolated antarctic research station, cut off from radio contact with the outside world, where Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David and several other men unknowingly take in an alien creature that can adopt the form of members of the crew as it destroys them. They quickly find themselves in a desperate and paranoia-inducing situation, each not knowing who among the others might be an alien waiting to kill him. Internal organs are spread into view in various creative ways, while violence and tension build.

Director John Carpenter specializes in gritty, intense, violent suspense, and he doesn't disappoint here. Though it didn't do very well when it came out, maybe because it was up against the much cheerier alien E.T., it has become a favorite since.

The movie has already been released in HD at the same 1080p resolution the Blu-ray will have, so the transfer should be of similar quality. The HD transfer is very good, with strong color and good detail and sharpness, definitely improved over the standard DVD. The sound will be English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, with French DTS 5.1. There will be English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. *Update* 19 September: The early reviews verify that the transfer is high quality, as expected, with excellent picture and good sound (not much surround in a movie this old).

*Update* Universal has said in its promotional material that this release will include the extra material from the current DVD, but according to the early reviews, that isn't true. First, here are the special features announced in the main press release:

-- audio commentary with star Kurt Russell and director John Carpenter
-- U Control Picture in Picture
-- U Control tutorial
-- BD-Live

In addition, most of the 84-minute making-of documentary from the older DVD has been incorporated into the Picture in Picture (PIP) feature, meaning that you watch it in pieces in a window along with the movie. The rest of the special features from the older DVD aren't included. Just as a reminder of what those old features are, missing here:

-- outtakes
-- deleted stop-motion animation
-- work-in-progress visual effects footage
-- behind-the-scenes location footage
-- behind-the-scenes photos
-- storyboard and conceptual art
-- annotated production archive
-- original theatrical trailer

Again, those are old features that Universal has *not* included on the Blu-ray.

I'm not into gore, but the suspense is well done here, and Kurt Russell is in his element. Fine video transfer and good commentary make for a good package, but the missing features from the older DVD mean you may want to keep the old one too.