Netflix has allowed many new audiences to find older or underappreciated films that failed to have a modern audience. Now one controversial prequel to an iconic horror film has found new life on the Netflix streaming platform.
It goes to show that time can really have an impact on how a film is received. The film, a 2011 prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece The Thing, is making its way to the top of the charts. As shared via SlashFilm, the film has already entered Netflix’s Top 10 Movies chart. Furthermore, it’s being recognized as one of the Top 5 most-popular films on the platform as of this writing.
It’s worth noting that The Thing, sharing the same title as its 1982 predecessor, once failed to find an audience. The box office run for the film led to $16.9 million domestically and $31.5 million worldwide. Of course, this made the film a flop, being that it was made on a $38 million budget. And not to mention that it still only has a 34% review rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
So why was the film so controversial? A number of reasons, the main one of which is the film’s use of CGI. It might not be surprising for a modern horror film to rely so heavily on digital effects. But it’s considered something of a sin by movie buffs, especially fans of the 1982 film, given how much effort was placed into its practical effects. The sad thing about the 2011 film, however, is that there actually was an attempt to use practical effects.
It’s become well-known at this point that practical effects were built for most of the transformations in the film. Unfortunately, the studio decided to cover the puppets and animatronics with CGI. They thought that modern moviegoers would appreciate CGI more. Obviously that wasn’t the case. Though it looks like the film’s other aspects were done well enough that fans are supporting the movie via Netflix.
It’s worth noting that John Carpenter’s The Thing was also underappreciated at the time of its release. It’s only been over the last few decades, with the addition of home video and now streaming, that Carpenter’s film is finally being recognized. Perhaps the prequel to this horror classic could find the same fate one day thanks to platforms like Netflix.