Because it's a prequel to an extremely well known horror movie, The Thing can't really be spoiled. It's set on the Norwegian research base that was wiped out before all the action in John Carpenter's classic got started, which means you can pretty much assume that the cast comes to no good end by the time the film is finished. But even when you know how something is going to end, don't you want there to be some surprises in how you get there? I know I do, which is why I'm not too thrilled about the new red band trailer for The Thing., which debuted today at IGN. You can watch it embedded below, but fair warning: a lot of kills, and a lot of creature effects, are spoiled in a remarkably short period of time.
Universal has been marketing The Thing for nearly a year, starting last fall when the film was scheduled for a spring release date, and now again earnest as it prepares to actually hit theaters on October 14. I guess at a certain point they had to start raising the stakes in the marketing, showing audiences more of what they'd be paying to see-- blood and guts and special effects, that is-- and proving that this movie is worth seeing even if you're desperately attached to the Carpenter original. I get that, I really do. But I still would have rather a lot of those shocker moments actually remained shockers, rather than promises doled out in a teaser and losing all their effectiveness when they actually show up in the movie.
If you watched the trailer, let me know if you also think it was unnecessarily revealing. If I'm just being a crazy spoiler phobe, I'll accept that too.
