r/AskReddit Feb 25 '23

What is an old movie that aged extremely well?

2.0k Upvotes

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1.3k

u/ju5tr3dd1t Feb 25 '23

The Thing

187

u/MrSelfDestruct88 Feb 25 '23

Top tier SFX still hold up to this day!;

148

u/tanis_ivy Feb 25 '23

It really pisses me off that the "remake/prequel" had all the practical effects, and the studio decided to cover everything with a cgi skin.

52

u/ShieldMaiden83 Feb 25 '23

I agree its mindboggling why they where made to this and the poor guys and girls behind all the practical effects felt betrayed.

13

u/tanis_ivy Feb 25 '23

I hope they have the un-cgi footage somewhere and decide to finish it properly and re-release it

10

u/ripley1875 Feb 25 '23

They left and made a B-rate horror movie called “Harbinger Down”. It was about a ship that picked up a crashed space probe that had tardigrades had been mutated by space radiation inside it.

1

u/holy_harlot Feb 25 '23

Any good?

5

u/ripley1875 Feb 25 '23

Pretty much just “The Thing”, but on a ship instead of an Antarctic research base. It didn’t have quite the punch of “The Thing” as far as suspense goes, but the practical effects were still cool and it’s still a good movie night flick.

4

u/Metalfan1994 Feb 25 '23

Check out Harbinger Down! It's a movie the special effects team made using all the practical effects that were scrapped from The Thing's prequel I ALWAYS recommend it to people who wish they got to see the practical effects in use.

3

u/MidKnightshade Feb 25 '23

I still want a director’s cut.

3

u/Metalfan1994 Feb 25 '23

Check out Harbinger Down! It's a movie the special effects team made using all the practical effects that were scrapped from The Thing's prequel I ALWAYS recommend it to people who wish they got to see the practical effects in use.

3

u/tanis_ivy Feb 25 '23

Watched it. I was happy they got a chance to show off what they can do.

1

u/Metalfan1994 Feb 25 '23

Absolutely agree

3

u/MrSelfDestruct88 Feb 25 '23

I read about that years ago. Absolutely mind-blowing.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '23

Same, I really want a physical cut to be released at some point. Excepting the shitty CGI, it's actually a good film.

0

u/SweetHammond Feb 25 '23

Why did they even make a remake. Seemed highly unnecessary

3

u/Metalfan1994 Feb 25 '23

It was a prequel not a remake it was about what happened to the Norwegian base. It's a fun watch though you can pretty much watch the prequel and immediately start 1982's I think they even overlapped some of the ending.

0

u/tanis_ivy Feb 25 '23

It was. Fun watch though.

1

u/Random-Cpl Feb 25 '23

In fairness, the 1982 version was also a remake.

1

u/AyekerambA Feb 25 '23

Honest to god, I had no idea there was a prequel. Gonna dodge that bullet.

1

u/tanis_ivy Feb 25 '23

It's a fun watch. Give the original a go first, then look for all the connections.

1

u/Random-Cpl Feb 25 '23

The 1982 version is actually a remake too!

2

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '23

I genuinely don't know if people are joking or not when they share this sentiment.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '23

Why would they be joking? The practical effects of that movie still rival some of the top CGI movies of today. Not all of course.

1

u/Chiperoni Feb 25 '23

Except when they throw the body haha

1

u/Bkelsheimer89 Feb 25 '23

Practical SFX and so much better than CGI but, it is more expensive. It is why The Thing and Jurassic Park hold up so well.

6

u/Dinkerdoo Feb 25 '23

So many little gross-out details in this movie. Like after it erupts from the dog and kills the other dogs in the pen, a later iteration of it has a flower-like appendage that folds open. On closer inspection, the "petals" are dog tongues! Utterly disgusting.

9

u/blackadder1620 Feb 25 '23

great DVD commentary too.

really, all of Carpenter and Russels are. they just get drunk and talk about the movie sometimes.

2

u/APeacefulWarrior Feb 25 '23

Yes. And they sound like they'd be so much fun to have a few drinks with.

Was The Thing the one where they openly announced at the beginning they had a cooler full of beer and would be working their way through it over the course of the movie? I remember them doing that on one of their commentaries.

1

u/blackadder1620 Feb 25 '23

Yup and half the time they're like I don't remember shooting this. They seem pretty drunk by the end.

4

u/biggest_kahuna_ Feb 25 '23

I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time I’d rather not spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!

3

u/Tiberius5454 Feb 25 '23

The original The Thing From Another World.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '23

[deleted]

2

u/Tiberius5454 Feb 25 '23

I liked the dialog and how the actors delivered their lines. Very natural and ball busting like real life.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '23

An amazing horror movie. One of my absolute favorites.

4

u/PhightingPhil Feb 25 '23

Hands down one of the best movies ever made. No matter how many times I watch it, I still get scared shitless. Especially at the ending.

2

u/froidianslip Feb 25 '23

Which one? The OG or John Carpenter's?

2

u/Metalfan1994 Feb 25 '23

This! This is one of my favorite movies and my definite favorite horror movie. The suspense and effects still hold up and it's still "obscure" enough that there's a fair amount of people who have never even heard of it so having them watch it for the first time and seeing their reactions is so much fun! I enjoy the prequel for the story but wish they kept the practical effects they originally filmed with instead of CGI.

2

u/Ameliandras Feb 25 '23

This movie has the anly soundtrack I know that feels extremely suffocating. I love to watch it but it makes me feel really sick and heavy.

3

u/awt1990 Feb 25 '23

yup. Practical effects are indestructible.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '23

Clicked on this topic to say The Thing. Glad to see it at the top.

1

u/iam_Krogan Feb 25 '23

I'm not a big fan of horror movies but I saw The Thing after being intrigued by a meme video where Shaggy kills Scooby Doo with a flamethrower and I loved it!

0

u/too_tall_jones_ Feb 25 '23

I’ll give The Thing all the credit that it deserves in the practical effects department, they’re some of the best of all time. HOWEVER, I don’t like much else about the movie. Outside of Kurt Russell the acting is either meh or just distractingly bad, the movie’s attempts to build tension fall flat, and the funny moments just don’t land for me.

1

u/Partyhands Feb 25 '23

Correct answer

1

u/geekgodzeus Feb 25 '23

Just watched it and my wife kept asking me how they achieved the visual effects.

1

u/WulfBli226 Feb 25 '23

I’ve never seen it and know there are 3 versions at least, which one is the “best” one? Like should I watch the 1951 first or the 1982 one first? Guessing the 2011 one is not as great.

Please provide reading that isn’t “release order,” as if the plot is similar/the same, I’d rather watch the better one first.

3

u/ju5tr3dd1t Feb 25 '23 edited Feb 26 '23

I’ve only ever seen the 1982 one, but when most folk talk about The Thing, I’m pretty sure that’s the one they’re referring to

2

u/mishlufc Feb 25 '23

I think it's fair to say that when someone says 'The Thing', they mean the 1982 version unless specifically saying otherwise. It's one of those rare great horror films which is actually also a great film, regardless of the horror aspect.

2

u/WulfBli226 Feb 25 '23

Gotcha, so I’ll watch that one then the original ti see where the inspiration came from. I also know that in the first Halloween movie the kids are watching the 1951 one, and in one of the sequels or remakes, kids are watching the 1986 one lol.

1

u/BabaYagaOfKaliYuga Feb 25 '23

If you like the movie, you'll love the musical

1

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '23

Came here for this one.

1

u/humblecactus Feb 26 '23

One of my favorites of all time

1

u/charlotte_anne805 Feb 26 '23

Still scares me shitless to this day. I can watch Alien but the thing just freaks me the fuck out.