John Carpenter’s 1982 remake ofThe Thingis a certified masterwork of sci-fi and horror. TheNightmare on Elm Streetfranchise is one of the greatest in the genre. So what happens when their paths cross? We get an awesome newThe Thingposter from acclaimed Elm Street artist Matthew Peak.
Matthew Joseph Peakpainted this incredible new piece forThe Thing, which depicts several elements from the thriller, giving us an eye-catching new interpretation of the movie. Peak is well known in horror circles for painting the artwork for the original first fiveA Nightmare on Elm Streetmovies.
The print was originally available over at Bottleneck Gallery along with a variant edition. But this one sold out incredibly fast, as expected. you may still check out the artwork below, which will have you wishing you were a little quicker with the keyboard.
The poster includes the tagline ‘Man is the warmest place to hide’. The action is set against the snowy backdrop of Antarctica, with red veins filling the night sky as if they were bolts of lightening. We see the Alaskan Malamute’s head surrounded by other variations on the extraterrestrial at the heart of this pulse pounding cult favorite that is more popular now than when it came out over thirty years ago.
In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. When they take in the dog, it brutally attacks both human beings and canines in the camp and they discover that the beast can assume the shape of its victims. A resourceful helicopter pilot (Kurt Russell) and the camp doctor (Richard Dysart) lead the camp crew in a desperate, gory battle against the vicious creature before it picks them all off, one by one.
John Carpenterdirects Kurt Russell inThe Thing, which was considered a bomb when it hit theaters in 1982, the same year that gave usE.T.andBlade Runner. Throughout the years, more and more horror fans began discovering the movie for what it was, and it’s reputation has only continued to build as one of the finest moments in genre history.
The Thingis based on the 1938 novellaWho Goes There?by John W. Campbell Jr. It was first adapted for the big screen in 1951’sThe Thing from Another World. The newer version began to take shape in the mid-1970s, and went through a number of directors and writers before John Carpenter landed on the perfect way to resurrect it for the big screen. Not being a commercial success, the movie didn’t get a sequel in the 80s. Kurt Russell’s MacReady did return in four Dark Horse Comic Book series published in the early 90s. The story starts just 24 hours after the movie ends, and its believed that it was originally pitched to Universal as a sequel.
In the years since, there was also a video game based on the title and in 2005, Syfy planned a four hour miniseries sequel that would have recovered the corpses of MacReady and Childs, and remnants of the Thing. It takes place 23 years later, and finds The Thing escaping into New Mexico. The project never happened. Instead, Universal moved forward with a big screen follow-up. It was a prequel that shows what happened to theNorwegian team who first discover the deadly alien. It failed to garner much interest from fans, and wasn’t looked well upon by critics.
You can check out Matthew Peak’s art here. It’s too bad all of these have been snatched up. Keep your eyes onBottleneck Galleryso you don’t miss future releases.
