The Thing From Another World
Published 2026-08-09
Natural or supernatural?
Film info
- Director
- Year / Run time 1951 · 1hr 27m
- Genres Drama, Horror, Science Fiction
Scientists and US Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while investigating at a remote arctic outpost.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:30 | A pack of cards must be one of the greatest inventions ever for passing time. |
| 5:31 | “Tell me what you find up there, nobody tells me anything.” I feel like he’s going to regret that. |
| 11:18 | “You had moments of making like an octopus.” |
| 17:13 | The guy keeps saying ‘holy cat’s. That’s going to catch on. |
| 20:15 | “I’m not working for the world, Scott, I’m working for the Air Force.” Bah. |
| 27:49 | Super creepy situation, why not read a horror story. |
| 33:21 | “It’s got crazy hands and no hair.” |
| 35:20 | They are super cute together. |
| 38:17 | The dogs always know first. |
| 49:41 | “So few people can boast of losing a flying saucer and a man from Mars on the same day.” |
| 59:29 | Ooh, fast growing veggies, I like it. |
| 1:02:43 | I love how Nikki really understands all these people she’s working with. |
| 1:16:23 | What would we do without geiger counters, eh? |
| 1:22:30 | “Tell the world. Tell this to everybody, wherever they are. Watch the skies everywhere. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies…” |
Thoughts
I have wanted to watch more old movies and I’m finally making it happen, thanks in no small part to the availability of some old classics on the BBC iPlayer. This appealed to me for the horror genre, and the isolation of the arctic, plus it’s always fun to see how these old movies handle special effects.
This film favoured talking a lot over actually showing anything, which can be hit and miss on screen but works well in the horror genre because the big bad thing often ends up not being that scary when you see it. The movie is a bit tongue in cheek about it as well: “It’s got crazy hands and no hair!” When we did see the human-shaped alien, towards the end of the movie, it was less scary than I’d hoped - just a bit tall and I guess with big hands too!
The balance between humour and tension was well managed, whilst the stakes were ratcheting up all the time, and the arctic location was feeling more and more isolating, the team held together well. A particular highlight was the blossoming romance between our leads, the hero and the secretary. Considering the decade this film was made, Nikki was a strong and sensible female character, taking no fools. She bantered and flirted with Captain Hendry, leaving their relationship one of the highlights amongst the growing threat around them.
Overall I think the movie earns its place because of the sharp writing and a likeable group of people. However, the monster lets it down - it’s well crafted, but badly imagined, so I was left feeling a bit flat by the time the credits rolled.
Rating: 3 / 5