NOT the best remake!

I want to say, first off, that I LOVE John Carpenter’s The Thing. It is a great, suspenseful action/horror that writes the book on how to properly do a remake. Certainly one of the finest horror films of the 80’s. That said, it is NOT, in my opinion, the best version of The Thing. That distinction goes to... 1972’s Horror Express.

Yes, this older film is based on the same novella. Not a remake of the 1951 film per se, but an adaptation of the original story. And what an adaptation! It is suspenseful and claustrophobic. It features a killer cast (Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly of “Kojak” fame). There is even one stunning gorgeous female character. Everyone is stuck on a train with a monster that can’t be killed. And the film is set in frozen Russia in early 20th century, so forget about beating this thing with technology! The editing is gripping, the gore is creepy as heck for early 70’s standards.

If you haven’t seen Horror Express yet, do yourself a favor and check it out! Even if you don’t agree it’s better than Carpenter’s version, I think nonetheless you’ll agree it is an awesome horror film in its own right!