Harbinger Down (2015) Directed by Alec Gillis
Ice, scientist...seeing those two things should be enough for you to realize that this is going to be a "The Thing" rip off. And indeed, this movie ultimately is nothing more but a watered down version of John Carpenter's "The Thing", that really doesn't bring anything new or exciting to the table.
Apparently this movie got made by a bunch of people who were displeased with the "The Thing" prequel or perhaps rather said; the movie was made by the practical effects team who got booted from the 2011 "The Thing" prequel after the movie decided to replace all of the practical effects with CGI. It should all make you want to root for this movie but in all honesty, it just isn't a great movie and even the practical effects aren't all that great to be fair.
All of the "The Thing" similarities are of course therefore also no coincidence and it's all very deliberate. That doesn't make it less of a rip off though in my opinion. This movie maybe got made with all of the right intentions but at the same time it's also basically doing nothing original of its own, which is just inexcusable. Is there any reason for you to watch this movie if you already have seen John Carpenter's "The Thing"? No, absolutely not. Not even if you're big fan of that movie there is absolutely no reason why you should watch this movie. Chances you are only going to end up feeling disappointed with this watered down and unoriginal, modern, re-envisioning of "The Thing". And yes, I'm very well aware of it that "The Thing" also was a remake itself. Huge difference however is that it brought plenty of new things to the table and completely took a different approach to it's concept, which was both original and effective and helped to redefine the horror-science-fiction genre. None of that can be said about this movie as well.
The movie probably thought that using practical effects only was going to be enough to get people excited and to get them to see this movie. Well, if only things were as simple as that. Thing these movie unfortunately didn't seem to realize is that you need a good story and some solid characters as well if you want to make your movie a good and engaging one to watch. The story is just far too poor and there really isn't ever an awful lot going on in this movie. There also really is a lack of mystery and a good sense of danger and suspense. Stuff just seems to happen, without a good buildup to it and people just seem to die, without you first getting to know any of the characters. It's therefore also really hard to care for anyone in this movie and to feel involved with anything that happens in it.
I have to say that it still is a pretty good looking movie, with some impressive sets and camera-work. It's definitely not a cheap- or unprofessional looking movie and it has a pretty decent atmosphere in it, that indeed is reminiscent of the one in "The Thing".
But well, even though practical effects are awesome, I just can't say that all of the practical effects in this movie looks awesome as well. Some of the creature costumes look cheap, some of the wiring is too obvious and at times it's fake look even becomes too much of a distraction from the movie. Not even sure if I can say that all of it is too blame on the movie its effects. The lighting may have been a part of the problem as well at times.
I have seen my fair share of "Alien" and "The Thing" rips off though and there still is no way for me to deny that this actually remains one of the better ones out there. It's never a terrible movie to watch and despite never being original, tense or scary, it also never really bores. It's not a bad effort and only if it featured some more creativity and a stronger story in it, this could have been the ultimate "The Thing" 'fan-film'. Because lets face it; this movie ultimately really is nothing more but a fan-film. An 'expensive' and well done fan-film but a fan-film nevertheless, that tries too hard to please the 'master' John Carpenter and pay homage to his movie "The Thing".
Not the worst done genre movie out there but if you want something fresh and original than this movie truly is not the one for you.
6/10
Watch trailer
Apparently this movie got made by a bunch of people who were displeased with the "The Thing" prequel or perhaps rather said; the movie was made by the practical effects team who got booted from the 2011 "The Thing" prequel after the movie decided to replace all of the practical effects with CGI. It should all make you want to root for this movie but in all honesty, it just isn't a great movie and even the practical effects aren't all that great to be fair.
All of the "The Thing" similarities are of course therefore also no coincidence and it's all very deliberate. That doesn't make it less of a rip off though in my opinion. This movie maybe got made with all of the right intentions but at the same time it's also basically doing nothing original of its own, which is just inexcusable. Is there any reason for you to watch this movie if you already have seen John Carpenter's "The Thing"? No, absolutely not. Not even if you're big fan of that movie there is absolutely no reason why you should watch this movie. Chances you are only going to end up feeling disappointed with this watered down and unoriginal, modern, re-envisioning of "The Thing". And yes, I'm very well aware of it that "The Thing" also was a remake itself. Huge difference however is that it brought plenty of new things to the table and completely took a different approach to it's concept, which was both original and effective and helped to redefine the horror-science-fiction genre. None of that can be said about this movie as well.
The movie probably thought that using practical effects only was going to be enough to get people excited and to get them to see this movie. Well, if only things were as simple as that. Thing these movie unfortunately didn't seem to realize is that you need a good story and some solid characters as well if you want to make your movie a good and engaging one to watch. The story is just far too poor and there really isn't ever an awful lot going on in this movie. There also really is a lack of mystery and a good sense of danger and suspense. Stuff just seems to happen, without a good buildup to it and people just seem to die, without you first getting to know any of the characters. It's therefore also really hard to care for anyone in this movie and to feel involved with anything that happens in it.
I have to say that it still is a pretty good looking movie, with some impressive sets and camera-work. It's definitely not a cheap- or unprofessional looking movie and it has a pretty decent atmosphere in it, that indeed is reminiscent of the one in "The Thing".
But well, even though practical effects are awesome, I just can't say that all of the practical effects in this movie looks awesome as well. Some of the creature costumes look cheap, some of the wiring is too obvious and at times it's fake look even becomes too much of a distraction from the movie. Not even sure if I can say that all of it is too blame on the movie its effects. The lighting may have been a part of the problem as well at times.
I have seen my fair share of "Alien" and "The Thing" rips off though and there still is no way for me to deny that this actually remains one of the better ones out there. It's never a terrible movie to watch and despite never being original, tense or scary, it also never really bores. It's not a bad effort and only if it featured some more creativity and a stronger story in it, this could have been the ultimate "The Thing" 'fan-film'. Because lets face it; this movie ultimately really is nothing more but a fan-film. An 'expensive' and well done fan-film but a fan-film nevertheless, that tries too hard to please the 'master' John Carpenter and pay homage to his movie "The Thing".
Not the worst done genre movie out there but if you want something fresh and original than this movie truly is not the one for you.
6/10
Watch trailer
