# Which was better, Alien (1979) or The Thing (1982)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2014, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521 "2014-06-24T10:35:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/41 "2014-06-25T03:08:59Z")
_The Thing_ probably has a better plot, and a stronger basic concept behind it, but the effects look idiotic, and it’s just not a good looking movie overall. It could actually probably do with a remake, and I’m saying that as someone who usually thinks the whole remake idea is an invention of the devil. Hang on, or did it already have a remake? (_checks_) Oh, it did. I don’t keep track of these things. I’ll check that one out. _Alien_, on the other hand, as mentioned upthread, is just a well made horror movie, with characters who behave just as much as idiots as in any other example of that genre. But no one in their right minds would remake _Alien_, simply because it’s bloody \*gorgeous \*to look at. There’s just no way you could match that, and why the hell would you want to try? I certainly don’t mind the slow pacing either (I wish we could see more of that today), or the editing (well, apart from that one bizarre jump cut). It has a ton of style. I’ll watch \*Alien \*again any day, just for the look and feel of it. I’ve watched _The Thing_ once, and that was more than enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/42 "2014-06-25T03:26:46Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > I’d choose to watch ‘Predator’ or ‘Aliens’ before either of them though. Those are almost entirely different genres though. While I love both _Predator_ and _Aliens_ their more action movies than _Alien_ or _The Thing_ which are horror. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/43 "2014-06-25T03:30:59Z")
I am a big fan of both and have only seen both on the small screen (not having been born when Alien came out and only a toddler for The Thing). I will watch either at any point and would gladly choose either over many other movies (if Netflix actually had them streaming). I say Alien is better because it has held up better after all this time. The Thing used to terrify me and the music was a big part of it. Now I just enjoy it. Alien never scared me so I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/44 "2014-06-25T03:43:33Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I don’t vote in public polls, but I remember preferring _The Thing_. Not seen either in decades though. You just voted, didn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/45 "2014-06-25T03:48:06Z")
What, no way to vote “tie”? Okay, I’ll pick Alien, based on the experience of seeing it when it first came out. Somehow we convinced my friend’s wife to come along, even though she hated horror movies. Someone (it might have been me) convinced her it was something like Star Wars. Boy was she pissed at us! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/46 "2014-06-25T04:05:48Z")
Alien, when it first came out, scared the living crap outta me. I never saw The Thing, so I voted Alien. Based on the comments here I may want to see The Thing. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/47 "2014-06-25T04:18:29Z")
Bit of a weird poll, this. All\* the comments are all about The Thing. The poll? 2/3s in favor of Alien, so far. At least one of the two’s got it right. - No, I didn’t count them. Just my feeling for the majority, having read the thread. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/48 "2014-06-25T04:20:41Z")
Like the movie, those voting Alien are just slow paced. They’ll post their comments soon. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/49 "2014-06-25T04:38:37Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Like the movie, those voting Alien are just slow paced. They’ll post their comments soon. 😉 Maybe some of the people who prefer The Thing are trying to pass of as likers of Alien. How can we know for sure? ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/50 "2014-06-25T04:52:42Z")
I voted Alien. While both have terror, and awesome FX, Giant bugs are more scarier than the guy next to you not being what he seems. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/51 "2014-06-25T05:29:01Z")
I read the short story “The Thing” was based on before I saw the movie. It was MUCH scarier to me than either movie. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Bragg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stealth\_Bragg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Bragg)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/52 "2014-06-25T11:52:11Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > The Thing used to terrify me and the music was a big part of it. YES! That heartbeat music and the gloomy soundtrack of impending doom are amazing. The Thing has IMHO the better music. John Carpenter electronic synth with Ennio Morricone to rein it all in. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/53 "2014-06-25T14:42:41Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > You just voted, didn’t you? I did not vote in the poll itself, no, not at all. Do you see my name listed up there? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/54 "2014-06-25T14:52:22Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Maybe some of the people who prefer The Thing are trying to pass of as likers of Alien. How can we know for sure? Cut - drip - burn? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/55 "2014-06-25T16:22:14Z")
I saw both in the theater when they came out, and I won’t say that either one scared the bejezus out of me-- not like reading _The Haunting of Hill House_, which I did on a bright sunny day, and it scared the living crap outta me\*-- but _Alien_ had me on the edge of my seat. The suspense was almost unbearable. I was actually bored by _The Thing_. Yeah, some of the effects were squicky, but squicky isn’t scary. I loved _Alien_. You couldn’t give me _The Thing_ as a gift. \*Anyone who thinks the movie _The Haunting_ is scary has not read the original book. The movie is not even in the same class as the book. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/56 "2014-06-25T20:43:56Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > _The Thing_ probably has a better plot, and a stronger basic concept behind it, but the effects look idiotic, and it’s just not a good looking movie overall. It could actually probably do with a remake, and I’m saying that as someone who usually thinks the whole remake idea is an invention of the devil. Hang on, or **did it already have a remake?** (_checks_) Oh, it did. The 2011 “The Thing” is technically not a remake, but a prequel. (It shows what had happened at the Norwegian station that Kurt Russell et al explore in the original.) The prequel is the same sort of thing as the 1982 Carpenter movie, though: scientists trapped at an Antarctic research station battle a shape-changing alien that can (and does) impersonate any of them. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/57 "2014-06-25T21:53:10Z")
This thread has inspired me to re-watch Alien. I’m a huge fan of that franchise - Aliens is without any doubt in my top ten list of best movies ever. However, I always have a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to Alien. Part of it is that I am young enough that I actually saw Aliens before I saw Alien. It’s also partly how the characters act - they often act like characters in a horror movie, not like real people. Partly, it’s an image seared into my head of the alien as a [guy in a rubber suit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_%28film%29#mediaviewer/File:Alien_%281979%29_-_The_Alien.jpg). By the time I compare it to the quality of the [Alien3 rod puppet](http://www.worch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/animatronics_alien.jpg), I just cringe every time the original Alien creature comes on screen. (Hey, maybe we can get a George-Lucas-style retcon of the alien? Come on, Ridley Scott, you know you always wanted to do it differently. 😛 ) The Thing wins out by having characters who act more plausibly, and by having creature effects that look less fake. While the original Thing doesn’t have the best special effects, they still hold up for me today. No cringing necessary. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/58 "2014-06-25T21:58:58Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > The Thing wins out by having characters who act more plausibly, and by having creature effects that look less fake. While the original Thing doesn’t have the best special effects, they still hold up for me today. No cringing necessary. Did The Thing use stop motion for its special effects? I’ve found those a lot more creepy/scary than CGI. The ugliness and jerkiness make them look more otherworldy and distant from humans in some threatening way. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/59 "2014-06-25T22:03:10Z")
_Alien_ had, overall, better special effects. But I like _The Thing_ somewhat better than I do _Alien_. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521/60 "2014-06-26T11:01:05Z")
I love both but I voted for _Alien_ because: [ul] [li]Alien is the better film.[/li][li]Better designs (the planetoïd, the derelict ship, the Nostromo, the alien itself).[/li][li]The effects are subtler / more understated and hold up way better as a result.[/li][li]The characters are more diverse / have more depth.[/li][li]Good pacing (slow at the beginning but once they land on the planetoïd, the tension builds up relentlessly).[/li][/ul] However,\* The Thing\* has a better premise and a better ending (and the blood testing scene). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-better-alien-1979-or-the-thing-1982/691521.md?page=4)