The 1938 horror novella by John W. Campbell has inspired numerous screen adaptations.

Published back in 1938, the original science fiction horror novella Who Goes There? follows a group at an antarctic research camp that discovers the ancient, frozen body of a crash-landed alien. The creature revives with terrifying results, shape-shifting to assume the exact form of animal and man, alike. Paranoia ensues as a band of frightened men work to discern friend from foe, and destroy the menace before it challenges all of humanity…

The story was written by John W. Campbell. It debuted in the August 1938 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. Over the decades since, the novella has been adapted several times in different media. Because of the video below, we’ll just talk about these three movies…

• The Thing from Another World (1951)—Arctic researchers discover a huge, frozen spaceling inside a crash-landed UFO, then fight for their lives after the murderous being emerges from icy captivity (James Arness as the Thing, a humanoid alien from another planet). Will other creatures soon follow? The famed final words of this film are both warning and answer: “Keep watching the skies!” An edgy classic produced by Howard Hawks (Bringing Up Baby) and filled with Hawksian trademarks of rapid-fire dialogue and of people united by do-or-die stress. Find The Thing from Another World (1951) on Amazon

• The Thing (1982)—This adaptation from director John Carpenter (Escape from New York) sticks more closely to Campbell’s original story. The horror-meister teams Kurt Russell’s outstanding performance with incredible visuals to build this chilling version of the classic The Thing. In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Once unfrozen, the form-changing alien wreaks havoc, creates terror and becomes one of them. Find The Thing (1982) on Amazon

• The Thing (2011)—In this prequel to Carpenter’s cult classic film, paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) travels to an isolated outpost in Antarctica and joins an international team that unearths a remarkable discovery. Their elation quickly turns to fear as they realize that their experiment has freed a mysterious being from its frozen prison. Paranoia spreads like an epidemic as a creature that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish in this spine-tingling thriller. Find The Thing (2011) on Amazon

The video below compares these three movies…

The Remaker: The Thing 1951 vs. 1982 vs. 2011 | AlternatingLine

More from Monster Complex

• John Carpenter’s “The Thing” Scared Quentin Tarantino

• Flashback: John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ (1982) inspired a generation of filmmakers

• [Flashback] Alien (1979)—Ripley Was Supposed To Be This Instead

• Terror in Space: 16 Horror Movies Set In Outer Space

• Kolchak: The Night Stalker—50th Anniversary Retrospective

• X-Files: ‘Scully Effect’ Inspired Generation of Women in Science

• Jeff Strand on Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: “The movie is absolutely ridiculous, and thus the book is absolutely ridiculous.”

• The B-Movie Monsters That Time Forgot

• Michelle Yeoh: 16 great fight scenes from the history-making Oscar winner

• Ultra Q: The Japanese X-Files Show That Preceded Ultraman

• The Mummy: 15 Versions from Movies

• Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”—listen to 60 cover versions here!

• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: 13 Facts About One Of the Most Influential Books in Literature

• White Zombie’s hit riffs on this sci-fi film

• Vincent Price: Essential Facts About The Horror Legend

• Hellboy: Fight Scene

• Why were these ‘Twilight Zone’ episodes banned from reruns?