Harbinger Down (2015) - The Thing (on a boat)

There's a fine line between outright copying something and 'paying homage.' I thing 2015's 'Harbinger Down' just about can fall into the latter when it comes to how many similarities there are to the classic John Carpenter film 'The Thing' from the early eighties.

I'm a big fan of Lance ('Bishop' from 'Aliens') Henriksen and only really watched it because it had his name attached.  Now, what normally happens with a 'big' (ish) name in a small production is it turns out they're only in it for little more than an extended cameo and their name is only really used to sell the film.  However, I was pleased to say that Henriksen was basically the main character (okay, technically his younger, better looking niece is, but he's second) and certainly adds to the film.

It's about a team of research students who charter a boat to go track whales, but get more than they bargained for when they pick up a submerged Russian space capsule, complete with 'unwanted guest.' Soon they find themselves being picked off one by one in various grisly ways by a particularly nasty monster.

Normally, with these sorts of films, all the human cast are merely walking meat-sacks waiting to be murdered.  But here you may actually remember a couple of them (besides Henriksen) after the credits rolled.  Yes, you probably won't recall their characters' names, but they'll at least stay with you as 'Big Guy' and 'Russian Chick.' 

The special effects deserve a mention because we're so used to anything vaguely inhuman being brought to us courtesy of CGI that 'practical effects' have almost become a thing of the past.  Here, almost everything is done by puppets or miniatures and it does bring a level of realism to the vast array of tentacles and teeth!

It's not a perfect film though.  The first act does drag a little and characters do that typical horror thing where they constantly split off into smaller groups and then wonder why they get killed.  Plus sometimes things move a little too quickly (editing-wise) and I missed who exactly got killed in the carnage.  I just had to sort of figure it out based on who was no longer in the film.

Overall, it's no masterpiece, but if you're a fan of 'The Thing' you should enjoy all the little references, even if it does come a little too close to copying scenes and dialogue word for word.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that