Vince Gilligan Praises 44-Year-Old Sci-Fi Horror Classic As “Rare Movie Where The Remake Is Better Than The Original”

Vince Gilligan breaks down why a 44-year-old science-fiction horror classic is better than the original movie.

Gilligan is best known as the creator and showrunner of Breaking Bad, which is widely regarded to be one of the best TV shows of all time. He also co-created the acclaimed spinoff Better Call Saul and served as co-showrunner during the earlier seasons. Most recently, he has developed and is overseeing Apple TV’s Pluribus, which has a 99% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, is the most-watched series in Apple TV history, and is returning for season 2.

Before creating Pluribus‘ science-fiction story or working as a writer, director, and producer on The X-Files, Gilligan was a fan of John Carpenter’s 1982 science-fiction horror film The Thing, in which a group of researchers crosses paths with a terrifying alien creature in Antarctica. Starring Kurt Russell, the movie partly serves as a remake of the black-and-white 1951 film The Thing from Another World, and both are based on the 1938 novella Who Goes There? Both movies played important roles in further shaping sci-fi horror, although the 1982 one is generally considered to be more iconic.

In a video for Letterboxd, where he is joined by Pluribus stars Rhea Seehorn, Carlos-Manuel Vesga, and Samba Schutte, Gilligan describes 1982’s The Thing as “the rare movie where the remake is better than the original.” He argues that the “fatal flaw” of The Thing from Another World is that the individuals at the base “are all Army guys” who are heroic and are not scared despite the murderous alien monster attacking them.

The Breaking Bad creator prefers how in The Thing, “they’re a bunch of basically civilians, and they’re scared s***less,” which makes them feel more relatable and authentic. He also calls Carpenter’s version “head and shoulders better” and says that no one is cooler than Russell, except for Seehorn, Vesga, and Schutte. Check out the video featuring Gilligan below:

Gilligan is not alone in his enthusiasm for The Thing, which is often listed as one of the all-time best horror movies. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an impressive 92% audience score, along with a “Certified Fresh” 82% critics’ score. Surprisingly, The Thing From Another World has a slightly higher 87% Tomatometer score, but a much lower Popcornmeter score at 73%.

Certain elements of The Thing, and what Gilligan sees as its greatest strength, can be found in Pluribus. The Apple TV series is also about a formidable alien threat to humanity, as an alien virus infects Zosia (Karolina Wydra) and nearly the entire global population into a single hive mind. As for the non-infected characters, they are not fearless military heroes, but are instead flawed civilians like Carol Sturka (Seehorn), Manousos Oviedo (Vesga), and Koumba Diabaté (Schutte).

Along with being directed by Carpenter and starring Russell, 1982’s The Thing is written by Bill Lancaster and has a cast that also features Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Donald Moffat, Richard Dysart, Thomas G. Waites, David Clennon, T.K. Carter, Richard Masur, Charles Hallahan, Joel Polis, and Peter Maloney. Pluribus season 2 does not have a set release date yet.