[Cryptek]

Well, sort of. Actually it was. But I just found this out maybe a couple of years ago.

In fact it's almost verbatim except obviously the HP Lovecraft story aliens are different and there's some additional events.

I think the best thing about the HP Lovecraft story is how it ended, with one of the guys in the helicopter pretty much going insane after he sees whatever horrible being the "unnamed evil" is that the Elder Things murals depicted. The theory is it could be Yug-Sothoth.

So the Lovecraft version has the Elder Things, the Shoggoths, the albino penguins and the "unnamed evil" that's beyond human comprehension.

Can you imagine how good of a movie this would be if it followed HP Lovecraft story? The problem is, since The Thing was based off of Lovecraft's story it's unlikely to ever happen out of fear of people who are ignorant thinking it's a rip-off.

Guillermo del Toro apparently did want to do a big budget movie on it so at one time.

For what it's worth, the official Call of Cthulhu tabletop role-playing game did include "The Thing" from the John Carpenter movie in one of their bestiaries.

Elder Thing

Shoggoth

Albino Penguin

Yog-Sothoth manifestation (one possible theory)

 

[Relativ9]

Sort of, thankfully missing endless discriptons of even the most insignificant details and countless run-on sentences. Sort of missing the occult angle don't you think though?

 

[Stilton Disco]

Wait, are you saying John W. Campbells original book, 'Who Goes there?', that the movies are based on, was itself based on Lovecraft?

 

[Explosive Zombie]

It's inspired by it, so is Alien... and Prometheus. I'd argue Prometheus is closest to it, in fact Guillermo Del Toro wanted to make an At the Mountains of Madness adaptation until he found out what Prometheus was about and said "nevermind then"

 

[Cryptek]

Wait, are you're saying John W. Campbells original book, 'Who Goes there?', that the movies are based on, was itself based on Lovecraft?

Yeah my understanding is that's the case.

 

[mcz117chief]

I think the best thing about the HP Lovecraft story is how it ended, with one of the guys in the helicopter pretty much going insane after he sees whatever horrible being the "unnamed evil" is that the Elder Things murals depicted. The theory is it could be Yug-Sothoth.

It was a plane not a helicopter, the story takes place around the 30s I think. Well anyway they are both body horror stories about Antarctica and that is about it. The main theme of Thing is paranoia, deception and the Alien's main perk is assimilation, none of those really are part of In the Mountains of Madness, that one is more about psychological and cosmic terror, the unknowable, ancient forgotten history etc.

 

[Explosive Zombie]

It was a plane not a helicopter, the story takes place around the 30s I think. Well anyway they are both body horror stories about Antarctica and that is about it. The main theme of Thing is paranoia, deception and the Alien's main perk is assimilation, none of those really are part of In the Mountains of Madness, that one is more about psychological and cosmic terror, the unknowable, ancient forgotten history etc.

Oh and it's pretty racist, lol

 

[ExpandKong]

Oh and it's pretty racist, lol

Aren't we all

 

[JSoup]

Oh and it's pretty racist, lol

Pretty much all of Lovecraft's work is racist as hell. Although the high minded will point out that it's more extreme nihilism. Innsmouth is the only really major example of that, though.