This might be a perfect diversion if you’re a parent overseeing a party of tweens on Halloween. It’s a multimedia adaptation of John Carpenter’s The Thing for a flip book with an accompanying audio rendition of the narrative that uses the novella on which the movie was based and also smartly uses audio cues from the movie. If you can imagine a radio version of the movie, with visual accompaniment, it’s pretty much that, and you can enjoy it all in less than 25 minutes.
Called The Thing Read-Along Record Book, the project was the 2014 creation of the Space Monkey X Audio Workshop. I’m not sure what that is, but I do know that it’s overseen by someone named Rob Lammle, so at least I can give proper credit.
Lammle was inspired by the record books of the 1980s, such as this one of Raiders of the Lost Ark:
When I was a kid, they made record books of everything I loved – the Star Wars trilogy, Gremlins, Batman and Robin, Spider-Man, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and even The Last Starfighter! But now that I’m an adult, I look at that time period (circa 1975-1989) and think, “Man, there are some really classic films that didn’t get the record book treatment!” Then again, back in the day, movies like Nightmare on Elm Street, Total Recall, and Robocop were R-rated bloodfests made for adults, instead of the neutered, PG-13, slapfights made for middle schoolers that we know today.
The text comes from “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr., the novella that supplied Carpenter with the plot for the movie. (By the way, if you have the “library binding” hardback tucked away on your shelf, it may be worth more than a thousand dollars.)
Inspired by this notion, I decided to start creating my own condensed, audio versions of these too-hot-for-record-book films. And I could think of no better movie to start with than John Carpenter’s 1982 cult classic The Thing.
The Thing Read-Along Record Book is really well put together. It uses dialogue from the movie (I don’t think it’s the audio track, though) as well as copious background effects (breaking glass, etc.) to enhance the experience beyond the usual storytelling fare.
If you played the YouTube video below on a TV screen, it might be REALLY effective. There’s also a PDF version if for some reason scrolling works better for you. You’d still have to play the audio from the YouTube clip, of course.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Board game based on John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ looks AMAZING
John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’: Storyboard vs. finished film