But whether we’re talking Lord of the Rings or American Psycho to do the entirety of The Thing justice (in this case the The Thing being epic corruption and dehumanization of such an interesting place) you’ve got to experience the primary thing. First or last probably just changes the way you absorb; if you see the movie first your imagination is colored by images. If you read the book first it’s full of honest peoples’ struggles in the face of overwhelming evil.

At any rate, I’m not that surprised the film has done so well. It’s had lots of pre-release hype and publicity, and there’s nothing like seeing a place that’s altogether bereft of goodness to make you feel like your recession isn’t so bad.