Midnight Fantastic Four's Blatant Homage to John Carpenter's The Thing

Published Aug 16, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz. This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about. While Fantastic Four has always represented the more wholesome corners of Marvel, it is hard to deny that the concept behind the comic is pretty disturbing upon deeper analysis. Four people experiencing a dramatic change to their DNA after a bizarre accident, including one made into a rock-skinned behemoth, is the perfect set-up for a body horror movie. That thought was explored to diminishing returns in Josh T...