'The Thing' Star Mary Elizabeth Winstead Talks About Comparisons to the 1982 Film (Video)

The Thing, a prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 horror science fiction film, opened in theaters on Friday, bringing the alien shape-shifter back to the big screen after a more than two-decade absence.

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Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as paleontologist Kate Lloyd, who is recruited to investigate a seemingly dead alien in Antarctica. The film, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., is set just days before the story that takes place in John Carpenter’s film of the same name.

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“I think there’s always nervousness going into something that has an existing property out there, especially one as beloved as the Carpenter version of The Thing,” Winstead told The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet for the Scream Awards. “But I loved everyone involved with this project so much. I thought they were all so smart and passionate and I just wanted to be a part of what they were bringing to the table.”

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Winstead attended the Scream Awards on Saturday, October 15, as a presenter. The show will air on Tuesday, October 18, on Spike TV. Guest appearances include Nicolas Cage, Robert Downey Jr., Bradley Cooper, Quentin Tarantino and George Lucas.

Winstead told THR that the toughest part of acting in a horror film is to make the characters real and relatable.

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“No one can really imagine what it’s like to be in that situation, fighting off aliens, so how do you make the audience feel like they understand what this person’s going through,” she said.

Winstead, who also had a role in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, is known for her roles in horror films, including Final Destination 3, Black Christmas and Death Proof.