This remake ranks among the more successful ones I’ve encountered, even if I still think the 1951 version created a greater feeling of dread. The film opens with a helicopter firing at a stray dog in the desolate Antarctic landscape when it reaches an American research station. An incident prevents them from questioning the pursuing Norwegians, and a brief trip to their settlement reveals that something terrible has happened there. A sizable chunk of carved-out ice hints they might have uncovered something truly special – particularly after discovering some charred bones. Returning to their own base, along with their burned discovery, things seem normal until the strange dog is placed in an enclosure with the other animals and chaos erupts. It doesn’t take long for "Mac" (Kurt Russell) to realize they are confronting a force that's incredibly powerful, flexible, and merciless. Will they manage to stay alive? The visual effects do a lot of the heavy lifting to make up for the somewhat uninspired performances – Russell isn’t particularly convincing – but the confined Antarctic environment and harsh winds contribute to an atmosphere of danger in this compelling horror film. The creature's ability to shift from one living being to another, and even to multiple hosts at once, introduces a good amount of suspense, since you never know who is safe until the very end. This is definitely one of John Carpenter’s stronger films and it’s worth seeing when the weather outside is frigid.

Source on TMDB