Why is this such a dying genre of horror?

Rating: 8/10 (14 April 2017)

One of the things that attract me to a movie is it's reception. It doesn't slim down to whether it got a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes or a fresh. It comes down to what they have to say. Cult films are brilliant in a subtle or not so subtle way, as Rocky Horror Picture Show was an amazingly unpleasant film. When The Thing was released it was panned for over-the-top gore and special effects. Even the director of the original, Christian Nyby, denounced this film. Yet this near masterpiece followed the coarse of other classic cult films. One of the main problems was the gore. Yes it was excessive. Yes it is brutal. I really, really love this for it. Robin R. Bottin, also known for Robocop and The Fog, masterfully crafted severed body parts, warped dogs, and a blob of nightmarish skin and blood, without any computer generated images or visual assist. The creature is so grotesque, you find yourself queasy as he takes every form of tentacle-severed head to 5-dog morphing. John Carpenter excellently builds suspense with a feeling of claustrophobia and unease. As the Thing can take any form necessary, The crew of a desolate Antarctic facility know nothing of who the monster has shape over... and neither do the audience. The viewer is kept in the dark for 95% of the movie. Certain victims are hinted towards, but there is no canon answer. As for flaws, the characters will seem underdeveloped and feel like a segway for gore. This doesn't affect the movie, as they are given enough personality for you to figure out the creature's form. The ending is so ambiguous that countless fan theories have appeared trying to explain it. The showdown between the hero and villain is gory, funny, and satisfying for a fight like this. 1982 was an impactful year for sci-fi and horror film with others such as Poltergeist, Blade Runner, and the Wrath of Khan. Yet no other film will gross you out as much as THE THING will! I suggest you give it a watch.