Never_Scurred wrote:chempop wrote:Could you shed some light on why Americans are obsessed with grotesque violence and gore?
Because killing shit is badass

Ding Ding Ding!
In the American horror/gore film genre, it's a given to see if a current film can top a previous film's gore content in the horror/gore category. Actor/director Eli Roth's two films of Hostel and Hostel 2 are two current examples of the graphic horror/gore genre. Also featuring topless or full nudity with the female form in a horror film is a given. Credit is given to KNB EFX Group for their hard work utilizing models for cast moulding body parts and the like. Plus using super talented prostethics makeup artists to make them life-like with their incredible painting skills.
Of course, John Carpenter's The Thing is the one to beat despite it's summer of 1982 release...no other sci-fi/horror/gore genre film has ever came close to matching the techincal masterpiece that is the remake of The Thing. The special effects in it was all real-time puppetry, animatronics, blood, mysterious alien fluids leaking out everywhere & all-out imaginative wizardry in pulling it off convincingly and utilizng none of today's CG special EFX either.
The two different Todd McFarlane's Movie Maniacs action figures released based on The Thing film really show the alien creature in it's true three-dimensional form (something that really wasn't shown/explored in the film).
The only way to top the special EFX in the 1982 remake of The Thing is do another sequel with even more impressive and over-the-top gore special EFX. Would have to get the best-of-the best in today's special EFX teams and see what can be done nowdays in terms of real-time puppetry & animatronics EFX (paying homage to the first film without having to resort to using CG EFX to ruin the amazing EFX continuity factor). Having the the Thing creature devour a female character would be something new to explore and/or feature the Thing's homeworld and what it looks like.
Only if Universal Studios had the smarts/foresight to release The Thing film not too closely to the theaterical release of E.T., it would've done quite well at the box office. It's been said that some movie patrons were sickened by the grisly gore effects that they never came back despite the film trailer really never showing all the various gore effects. They were in for a big shock when it finally was released on the big screen.
You might recall watching Leonard Nimoy whom hosted the very informative "Lights, Camera, Action!" behind-the-scenes show (back in 1982-1983) about current Hollywood films and how they were created when he hosted a such a show that featured the remake of "The Thing" movie. It was really an interesting show delving into the creative special EFX aspects of it.
There are two different versions of The Thing film, the second version has background info voice-over narration for all the characters introduced for the first time to viewers in the film + some different scenes that weren't shown theaterically (including an alternate ending that shows a key pivotal scene of the dog that looks back at the camp base before walking off into the icy landscape -- it's the same dog that began to eat/absorb the other dogs inside the kennel scene).
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~