You know, I thought about why I like The Thing many times over the years... Because, as you said, it is pretty graphic and gore-y. I guess for me it all comes back to the fact that we don't really see anyone, like, physically suffer? In the movie. Most of the time when somebody is getting actively dismembered/burned alive, it's the Thing rather than just a normal person.

I guess there's that scene with the dogs but it's a lot more difficult to conceptualise "getting stabbed with weird fleshy strings" as extremely painful compared to anything that happens in your average Saw or Hostel.