If you don't have a thing for The Thing, then something's wrong with you. I can not praise this film highly enough, especially the mindblowing effects work of Rob Bottin. A movie made in the early 80's makes many of todays special effects look weak.
The Thing is a masterpiece. Masterpiece.

Well, if it turns out to be a smart film (not getting up my hopes here), we might get a man vs. machine / free will vs. programming story which would be nice and an acceptable change from Jesus identity crisis Verhoeven did. However, nowadays action movies tend to be less smart if not done by Nolan.
And while I can dig black Robocop, I don't like the suit like look. Dude just seems to wear a helmet, 80's Robocop's face was attached onto a robotic head. Rob Bottin FTW!

IMO, the best (and most imaginative) practical effects / creature(s) are in John Carpenter's The Thing. Hands down. Rob Bottin really out did himself on that one.

@ Sagemind - WETA is a superior effects company. I find it amusing that Peter Jackson started out baking alien masks in his mum's kitchen oven. Which reminds me, another great prosthetic effects movie is Braindead (aka Dead Alive).

Rob Bottin did the effects. This was a fledgling production for him. He later when on to do some of the best make-up effects/creations ever put on film including John Carpenters The Thing, Legend, Total Recall, Twilight Zone the Movie (the "Anthony" sequence), Robocop, and Se7en.