Considering the rest of the film dealt with isolation (not being able to rely on anyone else), having at least one scene to mix it up is a good choice. Everyone is there, and it still isn't enough. We got Palmer and Childs tied down and unable to escape from this monstrosity erupting next to them, and MacReady having…

The "thing" may have its own reasons to want to survive, but I'd say the extinction of humanity still counts as evil. (That's like saying HP Lovecraft novels aren't in the horror genre, because most of the monsters are indifferent to the humans that they slaughter like livestock.)

With the "thing" erupting in a tower of viscera, teeth and tissue, an arm's length from where they are tied down, having Childs and Garry sitting calmly would have been comedy. Having them scream bloody murder in terror is *exactly* what I would have done in their situation (simultaneous with soiling my pants).

When someone says that blood and viscera crawling around don't look very realistic, I do wonder what real life experience they are bringing to the table.

I had the same reaction. That thing was so monstrous that it had a stronger reaction from me. When that toothy maw is in front of the slack-jawed Windows, I had to cringe.

Sometimes things get so over-the-top horrific that the only proper response is to laugh at the insanity. Like you say, that straddles the line of horror and comedy.

With Trump fixated on the size of his fortune and his hands, is it really so funny that a homicidal rich dude was obsessed about dominating the people around him?

I never understood the love for Suspiria.

For me, Pet Sematary was scary in the anticipation, once I realized what the dad was going to do with his dead son, rather than the execution (after he returns to the house).

The AV Club

Tomorrowland didn't work, but Bird helped create Ratatouille and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol during the "gap". The latter shows that funny, impressive action sequences are right in his wheelhouse.

"Hey Dormu, could you take a close look at my furnace pilot light? It went out again."
"Yeah, I see what you mean, it's out. Wait a second… It just ignited. How odd."

It is "Crimson Bands", not "Rings".

I loved the Doctor Strange comics, but that was largely due to Roger Stern writing him in the 80s. I really liked his writing (including Spider-Man, Avengers, and Captain America), and his approach to the character of Dr. Strange.

I thought maybe Silver Dagger (instead of Kaecilius), but I guess the religious background would have made him an unlikely villain to use in a movie.

Survivor: Animorphs vs. Protomorphs

I was taking this comment a little more literally.

I'm guessing it was pretty frustrating when the WB big-heads said they wanted something else, but couldn't say what they didn't like about the script they read, or what they wanted different.

Last year I heard a live read-through of the script.

Mine was this gem when the movie (briefly) calmed down after the opening sequence: