Anybody complaining that this movie is too much like THE THING or SLITHER is someone who has no idea how much John Carpenter and James Gunn have both openly admitted they owe to HP Lovecraft and his original works like Colour Out Of Space or The Dunwich Horror. Even Stephen King and George Romero paid the original story homage in "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" in the first CREEPSHOW movie.
This is a GREAT adaptation of a story that has been done at least two times before (DIE, MONSTER DIE and THE CURSE) and is by far the best version of it.
Not perfect but definitely a great movie that deserves far more than a "one star" rating.