I wasn't a fan of The Thing remake and felt that was one area it screwed up. It touched on the idea of your friend being someone else under the skin but was too into disgusting effects to really work that element, which was the best part of the original story.
Yes, I would agree, that the remake of The Thing, did dwell on the disgusting physical effects of being something other than oneself...its always more eerie, and scarey, when the physical representation of someone is as you have always known them, but they have changed on the inside, and that is much more spooky...