Together, the three films form a complete picture of the gradual erosion of humanity, at least partially inspired by the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft. In Lovecraft’s works, the universe is vast, uncaring and full of monsters, next to which human endeavor is woefully inconsequential. This bleak view of the cosmos is reflected in the experiences that Carpenter puts his characters through, but more importantly, the three distinct apocalypses in these movies all come out of human interference with powers larger than themselves.

More importantly, each of these films dissolves some crucial pillar of existence on the way to their respective denouements, starting with the most tangible – our sense of self.

Destruction of the individual- The Thing (1982)

“If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know if it was really me?”

In practical terms, snow isn’t especially festive and even when viewed at this most wonderful time of the year, Carpenter’s The Thingis especially un-Christmassy. In fact, the snow is just another obstacle to a group of Americans holed up an Antarctic research post, as they’re terrorised and assimilated by a shape-changing bastard from another world. “This thing” could be any one of them and if it gets back to civilisation, they estimate that the entire planet would be overtaken in just a matter of years, forcing them to try and flush out the invader or else perish in the snow.

With a great script and stunningly gruesome creature effects that still stand up today, The Thing is unquestionably the best known of this trilogy and certainly the one that stands alone from the rest. It’s a more faithful adaptation of John W. Campbell’s short story Who Goes There? (which was previously adapted by Howard Hawks for 1951’s The Thing From Another World) and here, the shape-shifting horror of it all is the start of an existential tract that covers all three of these movies.