They Live (1988) review

21. They Live (1988)

Directed by: John Carpenter

Produced by: Larry Franco

Screenplay by: John Carpenter

Starring: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster

After the phenomenal success of “Halloween,” director John Carpenter became a big name throughout the 1980s, with most of his works, such as “Escape from New York,” “The Thing” and “Big Trouble in Little China” either becoming box office darlings or future rediscovered classics. “They Live” falls into that category; it was a mild commercial hit, arguably his last as a director, but is today hailed as a politically relevant cult film. Based on the Ray Nelson short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning,” it stars wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as a drifter who discovers that the ruling class of the planet are aliens in disguise; so he bands together with a team of rebels to break their reign of submissive illusion. Much like “Predator,” this also seems like just a macho sci-fi beat-‘em-up flick; but its overall environment and clever commentary help make it stand out as something with more staying power.

It takes place in Los Angeles; the drifter—who’s merely credited as “Nada”—arrives adorned in a plaid shirt with a knapsack on his back, staying in a shanty town soup kitchen while he finds work at a construction site, befriending his rugged co-worker Frank (Keith David). At a nearby church, hackers are sending hidden warnings through television broadcasts; they are soon destroyed in a police raid. The next day, Nada puts on a pair of sunglasses from a box he found at the church; they reveal subliminal messages in media such as “Obey,” “Consume,” “Conform,” etc. Not only that, but they reveal that many of the well-off humans are aliens with skull-like faces, or have been bought off in exchange for personal gain. Nada soon meets a TV studio employee named Holly (Meg Foster), who becomes a key figure in the rebels’ efforts to locate the aliens’ signal; but they have agents in every direction, looking to thwart the rebels’ efforts and maintain control of Earth.

I’m not a wrestling fan, so my only real exposure to Piper is this, one of his first lead roles; it apparently stemmed from him meeting Carpenter at WrestleMania III in 1987. It’s a cheesy performance, full of numerous nonsense lines of dialogue, but enjoyable, and you understand his anger at the situation; it leads to probably the movie’s most famous line, where Nada confronts a pack of aliens inside a bank with a pump shotgun. “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass,” he snarls. “And I’m all out of bubblegum.” I like the exchange of thought processes between Nada and Frank, played authentically by Keith David; Frank starts out more jaded to how life has treated them, but is unwilling to act on it, just wanting to get along, while Nada is initially optimistic in the system and gradually becomes exposed to this horrific situation until he snaps.

This movie has been analyzed like hell over the years—also pathetically misinterpreted by white supremacists, but that’s another story—and it’s honestly a theme that’s only become more poignant with time. In today’s day and age where there’s so much emphasis on the almighty dollar, I think it’s fair to say that most of us sell out in our own way—the movie even references it—even if it’s just for the sake of earning a living. What the film brings up is the question of how much are you willing to sacrifice for: making ends meet, providing for your family, a comfortable situation. Sometimes mankind will simply be distracted by outside forces, or forced into division amongst each other, rather than be focused on the real problem. Only when we see, clear as day, what it all amounts to, that the people retaliate against this oppressive power; it’s a vicious attack on capitalism, and somehow not preachy or cliché, just tightly woven writing and directing from Carpenter.

However, I’m not so sold on some of the more shallow elements; specifically, there’s too often a weak sense of momentum and energy, and I find some of the supporting performances just awkward. However, I’ve read that some of the characters in the shanty town were played by real homeless people that Carpenter brought on, giving them food and paychecks for their time; classy move. I think Meg Foster is very good as Holly, but the character’s overall purpose feels scatterbrained and too underdeveloped. Some of the special effects look really dated, and the fight choreography is awkward, particularly in this one fistfight between Nada and Frank over the sunglasses that lasts over five minutes, and is so drawn out, over-the-top and brutish, that I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be hilarious.

But at the end of the day, there are numerous impressions you can take away from this movie; it’s not so much about the action or one-liners, but about the conflict and imagery, especially with how they shoot Los Angeles looking all grimy and run-down. It amounts to one of the more intelligent sci-fi films of the decade, even if it has occasional lapses of meat-headedness. “They Live” debuted at No. 1 at the box office in its initial release, and then seemed to fade pretty quickly from the American cinema lexicon, but has since been looked back on as a subversive, ahead-of-its-time view at a lost world that has come to look all too similar to our society. I’m not an expert on what causes to fight for; I believe in truth, justice and humanity, so make of that what you will in comparison to this movie. It walks a fine white line between silly and smart, and that’s the worst place to drive…wait, that’s not where I was going with this; I’m just gonna stop here and say it’s a good movie. Watch it; obey.

My rating: 8.5/10