THEY LIVE

They Live Movie Review

 A drifter named John Nada (pro wrestling legend Rowdy Roddy Piper) notices some strange behavior at a church. He discovers the group there knows about a secret society, and upon stumbling across special sunglasses the group created, discovers the secret--the world is being controlled by aliens. 

The world through Roddy's sunglasses

Not only do the sunglasses reveal these normal looking humans are actually aliens, they also allow Nada to see the true messages behind advertising, television, political leaders, and so on. The acclaimed John Carpenter (Halloween) directed this 1988 film, based on the short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. The movie is much, much more science fiction than horror, and to say it's a political statement is a strong understatement. It's funny--as you watch this, the stuff Carpenter was rallying against in this film is arguably more dominant in American society 32 years later. In this regard, the movie holds up strongly after all these years, and I have a feeling this statement will hold true for many years to come. 

"I have come here for two things, and reading you predicting the future ain't one of them"

The film itself certainly has some memorable moments, from Piper's bank entrance to his flying out the window after a slight tap to his brutally long fight with co-star Keith David (The Thing, a million other things). Piper famously left the world of pro wrestling to make this film--I remember as a kid being very confused that this villain was now a good guy, then was leaving wrestling after cutting Adorable Adrian Adonis' hair at WrestleMania 3--furthermore, I was livid, as I was a fan of Piper. Unfortunately for the Rowdy One, his Hollywood career didn't go quite as expected (though he did also star in another cult classic, Hell Comes to Frogtown, which I must watch again some day soon, and made numerous television appearances) and he was back in wrestling a few years later. There are a couple other recognizable faces here: Buck Flower of Pumpkinhead and Cheerleader Camp has a prominent role in the film, as does Meg Foster, who you may know as Evil-Lyn from the Dolph Lundgren 1987 flick Masters of the Universe--that's another one I have to watch again some day soon. 

"I approve. Now back to the review"

After a somewhat slow start, They Live picks up and really brings the action in the second half. There are a few twists near the end, and a high body count getting there. Technically speaking, this is not a great movie, but it is an awfully fun one to watch, and it may leave you questioning what you think about life (on a personal note, it opened my eyes even when I first watched it as a young teenager).

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

They Live Movie Trailer