They Live (1988)

A drifter discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to wake up to the fact that aliens have taken over the Earth.

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Ray Nelson (short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning"), John Carpenter (screenplay)

Stars:

Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roddy Piper	...	Nada
Keith David	...	Frank
Meg Foster	...	Holly
George 'Buck' Flower	...	Drifter
Peter Jason	...	Gilbert
Raymond St. Jacques	...	Street Preacher
Jason Robards III	...	Family Man
John Lawrence	...	Bearded Man
Susan Barnes	...	Brown Haired Woman
Sy Richardson	...	Black Revolutionary
Wendy Brainard	...	Family Man's Daughter
Lucille Meredith	...	Female Interviewer
Susan Blanchard	...	Ingenue
Norman Alden	...	Foreman
Dana Bratton	...	Black Junkie

Storyline

Nada, a down-on-his-luck construction worker, discovers a pair of special sunglasses. Wearing them, he is able to see the world as it really is: people being bombarded by media and government with messages like "Stay Asleep", "No Imagination", "Submit to Authority". Even scarier is that he is able to see that some usually normal-looking people are in fact ugly aliens in charge of the massive campaign to keep humans subdued.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | sunglasses | construction worker | subliminal message | television | 

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Taglines:

You see them on the street. You watch them on TV. You might even vote for one this fall. You think they're people just like you. You're wrong. Dead wrong.

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

JohnCarpenter - movie site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's They Live

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$13,008,928 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alive Films, Larry Franco Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The eponymous scene in South Park: Cripple Fight was taken blow-by-blow from the fight between Frank and Nada in the alley.

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Goofs

The alien at the magazine stand gets his change twice.

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Quotes

Nada: [seeing politician on TV for the first time] Ha, figures it'd be something like this.

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Connections

Referenced in Duke Nukem Forever (2011)

User Reviews

Highly Underrated

I have to say something here. This movie is actually very good. It was a mixture of sci-fi and political and sociological imagery. I thought the fact that the turncoat working with the aliens that were brainwashing the public was employed in the media was a brilliant way of showing how the media moguls consider us to be sheeple and use their power to persuade any way they see fit. This movie was actually quite well down, considering it did not have a blockbuster budget.

I would rather watch this than waste my time on the Matrix, which I think is a complete waste of time. The main plot of the movie was Nada discovering a worldwide conspiracy that used subliminal messages to "herd the sheep". Is this not a metaphor of what we see ever day? The media, commercials, billboards, etc, use subliminal messaging to encourage the actions of the public at large.

John Carpenter did a wonderful job. Roddy Piper's acting abilities were definitely above average, which is a lot more that I will ever to be able to say about anything Keanu Reeves has ever done. As usual, Keith David turned in a great performance. The reason this a cult classic is because it is a very good movie that requires the watcher to think.