They Live is John Carpenter's tribute to cheesy 50's sci-fi movies, combining the sci-fi with a feel of grit and action, as well as some interesting social commentary that goes as far to talk about how the Reagen Administration propagates rampant consumerism and brainwashes the public so easily. Its an unlikely place to find such messages, but like the magazines with CONSUME written on the 'inside', seen only with special glasses, They Live conceals its true core and gives audiences a bit of everything, transforming the film into something of a hidden message keeper itself. .
Nada {Piper}, is a wandering man with no particular place to go, representing blue collar America in Carpenter's tale. After arriving at an outdoor homeless shelter, he soon begins to suspect something strange is going on, especially after a brutal police raid. By accident, he discovers some plastic sunglasses, that show a whole 'nother side to the world. Piper sums it up best with the line, 'You see, I take these glasses off, she looks like a regular person doesn't she huh? Put e'm back on: formaldehyde face!'.
After discovering the secret hidden alien world, Nada first attempts going rampant, then thinks better of it. After a classically overdone fight scene, Nada teams up with Frank {David} and joins a group of people who are attempting to overthrow the domineering aliens.
Underneath, their battle represents the minority's struggle against the big bad American government, but on the outside, its just a noisy, fun alien adventure. There is a plot hole or two, some bad alien makeup, and a few cheesy scenes, but its hard not to like this film as an action/sci-fi adventure, and its hard not to appreciate the layers of commentary Carpenter manages to cleverly conceal here. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but it should be recommended to any action, sci-fi, or Carpenter fans for the underrated 'hell of an adventure' film this is.
9/10
Nada {Piper}, is a wandering man with no particular place to go, representing blue collar America in Carpenter's tale. After arriving at an outdoor homeless shelter, he soon begins to suspect something strange is going on, especially after a brutal police raid. By accident, he discovers some plastic sunglasses, that show a whole 'nother side to the world. Piper sums it up best with the line, 'You see, I take these glasses off, she looks like a regular person doesn't she huh? Put e'm back on: formaldehyde face!'.
After discovering the secret hidden alien world, Nada first attempts going rampant, then thinks better of it. After a classically overdone fight scene, Nada teams up with Frank {David} and joins a group of people who are attempting to overthrow the domineering aliens.
Underneath, their battle represents the minority's struggle against the big bad American government, but on the outside, its just a noisy, fun alien adventure. There is a plot hole or two, some bad alien makeup, and a few cheesy scenes, but its hard not to like this film as an action/sci-fi adventure, and its hard not to appreciate the layers of commentary Carpenter manages to cleverly conceal here. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but it should be recommended to any action, sci-fi, or Carpenter fans for the underrated 'hell of an adventure' film this is.
9/10