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) (as Frank Armitage)

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:

brainwashing | alien | sunglasses | anti consumerism | materialism | 

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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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

They Live

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,827,000, 6 November 1988, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$13,008,928

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alive Films, Larry Franco Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film and Alien Nation (1988) were the two major Hollywood studio science-fiction films released in the year of 1988 that featured alien characters assimilated into modern day society on the planet Earth.

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Goofs

Upon completion of their alley fight, Frank and Nada both have blood on their faces. While walking from the alley to the boarding house, the blood has disappeared. Once inside the boarding house, the blood has returned.

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Quotes

Frank: [10:05] I have a wife and kids in Detroit. I haven't seen them in 6 months. Steel mills were laying people off left and right. They finally went under. We gave the steel companies a break when they needed it. Know what they gave themselves? Raises. The Golden Rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules. They close one more factory we should take a sledgehammer to one of their fancy fuckin foreign cars.
Nada: You know. You ought to have a little more patience with life.
Frank: Yeah, well I'm all out!
Frank: The whole...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders: Episode 1 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Transient Hotel
(uncredited)
Written by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth
Performed by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

User Reviews

One of the Coolest and Underrated Films of the Late 1980's.

John Nada (Roddy Piper) comes to L.A. to search for a Job. On the same working place, when he finds a job. John meets Frank (Keith David), Frank asks John to come along. Where Frank stays with poor people and a place to rest. Once he gets there, John watches television and sees some subliminal reporting by a scientist. The scientist is trying to get an important message on television by using frequency. John knows, there is something unusual going on at a house nearby. After a small band of cops are beating these poor people trying to find, where does that frequency is coming from. The next day, John goes to the house nearby and he finds one thing an open box. That box was hidden in the wall and when John open that box. He finds nothing but sunglasses. When he takes one of them, John sees a whole different world. A Bizarre look of L.A. in black & white with images full of subliminal advertising messages are visible though special glasses. Then he notice the only purpose of these glasses are the civilians are mixed with aliens population amongst them!

Directed by John Carpenter (Assault on Precient 13, Ghosts of Mars, The Thing-1982) made a extremely well made film mixed with action/sci-fi elements and a refreshing scene of humor. Piper is good here, he has some memorable scenes with some funny dialogue. The film's best line from Piper is "I come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass but i'm all out of bubble gum". There is also an unforgettable scene with Piper and David, when Piper asks David to put the glasses on. When David refuses to put them on. Piper and David get into a very funny fistfight scene that turned into a classic scene. The film might have a few flaws, only depending a matter of personal taste. The Alien Make-Up effects are extremely awful but intentionally funny. The film ends with a great pay-off. The film is hilarious at times and always fun to watch. Since this film like most Carpenter's works become a Cult Classic.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Surround 2.0 Sound. Too Bad, Universal didn't release a Special Edition of this landmark independent film. The DVD from Europe, Carpenter and Piper recorded an running commentary track for this film in a two disc special edition. When in the U.S. get out Special Edition ? DVD doesn't have no features. This is a amusing satiric sci-fi adventure. Underrated to be sure, the film ages well despite awful alien make-up. Based on a Short Story by Ray Faraday Nelson titled "Three O'Clock in the Morning". Screenwriter "Frank Armitage" is actually director Carpenter. Panavision. (****/*****).