Interesting and relevant entertainment from John Carpenter stars wrestling icon "Rowdy" Roddy Piper as beefy drifter "Nada", who arrives in an L.A. of a near future where the gulf separating social classes has become stronger than ever. Enjoying the hospitality of a community for homeless folks, he inadvertently discovers the strange truth: aliens are among us. Their real visages and subliminal messages are only visible when a person puts on special sunglasses, designed by a resistance movement. The aliens are in collusion with the most affluent people on Earth to keep the lower classes in a state of submission while they take advantage of our planets' resources.
Ultimately, "They Live" turns into a fairly conventional urban action flick, but it's certainly got some good ideas going for it. Carpenter, using a pseudonym, adapted the story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson, and gives us a thoughtful meditation on how people can be manipulated by those that have all the power and influence, and a scathing indictment of the Reagan era 1980s.
"Rowdy" Roddy acquits himself well in the lead, and delivers an amiable performance. His dialogue is full of some choice quips. He's joined by the eternally cool Keith David, who's working with Carpenter for the first time since 1982s' "The Thing". Meg Foster is fine at portraying a beautiful but aloof woman whom Roddy continually encounters. Two Carpenter regulars, George "Buck" Flower and Peter Jason, have two of their best roles with him. Raymond St. Jacques is commanding as a blind preacher; other familiar faces in the cast include Sy Richardson, Susan Barnes, Norman Alden, and John F. Goff.
Carpenter composes another of his catchy electronic scores, and continues to make full use of the Panavision aspect ratio. Some of the best shots have both the homeless community and towering office buildings in the frame, quite literally showing two different worlds at once. The makeup on the aliens, admittedly, is pretty damn silly.
Of course, no summary of "They Live" is complete without mentioning one of the most epic of protracted fight scenes (between Roddy and Keith); every time you think it's over, it starts up again!
All in all, a solid entry in Carpenters' filmography that both amuses the viewer and provides some food for thought.
Seven out of 10.
Ultimately, "They Live" turns into a fairly conventional urban action flick, but it's certainly got some good ideas going for it. Carpenter, using a pseudonym, adapted the story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson, and gives us a thoughtful meditation on how people can be manipulated by those that have all the power and influence, and a scathing indictment of the Reagan era 1980s.
"Rowdy" Roddy acquits himself well in the lead, and delivers an amiable performance. His dialogue is full of some choice quips. He's joined by the eternally cool Keith David, who's working with Carpenter for the first time since 1982s' "The Thing". Meg Foster is fine at portraying a beautiful but aloof woman whom Roddy continually encounters. Two Carpenter regulars, George "Buck" Flower and Peter Jason, have two of their best roles with him. Raymond St. Jacques is commanding as a blind preacher; other familiar faces in the cast include Sy Richardson, Susan Barnes, Norman Alden, and John F. Goff.
Carpenter composes another of his catchy electronic scores, and continues to make full use of the Panavision aspect ratio. Some of the best shots have both the homeless community and towering office buildings in the frame, quite literally showing two different worlds at once. The makeup on the aliens, admittedly, is pretty damn silly.
Of course, no summary of "They Live" is complete without mentioning one of the most epic of protracted fight scenes (between Roddy and Keith); every time you think it's over, it starts up again!
All in all, a solid entry in Carpenters' filmography that both amuses the viewer and provides some food for thought.
Seven out of 10.