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They Live Movie Review by ManwithaGun
Posted by:They Live (1988) is a film by John Carpenter that is based off the short story "Eight O'Clock In The Morning" by Ray Nelson. Carpenter purchased film rights and wrote the script under the name Frank Armitage to keep the cost for buying the rights low. He feared that if he approached Ray Nelson as himself, the price for the rights would be far, far larger.
The movie centers on a 'man with no name', referenced in the credits as 'Nada' played by 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper. The character Nada represents the 'Everyman', the Average Joe. Nada is wandering at the moment, out of work as are most people it seems. While walking about the city, Nada spies a blind preacher speaking loudly about the government. He listens for a moment, but police arrive and Nada casually drifts away, not wanting any trouble. In his travels he comes across a construction site and manages to aquire a job. However, he must wait until the end of the week to be paid and he has nowhere to stay. Enter Frank.
Frank, a fellow construction worker, cautiously tells Nada of a place he can pitch for a while, a camp of migrant workers and their families. He follows Frank there and stays for a few days. The television is receiving strange transmissions, a man warning them that they are all in a kind of sleep. Telepathically controlled slaves. The crowd watching the television all show signs of a migraine, including nada. The message is shrugged off. One night as he is out for a walk, he notices lights on in the nearby church and is curious. Questioning he lead man of the camp about it gets him naught by a vague answer. Nada investigates the next day.
Entering the church, Nada finds the prayers he's been hearing over the course of his stay at the camp are merely a recording. Hearing human voices in conversation leads Nada to a hidden panel in the wall of the church. Strange goings on are happening and Nada sees a lab of some kind but is interrupted by a blind preacher. The same one he saw earlier. Nada leaves quickly and returns to the camp. Later that night, the camp and church are overrun with cops. The camp is bulldozed and the church shut down.
The next day, the people creep back to the camp to try and recover what they can. Nada goes to the church and back to that hidden panel. Behind the panel he now finds a small cardboard box full of sunglasses. He takes the box and walks off, dodging the police as best as he can. Coming to an alley, he searches the box but finds nothing unusual. He takes a pair of the sunglasses and hides the box in a trashcan. Here, his world changes.
Walking into the street, Nada puts on the shades and sees the world in a grayish tone. Everything is fine until he looks around the city and sees a billboard with an odd message...OBEY. Removing the sunglasses he sees a regular looking billboard with a regular ad. Placing the shades back on, he sees the same message: OBEY. Other billboards show similar messages: Reproduce, Obey, Stay Asleep. The money has an oddly fitting message: This Is Your God. Nada is stunned, confused and rapidly becoming upset, but it's not over. As Nada leafs through the magazines finding messages on every page like those on the billboards, he sees a man buying a paper...only this man does not look human. At least with the sunglasses on. With them off, the skullfaced thing appears human.
Going a little nuts, Nada exposes his ability through his confused and furious state and soon winds up meeting two 'cops'. They inform him that he is actually seeing what he thinks he is and they try and take him along quietly to talk things out. Nada goes ballistic and beats them down before killing them and taking their weapons.
The world is twisted and Nada is in the know now. He goes off on a 'killing spree', blasting the alien freaks as he seems them...even in full public view! After trouble recovering the box of shades and an extended and harsh fight with Frank, Nada shows him what's going on. They find out that the glasses were made by a human resistence who were also making the broadcasts. These sunglasses, and later contacts, disrupt the alien's signal and in effect 'wake up' the wearer, enabling them to see the real world. They also find out that many humans know of the aliens and have sided with them because they are plied with wealth.
Nada, Frank and the resistence take on the aliens, trying to locate the source of the power that holds many under it's hypnotic spell. It's a tragic ending which I won't spoil. Suffice to say, this movie is solid gold.
The messages? The government is corrupt and is run to aid those in power, not help the 'little people'. Most will do anything for money. Honor comes at a high price. Sad but true.
The movie centers on a 'man with no name', referenced in the credits as 'Nada' played by 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper. The character Nada represents the 'Everyman', the Average Joe. Nada is wandering at the moment, out of work as are most people it seems. While walking about the city, Nada spies a blind preacher speaking loudly about the government. He listens for a moment, but police arrive and Nada casually drifts away, not wanting any trouble. In his travels he comes across a construction site and manages to aquire a job. However, he must wait until the end of the week to be paid and he has nowhere to stay. Enter Frank.
Frank, a fellow construction worker, cautiously tells Nada of a place he can pitch for a while, a camp of migrant workers and their families. He follows Frank there and stays for a few days. The television is receiving strange transmissions, a man warning them that they are all in a kind of sleep. Telepathically controlled slaves. The crowd watching the television all show signs of a migraine, including nada. The message is shrugged off. One night as he is out for a walk, he notices lights on in the nearby church and is curious. Questioning he lead man of the camp about it gets him naught by a vague answer. Nada investigates the next day.
Entering the church, Nada finds the prayers he's been hearing over the course of his stay at the camp are merely a recording. Hearing human voices in conversation leads Nada to a hidden panel in the wall of the church. Strange goings on are happening and Nada sees a lab of some kind but is interrupted by a blind preacher. The same one he saw earlier. Nada leaves quickly and returns to the camp. Later that night, the camp and church are overrun with cops. The camp is bulldozed and the church shut down.
The next day, the people creep back to the camp to try and recover what they can. Nada goes to the church and back to that hidden panel. Behind the panel he now finds a small cardboard box full of sunglasses. He takes the box and walks off, dodging the police as best as he can. Coming to an alley, he searches the box but finds nothing unusual. He takes a pair of the sunglasses and hides the box in a trashcan. Here, his world changes.
Walking into the street, Nada puts on the shades and sees the world in a grayish tone. Everything is fine until he looks around the city and sees a billboard with an odd message...OBEY. Removing the sunglasses he sees a regular looking billboard with a regular ad. Placing the shades back on, he sees the same message: OBEY. Other billboards show similar messages: Reproduce, Obey, Stay Asleep. The money has an oddly fitting message: This Is Your God. Nada is stunned, confused and rapidly becoming upset, but it's not over. As Nada leafs through the magazines finding messages on every page like those on the billboards, he sees a man buying a paper...only this man does not look human. At least with the sunglasses on. With them off, the skullfaced thing appears human.
Going a little nuts, Nada exposes his ability through his confused and furious state and soon winds up meeting two 'cops'. They inform him that he is actually seeing what he thinks he is and they try and take him along quietly to talk things out. Nada goes ballistic and beats them down before killing them and taking their weapons.
The world is twisted and Nada is in the know now. He goes off on a 'killing spree', blasting the alien freaks as he seems them...even in full public view! After trouble recovering the box of shades and an extended and harsh fight with Frank, Nada shows him what's going on. They find out that the glasses were made by a human resistence who were also making the broadcasts. These sunglasses, and later contacts, disrupt the alien's signal and in effect 'wake up' the wearer, enabling them to see the real world. They also find out that many humans know of the aliens and have sided with them because they are plied with wealth.
Nada, Frank and the resistence take on the aliens, trying to locate the source of the power that holds many under it's hypnotic spell. It's a tragic ending which I won't spoil. Suffice to say, this movie is solid gold.
The messages? The government is corrupt and is run to aid those in power, not help the 'little people'. Most will do anything for money. Honor comes at a high price. Sad but true.
Editors Note: thanks to our community member ManwithaGun for contributing this great review. You can comment on his thread here
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