Movie Review: They Live

They Live 

Starring: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower, Peter Jason, Raymond St. Jacques, Jason Robards III, John Lawrence, Susan Barnes, Sy Richardson, Wendy Brainard, Lucille Meredith, Susan Blanchard, Norman Alden, Dana Bratton, John F. Goff, Norm Wilson, Thelma Lee, Stratton Leopold, Rezza Shan, Norman Howell, Larry J. Franco, Tom Searle, Robert Grasmere, Vince Inneo, Bob Hudson, Jon Paul Jones, Dennis Cosmo Michael, Nancy Gee, Claudia Stanlee, Christine Anne Baur, Eileen Wesson, Gregory J. Barnett, Jimmy Nickerson, Kerry Rossall, Cibby Danyla, Jeff Imada, Michelle Costello 

Director: John Carpenter 

Universal Pictures, Alive Films, Larry Franco Productions, USA, 1988. 

Based on the short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. 

John Nada (Roddy Piper) is a jobless drifter in recession stricken USA. The poor are getting poorer and the rich richer. Only job he gets is an undeclared job at construction site. Frank (Keith David) arranges him food and housing in homeless camp. 

John Nada

Frank

Homeless camp

Drifter who is watching TV looks familiar. It's Buck alright!

George 'Buck' Flower as drifter

Hackers interrupt TV-programme and send message about conspiracy trying to control the citizens. Nada tracks the base of resistance to nearby church. Next night army of police raids the place. Police beats the hackers violently. Nada finds a box of sunglasses. The sunglasses reveal hidden messages everywhere. They also make some people appear ghoulish. The messages urge people to obey, consume and not to think. The resistance is fighting against invasion of greedy aliens. 

Sunglasses reveal hidden messages

Alien revealed

Nada goes on rampage and takes TV-boss Holly (Meg Foster) hostage. Holly thinks he is a crazy mass murderer. Nada then tries the tries to give sunglasses to Frank. This leads to comically long fistfight. Finally Nada, Frank and the rest of the resistance plan to expose the aliens, but the elite are already co-operating with the aliens. 

Nada goes on rampage

Holly

Tough guys

The film satirizes consumerism and Reagan-era yuppie-culture. The ending is pure B-film style action as Nada and Frank try to infiltrate the alien base and expose the conspiracy. Toward the end the film takes short-cuts and loses some of the satirical sharpness. Nada's dialogue is full of funny one-liners such as classic "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum." As an entertaining and funny action film with social satire "They Live" works very well. 

Business as usual

Rating: Good