Review of They Live (1988) by Matthew J — 14 Aug 2011

"I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." This is probably the greatest line in film history. And actually, all the quotes this film produced are gold, it's way too well-written for such a film.

This is one one of those films that's cheesy and campy in all the right ways. I can't remember a point that wasn't silly, and I really have no problem with that! Also, the street fight mid through the film is one of the best, most entertaining fight scenes ever filmed.

But beneath the campiness and the 80's cheese it's a film that's a lot smarter than it lets on to be. They Live and most of Carpenter's films in general suffer from a variation on the so called "Verhoeven paradox", where a film gets dismissed or is only enjoyed as a dumb and campy B-movie by a lot of people but is really a cloaked, smart and sophisticated satire.

I mean the film still holds up just as well today and most of the film's themes seem somehow even more poignant today than in the time it was made. In today's Hollywood it seems like someone would have made a remake by now and I'm a little shocked no studio hasn't tried it yet, but I doubt there is anyway to measure up to the original.