Review of They Live (1988) by Popcorn55 — 08 Jun 2019

One of the better sci-fi films in the "all-is-not-what-it-seems" genre. Very much an early version of "The Matrix" concept, where instead of the red pill the rebels have tactical sunglasses that let people see through the projected illusions surrounding them.

Because of its gritty, man-on-the-street, realistic, present-day ambience, the sudden reveal and the ensuing drama packed quite a punch (at least, in the 80s when this film was released, when there was no precedent for it). It's eerie and effective because of the rarity of special effects, not in spite of them. The lower-budget approach makes this more convincing than the bluish CGI crap we get today in sci-fi films.