Review of They Live (1988) by Jared W — 03 Jan 2012

How would you describe the following situation: You are a bum, living out on the streets, desperately searching for work. You've seen hard times but you're willing to give America a chance. You happen upon an underground group of militants who are constantly disrupting local signals to further a strange agenda that states we're all asleep to a real and dangerous threat. You then find a box of special sunglasses from these people which allow you to see that those who are rich and powerful (who propagate all the greed and evil in our society) are actually zombie aliens who are bent on enslaving the human race through subliminal hypnotism.

I know how I would describe it: Super fun, super campy, super awesome. "They Live" represents John Carpenter at his very most fun and perhaps, most creative. Starring Rowdy Roddy Piper (the famous classic WWF superstar) and Keith David (the voice of Spawn) as two unlikely poor vigilantes trying to topple the alien threat, this film is pure entertainment for those willing to believe in its admittedly absurd premise. However, thanks to the movie magic of John Carpenter, the premise is instantly believable with excellent cinematography and wonderful mood setting music by Carpenter himself. So what are you waiting for? Join the underground resistance, put on your sunglasses at night and get going to your Netflix instant que so that you can partake in the goofy awesomeness that is "They Live".