They Live (1988)
89 %
Reviews Counted: 35 Fresh: 31 Rotten:4 Average Rating: 7.1/10
Consensus:
A politically subversive blend of horror and sci fi, They Live is an underrated genre film from John Carpenter.
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Synopsis: John Nada (Roddy Piper) is a quiet loner, a drifter who gets work where ever he can find it. While working on a construction site in L.A. and sleeping in a vagrant community at night, John stumbles upon a secret society of alien beings who pose as wealthy and powerful people in human society. John... [More]
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Starring: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George Flower
Director: John Carpenter
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Reviews
They Live is thought-provoking while maintaining its B-movie credentials.
Comment
04/15/08
Top Critic
An erratically amusing throwback to the science-fiction paranoia films of the 1950s.
06/04/07
Top Critic
A fantastically subversive film, a nifty little confection pitting us vs them, the haves vs the have-nots.
06/04/07
Top Critic
All in all, an entertaining (if ideologically incoherent) response to the valorization of greed in our midst.
06/04/07
Top Critic
Carpenter's ability to fuse the bawdy humor and action with an intelligent script make for a genre film that is both thoughtful and entertaining
08/19/06
The black-and-white visuals disturb for only so long, and while themes of indoctrination and conspiracy prove initially intriguing, the film quickly descends into fistfights and gunfire.
06/24/06
Piper is easily the star of the show, making They Live Carpenter's best film -- I don't care what you say.
09/25/03
As is often the case with Carpenter, the concept is better than the execution.
09/18/03
Credibility isn't the problem with John Carpenter's They Live... but execution is.
05/20/03
Top CriticRelated Forums
this movie contains
by: Sam the man 5/21/07
by: Sam the man 5/21/07
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