The film for the ages.

PhillipMichaelH

Released in November of 1988, director John Carpenter's They Live may be the film of its generation. Well, if it's not then it's pretty close. John Carpenter is mostly known for the box office smash hit Halloween (1978) and as great as that film is (it's my favorite film), They Live is proof that the horror master had more to offer, along with a lot of other gems like Escape From New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble In Little China (1986), In The Mouth Of Madness (1995), Escape From L.A. (1996) and Vampires (1998), They Live ranks on the list of his best films. Carpenter's films usually suffer from low production values and above average performances from his actors but when you look past that, his films really are very deep and well made and this film is no exception. What makes Carpenter so unique is that he really understood where Hollywood was heading during the late 70s and most of the 80s and for a short period of time he got his taste of Hollywood. He then realized that it simply only cares about making money and he spent the rest of his career as a true independent, not following any rules and making movies the way that he wanted to.

Carpenter was riding on the success of Halloween, which was in its day the highest grossing independent film ever made. Escape From New York was another hit movie and by this time he was getting major studio offerings. He then directed his first big studio picture The Thing. This film was expected to be a commercial hit but unfortunately, the film was a disaster and was even considered one of the most hated films by critics and audiences alike. Although The Thing has found a cult audience over the years, it was the film that launched a series of commercial failures from the director.

Carpenter was feeling angry and frustrated with the way the studio system was heading so he decided to make a film that expressed this anger which is where They Live comes in. This film may be one of the bravest movies in its day. During the 1980s, we were being told to do nothing but consume. This film is a study of the world being corrupt by the media and how it tells us to simply not care and just make tons of money. The middle class are portrayed as villains in the film and that being rich and successful is the only way to be happy while poor working class people are being treated as useless. We all believe that fame and fortune is what makes us somebody but Carpenter wasn't about to become a sell out and instead he dealt with his anger by making this film and when you look at it now you can't help but think what an honest direction that was to go in.

But this movie isn't just for deep thinkers, it is also a kick ass sci-fi action movie and it's a lot of fun too. Sure, the movie is goofy at times and very B movie material but to me that's a positive aspect, I think that was the perfect way to portray the story. I would put this movie up there with A Clockwork Orange (1971) even, as pretentious as that sounds.

score 10/10

PhillipMichaelH 29 May 2011

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2435785/