John Carpenter's "They Live" is really a fiendishly clever reworking of the "Bug-Eyed Monsters From Outer Space" movies of the 1950s. Instead of featuring insect-like aliens trying to take over the world, though, "They Live" features aliens that have managed to disguise themselves as human beings . . . and they aren't "trying" to take over world, because they've already succeeded in taking it over. Politicians, newscasters, policemen, business executives -- these are the positions in human society that the aliens have assumed, and as such, they effectively rule the world. It's an offbeat take on a conventional movie formula, and for the most part, it works fairly successfully.
"They Live" is a story about Nada (Roddy Piper), a downtrodden, unemployed construction worker just looking for a job and a little happiness. (Those looking for a shred of subtle subtext in this film will note that Nada's name literally means "nothing".) While wandering aimlessly through some city streets, Nada discovers a strange pair of sunglasses that allow him to see a different world than the one he sees normally: a world blanketed with subliminal messages. Magazines and television ads flash messages like "Obey", "Submit to Authority", and "Conform". Nada is also able to see the true form of all his supposedly human authority figures (policemen, politicians, and the like) -- they are all bug-eyed aliens, dedicated to keeping the human race happy, dumb, and subdued. Nada, who's already tired of being pushed around and told what to do, decides that's there's only one way to take care of this alien menace -- and that's to take matters into his own hands, preferably with an automatic weapon . . .
"They Live" is an interesting, if not always successful, movie because of its ability to take some standard movie formulas and inject some new twists -- and realism -- into them. It's not the typical tale of humans beating back confounded aliens without too many setbacks or difficulties. Instead, there's some real problems -- Nada (and the other resistance fighters he encounters) find that not all of their efforts to fight or defeat the aliens actually work; the aliens actually use all the vast resources at their disposal to their full advantage, instead of constantly being dumbfounded by the human freedom fighters; and so on. (As an example of an original plot twist, I liked the fact that the aliens use the TV networks to portray Nada as a psychotic killer to the public at large after he shoots some aliens; after all, without the benefit of Nada's strange sunglasses, the aliens look like ordinary, everyday human beings . . .) Just when the events of "They Live" look like they're going to become predictable, something happens that completely shifts the film in a brand-new and original direction. This originality is occasionally hit-or-miss -- sometimes, the brand-new and original direction works a lot less effectively than a more predictable direction would've worked -- but "They Live" deserves credit for constantly daring to be different, if nothing else.
The other factor that makes "They Live" such a fun, interesting movie is its hero -- Nada. Instead of making Nada the stereotypical hero of a bug-eyed monster movie -- i.e., the scientist whom nobody believes until it's far too late, or the strong, silent soldier battling grimly against overwhelming odds -- Carpenter makes Nada a complete moron. True, Nada's a well-meaning moron, but that doesn't change the fact that he's about as smart as a bag of rocks . . . and yet he represents humanity's only hope of survival. There's no subtlety when it comes to Nada. If aliens need killing, then he kills aliens. He has no concept of long term planning, or losing a battle in order to win a war -- he's a very violent and very stupid man dedicated to ridding Earth of its disguised alien rulers, and he simply does what he thinks is right in order to accomplish this mission. What adds to this is the fact that his stupidity doesn't confound the aliens -- they recognize Nada for the Neanderthal that he really is, and deal with him in ways that actually make logical sense. (For example, Nada always seems mystified that the aliens can hunt him down after his little alien killing sprees -- he never seems to fully grasp the concept that aliens control the police departments, the military, and so on . . .) It's kind of a backhanded compliment, but Roddy Piper plays Nada beautifully; it's hard to think of too many other actors who could play such a determined moron so well. (As a side note -- it's also interesting to notice how Nada automatically assumes that the bug-eyed aliens are evil. He turns out to be right, of course, but he manages to gun down a decent number of aliens before finding even a shred of proof that his assumptions are correct.)
There's no denying that there are some significant problems with "They Live". The ending is abrupt and makes little sense; the production values are pathetically shoddy; and apart from Roddy Piper, the cast is more or less forgettable. Still, "They Live" is a decent, solid movie that largely succeeds in its quest to provide some original, offbeat entertainment. For that, it deserves a lot of credit. Grade: B . . . for a darn good "B" movie.
"They Live" is a story about Nada (Roddy Piper), a downtrodden, unemployed construction worker just looking for a job and a little happiness. (Those looking for a shred of subtle subtext in this film will note that Nada's name literally means "nothing".) While wandering aimlessly through some city streets, Nada discovers a strange pair of sunglasses that allow him to see a different world than the one he sees normally: a world blanketed with subliminal messages. Magazines and television ads flash messages like "Obey", "Submit to Authority", and "Conform". Nada is also able to see the true form of all his supposedly human authority figures (policemen, politicians, and the like) -- they are all bug-eyed aliens, dedicated to keeping the human race happy, dumb, and subdued. Nada, who's already tired of being pushed around and told what to do, decides that's there's only one way to take care of this alien menace -- and that's to take matters into his own hands, preferably with an automatic weapon . . .
"They Live" is an interesting, if not always successful, movie because of its ability to take some standard movie formulas and inject some new twists -- and realism -- into them. It's not the typical tale of humans beating back confounded aliens without too many setbacks or difficulties. Instead, there's some real problems -- Nada (and the other resistance fighters he encounters) find that not all of their efforts to fight or defeat the aliens actually work; the aliens actually use all the vast resources at their disposal to their full advantage, instead of constantly being dumbfounded by the human freedom fighters; and so on. (As an example of an original plot twist, I liked the fact that the aliens use the TV networks to portray Nada as a psychotic killer to the public at large after he shoots some aliens; after all, without the benefit of Nada's strange sunglasses, the aliens look like ordinary, everyday human beings . . .) Just when the events of "They Live" look like they're going to become predictable, something happens that completely shifts the film in a brand-new and original direction. This originality is occasionally hit-or-miss -- sometimes, the brand-new and original direction works a lot less effectively than a more predictable direction would've worked -- but "They Live" deserves credit for constantly daring to be different, if nothing else.
The other factor that makes "They Live" such a fun, interesting movie is its hero -- Nada. Instead of making Nada the stereotypical hero of a bug-eyed monster movie -- i.e., the scientist whom nobody believes until it's far too late, or the strong, silent soldier battling grimly against overwhelming odds -- Carpenter makes Nada a complete moron. True, Nada's a well-meaning moron, but that doesn't change the fact that he's about as smart as a bag of rocks . . . and yet he represents humanity's only hope of survival. There's no subtlety when it comes to Nada. If aliens need killing, then he kills aliens. He has no concept of long term planning, or losing a battle in order to win a war -- he's a very violent and very stupid man dedicated to ridding Earth of its disguised alien rulers, and he simply does what he thinks is right in order to accomplish this mission. What adds to this is the fact that his stupidity doesn't confound the aliens -- they recognize Nada for the Neanderthal that he really is, and deal with him in ways that actually make logical sense. (For example, Nada always seems mystified that the aliens can hunt him down after his little alien killing sprees -- he never seems to fully grasp the concept that aliens control the police departments, the military, and so on . . .) It's kind of a backhanded compliment, but Roddy Piper plays Nada beautifully; it's hard to think of too many other actors who could play such a determined moron so well. (As a side note -- it's also interesting to notice how Nada automatically assumes that the bug-eyed aliens are evil. He turns out to be right, of course, but he manages to gun down a decent number of aliens before finding even a shred of proof that his assumptions are correct.)
There's no denying that there are some significant problems with "They Live". The ending is abrupt and makes little sense; the production values are pathetically shoddy; and apart from Roddy Piper, the cast is more or less forgettable. Still, "They Live" is a decent, solid movie that largely succeeds in its quest to provide some original, offbeat entertainment. For that, it deserves a lot of credit. Grade: B . . . for a darn good "B" movie.