They Live (1988)
Roddy Piper and Keith David get rowdy and save mankind in a John Carpenter cult classic (Mankind the race, not the wrestler).
There was a bit of a debate about the validity of watching “They Live” as part of Plopcorn. This centred on the question “is it a B Movie?”.
To answer this we needed a good definition of ‘B Movies’; a quick search on Bing allowed us to get to onto Google where we found this:
“A low-budget film of inferior quality made for use as a supporting feature in a cinema programme.”
Clearly by this definition “They Live” is not a B Movie, but Plopcorn isn’t just about B Movies is it? Our quest is explore strange new movies, to seek out old movies that no one else is watching and to boldly go… nope… wait, to tell you about them. That’s right, we watch really bad films so you don’t have to and let you know what you can watch safely. So whist “They Live” has actual actors that can act, a good plot and healthy budget, we need to review It because while many of you may be familiar with “They Live” there are a lot more people out there who have never heard of it. Besides, we watched “The Rollerblade Seven” last month and we felt like we needed a reward – F.U. Burnt Reynolds; F.U. Zen Film Making!
Directed by John Carpenter and based on Ray Nelson’s short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning”, “They Live” is a cult classic that deserves the same status at Big Trouble in Little China or Escape from New York. Carpenter’s direction gives the familiar feel you get from his best works with his ever so well balanced tongue in cheek approach. This keeps things from getting too heavy and means he’s able to delivers some genuine laugh out loud moments alongside a pretty compelling plot.
The story of the movie is straight forward but at the same point a really thought provoking concept that gives you a “too close for comfort” vibe. In modern America the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, with many now forced to live in shanty towns and rely on soup kitchens for food. John Nada is one of those poor trying to make their way in life and for the role Carpenter cast WWF legend, sorry WWE legend (thank you Prince Charles and the Pandas) Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Nada is looking for a chance to get on his feet and seize the American dream. Taking a job at a construction site he befriends Frank Armitage, played by the equally legendary Keith David (this man has been in almost everything ever made we tell you).
Whilst staying in the shanty town Nada stumbles into a rebel enclave hidden in a church where he picks up a pair of sun glasses. These iconic sun glasses allow him to see what’s really going out there and when he puts them on for the first time the real fun begins. Unfortunately his inability to be subtle means he soon becomes a wanted man.
Nada tries to convinces Armitage to see the truth around him by beating him in an amazing WWF inspired fight scene lasting a whopping five minutes and fifty three seconds! Don’t worry it includes many classic wrestling moves though it’s a shame it didn’t include Roddy’s signature sleeper finisher. Ultimately he and Armitage join the rebellion and set out to free mankind from our alien overlord’s unwitting slavery.
Throughout the movie there is a deep political undertone that was pushing back against the corruption and commercialisation that was coming to the fore in the 80’s – the whole Buy Buy Buy culture. This makes for some really compelling scenes as Nada has his eyes opened for the first time; it may be fiction but you really can believe it could be happening, in some ways you almost suspect is.
“They Live” performed well upon its release and was also nominated for two Saturn Awards, but then started to tank. It also doesn’t get the same airtime as its older siblings, which can be found skulking around most Sci-Fi channels. This could be because it’s Piper and not Kirk Russel but we see this as part of the movie’s charm, in fact as far as we are concerned Roddy does a pretty good job.
So what other reason is there for this movie to bomb and disappear off the radar? Could it be that it is a little too close to the truth – maybe we all need to wake up a little? This was a view supported by Mr Carpenter himself who, when asked why it bombed, said “those who go to the movies in vast numbers these days don’t want to be enlightened”. The movie may be almost 30 years old but the theme fits right in today and it could be ripe for a remake even – though let’s hope they don’t!
There you have it, “They Live” is a forgotten classic that has achieved cult status. For an ‘under the radar’ film it has been referenced lots of times in pop culture. From lines used in Duke Nukem’s famous tribute to the quote “I have come here to chew bubble-gum and kick ass… and I’m all outta bubble-gum” – one of the best lines from a movie ever, to the characters in The Matrix wearing sunglasses when within the Matrix (to indicate they can see the truth) you can see this has influenced lots media since it’s release.
Yes, it does hail from the bad guys can’t shoot and heroes never need to reload school of action but it was the 80s, so what can you expect? If you have not seen the light and watched this movie you must rectify this immediately and join the ranks of those that came to watch an epic movie and chew bubble gum and find you are all out of gum – OBEY!
