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They Live

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7.3/10 • 3.1K

1988-11-041h 33m

Science FictionAction

You see them on the street. You watch them on TV. You might even vote for one this fall. You think they're people just like you. You're wrong. Dead wrong.

A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.

Directors
John Carpenter
Editors
Gib Jaffe

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Roddy Piper

    Roddy Piper

    John Nada

  2. Keith David

    Keith David

    Frank Armitage

  3. Meg Foster

    Meg Foster

    Holly Thompsen

  4. George Buck Flower

    George Buck Flower

    Drifter

  5. Peter Jason

    Peter Jason

    Gilbert

  6. Raymond St. Jacques

    Raymond St. Jacques

    Street Preacher

  7. Jason Robards III

    Jason Robards III

    Family Man

  8. John Lawrence

    John Lawrence

    Bearded Man

  9. Susan Barnes

    Susan Barnes

    Brown Haired Woman

Reviews3

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tmdb87069603 Avatar

tmdb87069603

Jun 5, 2012

10/10

I have to admit up front to liking every single, John Carpenter movie. They are works of art in there unique style and quality. This is actually my favorite of all of them. There could be a criticism that this movie is didactic and sends some sort of clumsy political or philosophical message but I'd have to reply that you simply don't get it. Unlike the modern propensity for movies to try to hammer home some political point or perspective, the message here is only window dressing. The message may (or may not) be important but instead of getting caught up in some sort of self-important moralizing, let's remember this is a movie - and a SciFi action movie at that. (that is the approach in my opinion) If I would compare movies to literature or movie makers to authors I'd compare Carpenter to Hemingway - although Carpenter specializes in anti-heroes and sometimes over-the-top characters, while Hemingway is understated. They are analogous for their own medium. This is action, sci-fi but like Hemingway's stories, this is a man's movie. Straight forward. Fun at times, brutal at times and even funny at times. Keep a watch out for one of the great one-liners in movie history when the star is in the bank - only peripherally related to "bazooka." A+ to Roddy Piper as well. When I first saw this movie I had zero expectation from him. Now I wish he'd have made a lot more movies...

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$4,000,000.00
Revenue
$13,000,000.00
Keywords
dystopiavillainessaliensocial commentaryconspiracylos angeles, californiaalien invasionsunglassesglassesbrawlsubliminal messagehorrorhilariouswhimsicalfarcicalfrightened