Movie review: ‘They Live’

FloridaGator80

John’s Carpenter’s career blasted off with a film made on a tiny budget: “Halloween” (click here for my review). It set a new standard in horror and became iconic virtually overnight. So, over time, Carpenter’s budgets on films went up, but I’m not sure he wanted to expand to better production since most of his efforts are a bit TV-ish in how they look – even given you need to consider the special effects of the day are not in league with today’s CGI-fueled wonders. So, I’m looking at Carpenter’s “They Live.” It is a sci-fi take on the commercialization of the world and has an interestingly deep storyline, but its production is more along the lines of “The Love Boat” (click here for my review of that iconic series). “They Live” often makes the rounds on the cable and you should check it out if possible.

‘They Live’
(1988; 93 minutes; rated R; directed by John Carpenter and starring Roddy Piper, Keith David and Meg Foster)

GETTING RICH IS OUT OF THIS WORLD

(NOTE: I expanded this review with more opinion and trivia, fixed the misspelling of the name of the film’s co-star and the updating of links on Sept. 18, 2018. I again expanded the review on Oct. 14, 2024.)

I’ve written reviews of horror movies in the spirit of Halloween and I’ll now toss in a science fiction-horror flick with my take on John Carpenter’s “They Live.” It’s a wonderful plot in which aliens have taken over the planet. They disguise themselves and their mission through television and advertising as the way to exert their mind control and then use business as their financial hammer to get greedy humans to betray their own kind.

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As the architect of the classic Jamie Lee Curtis horror film “Halloween,” Carpenter shows his creativity with co-writing films such as “Escape from New York” (click here for my review), which had Manhattan as the nation’s biggest prison, as well as taking existing material and doing it right (novelist Stephen King’s “Christine” – click here for my review). “They Live” is no exception and is his screenplay on an existing sci-fi story.

With “They Live,” Carpenter admonishes people that greed, corporations directing public policy and a society based on consumer consumption has its disadvantages. Boy, and do they ever in this one. And, in the best Hollywood tradition, it has a signature line that remains recognizable even 30 years after its release: “I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I’m all out of bubble gum” (click the link to see the clip and you’ll find the background of the line at the end of this review).

In “They Live,” humans have been infiltrated by aliens who can disguise themselves through mind control (in this case with satellite transmissions). Our main character ultimately finds his way into an underground movement that wants to expose the aliens, who have branded the dissidents as radicals and communists in order to turn humans against them.

The man ultimately infiltrates the aliens’ headquarters and, in a pyrrhic victory, manages to destroy the mind-control device and pays with his own life. Humans can then see the aliens for what they are … and the credits roll.

Whew!

Carpenter was not only biting off a mouthful of philosophy, but he was as forward looking then in 1988 as the film remains today. It’s all summed up when one character is quoted as saying (Carpenter got the line from a movie studio executive): “We’ll do anything to be rich.” The other great quote is, “It’s business – that’s all it is.”

One note: the deep philosophical issues addressed in the film (greed; a regimented, fascist society; servitude to consumerism; and more) do not slow down the storytelling or the pace of the film. Carpenter, who has been quoted as saying he was attacking “Reganomics,” can be heavy-handed in punching out the ideas, but he allows the audience its own contemplation of the meaning.

Like other Carpenter efforts, “They Live” doesn’t offer any big name from Hollywood. Even his leading man here is a surprise and in the supporting cast there isn’t a Harry Dean Stanton from “Escape from New York” in this one. However, those actors who are here, such as Raymond St. Jacques, give uniformly solid efforts. But it all adds up to a basically flawed film.

As to his leading man …

  • Carpenter made an interesting choice with the lead character. Pro wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper plays “John Nada” (explanation of his name, which is never mentioned aloud in the film, can be found at the end of this review). He’s a loner who finds his way into the underground that’s battling the system and ultimately saves humankind by sacrificing himself. Piper learned his lessons well in pro-wrestling showmanship and gives a good, smooth effort, from having to be obsequious to get a job to wielding an assault rifle. Although he’s a good fit here, Piper doesn’t manage to elevate his character or distinguish himself beyond being competent and watchable (which not all actors can be – and that’s praise itself). Piper was in 2012’s “Clear Lake” and “Terminal Rush.” Piper, a native of Canada, notched a large number of credits (159) with many linked to pro wrestling in a career spanning five decades. He died in 2015 at 61 of a heart attack.

Let me run down a few more of the cast …

  • A three-time Primetime Emmy winner and a one-time nominee, Keith David co-stars as “Frank Armitage,” who is the reluctant convert to the rebels’ side. He also worked with Carpenter in “The Fog” and his character is the strong silent type until he is forced to turn to violence and, also like Piper, does a workmanlike job but doesn’t distinguish himself. He has also been in “Platoon,” “ & Mrs. Smith” and “ATL.” All David’s wins were as either narrator or voice-over in TV productions “Jackie Robinson,” “Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson” and “The War.” He has notched an astounding 380 acting credits from everything from films to TV to voicing animated features and video games!
  • The best two supporting actors are Peter Jason as underground leader “Gilbert” and St. Jacques as the blind “Street Preacher.” Jason is almost manic in his best used-car salesman act in selling the underground and his passion to expose the aliens. Jason has been “Adaptation” and notched dozens of TV credits. St. Jacques is very convincing as a prophet and messenger and was a comforting medic alongside John Wayne in “The Green Berets” and made the unfortunate choice to accept a part in the stinker named “The Evil that Men Do.” St. Jacques died at 60 in 1990 of cancer.
  • The only other two actors worth mentioning are Meg Foster as “Holly Thompson” and George “Buck” Flower. Foster becomes Piper’s love interest and is a spy for the aliens who has infiltrated the underground movement. Foster is one-dimensional and contributes little and has also been in “Leviathan” and “The Osterman Weekend” as well as dozens of TV credits. Flower is “drifter” and then a rich man who has agreed to help the aliens. He’s a bit better than Foster, but not by much. He’s also been in “The Fog” and “Back to the Future.”

So, in my final analysis, “They Live” comes up way short. With a better cast it might have been salvageable, but I doubt it. Carpenter might have done better, but I doubt it. Is this film watchable? Sure. I say it’s flawed, not crap. Besides, it’s a film by John Carpenter. At least you know it will be interesting.

“They Live” was the 75th ranked film in 1988 at the U.S. box office with ticket sales totaling $13 million, according to Box Office Mojo. On its budget of $3 million, the film was profitable, according to Wiki. The year’s No. 1 film was “Rain Man” at $172.8 million and other neat films were No. 4 “Big” at $114.9 million, No. 14 “Willow” at $57.2 million and No. 31 “Red Heat” at $34.9 million. Here are the other films from that year that I’ve reviewed for this blog:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Piper’s birth name was Roderick George Toombs. David’s birth name is Keith David Williams.
  • Piper’s character’s name is never mentioned in the film and only as “Nada” in the credits (“nothing,” get it?) and his full name comes from the name of the character “John Nada” from the story Carpenter adapted.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “The line ‘I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I’m all out of bubble gum’ was ad-libbed by Roddy Piper. According to director John Carpenter, Piper had taken the line from a list of ideas he had for his pro wrestling interviews.
  • Carpenter was quoted as saying he wanted the aliens to have the appearance of rotting corpses because he didn’t want the aliens to have a futuristic look that could be construed as somewhat appealing. I’d say he did a great job of conveying that what eats away at society is nasty; not something that looks like it’s out of “The Jetsons.”
  • The only character in the film given a full name is Foster’s “Holly Thompson.”
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “On an episode of Monstervision (1993) in 1997, Roddy Piper mentioned that John Carpenter had wanted him to discuss the film’s political subtext (which was critical of Reaganomics) while doing promotions for the film. However, due to being in the United States on a green card, Piper felt it wasn’t his place to discuss American politics. He also noted that he had rather liked President Reagan and thus didn’t really agree with the film’s politics, so he would shy away from talking about them while promoting the film.”
  • The story of seeing aliens through sunglasses isn’t unique to . You’ll find that in “The Love War,” too.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “Alec Baldwin, Michael Biehn, Brian Bosworth, Jeff Bridges, Bruce Campbell, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Keaton, Christopher Lambert, Stephen Lang, Dolph Lundgren, Michael Madsen, Bill Paxton, Ron Perlman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Patrick Swayze, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis were considered to play Nada.” I have to say that it’s my opinion that not a single one of them would have been able to do better than Piper as “Nada.” Not that they’re not all better actors than Roddy, but I just can’t see them in this film.
  • Click here for IMDb.com’s extensive trivia page about the movie …

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