They Live (1988) was John Carpenter's attempt to "pose the question of what would happen if the Reagon revolution was run by aliens from another planet" but it seems even more relevant today than when it was first released. The economic disparities are greater today, and when Team Bush subliminally telecast the word rat in an ad featuring Al Gore, you quickly realize the premise of They Live may not be to far off (Interestingly conspiracy theorist Icke believes the elite's are actually reptiles from another dimension! Downard believes our entertainment is used to further brainwash us into living meaningless lives).

Easily one of the most entertaining flicks of the 80's, They Live is also one of the most infuriating. After an opening act that rivaled the best in genre filmmaking, Carpenter inexplicably turns the film into a silly "hard body" film complete with corny macho one liners by Roddy Piper, ridiculous shoot outs, and the most horrific of all - WWF inspired wrestling! All of the fascinating questions posed in the first act are shockingly dismissed for an entertaining but ultimately unsatisfying finale.

Wrestler Roddy Piper plays John Nada, a blue collar drifter looking for work in a society deeply divided between the rich and the poor. The downtrodden live in shacks and accept food from a strange church while the rich live in the striking city in the distance. Nada lands a construction gig and meets up with Frank - a man that wants to strike back at the elite's who destroy jobs while filling their wallets - but Nada professes love of his country and the belief that hard work will eventually pay off.

One day Nada stumbles upon a pair of sunglasses that enable the viewer to see the world how it really is: many of the rich are actually aliens that keep the masses in a state of hypnosis through subliminal messages. Alien politicians spew familiar rhetoric in front of signs that read OBEY, magazines and billboards order to MARRY AND REPRODUCE, WATCH TELEVISION and to posses NO IMAGINATION. Loudspeakers inform the masses to stay asleep and follow orders. When first watching They Live the mind goes crazy with the possibilities - what would I do if I stumbles upon such a conspiracy? - unfortunately Carpenter answers this question by immediately having Nada brandish firearms, walk into a bank, and inexplicably start blasting away! What! Of course the aliens look like average citizens to everybody else yet Nada starts blasting away wrecking havoc throughout the city. Every time the police pull up Nada conveniently slips out a back door! Aliens apparently do not make the brightest police officers.

Even more infuriating Carpenter has Nada shouting brilliant one liners such as: "I've come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum!" Are you fucking kidding me!

Nada gets his buddy Frank involved (after a ludicrous WWF inspired alley fight) and they soon join an underground movement hip to the aliens. Their plan is to destroy the aliens powerful signal and expose them to the masses. The aliens signal is bizarrely underguarded which allows the shot up Nada to destroy the signal leading to an amusing finale.

Some critics have noted that They Live may be a disturbing call to arms against the emerging Japanese economy of the late 80's, an assumption which could be backed up by Frank's monologue about destroying the elite's"foreign cars." I however believe Carpenter makes it clear he is speaking about our own politicians and corporations who have sold out their fellow countryman for bloated bank accounts. This is obvious in Carpenter's depiction of the humans that work hand in hand with the aliens to further their careers. But alas, They Live barely deserves such conversations as Carpenter saw it fit to turn this promising film into a run of the mill 80's action film.