They Live

87%

Tomatometer

75 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Nada (Roddy Piper), a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.

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Critics Consensus

A politically subversive blend of horror and sci fi, They Live is an underrated genre film from John Carpenter.

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Critics Reviews

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Chris Bennion

Times (UK)

It is a big, silly barrel of fun, with a delirious, tongue-in-cheek script...

Feb 2, 2024

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Phil Hoad

Guardian

The film was was responding to the start of the US rust belt and Reagan-era consumerism, but its themes of working-class subjugation and omnipresent media control have only become more pressing.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 25, 2018

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Carpenter's primary objective was to make a tough action flick, which he does; it fits snugly into his filmography's subset of urban mayhem movies (alongside 'Escape from New York,' 'Assault on Precinct 13,' and parts of 'Big Trouble in Little China').

Feb 17, 2017

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John Ferguson

Radio Times

Piper handles the action scenes better than he deals with dialogue, but he is well supported by Keith David and Meg Foster.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 13, 2024

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

[It] provides moments of catharsis, not to mention a measure of gloating-at-somebody-else’s-trainwreck satisfaction.

Oct 16, 2023

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Both outlandish and prescient, Roddy Piper exudes charm and director Carpenter is fully confident in this crowd-pleasing, sci-fi dystopia.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 22, 2023

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Audience Reviews

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Jason one of the best movies ever made probably more true than we know Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/29/23 Full Review Cody A True Classic that rings true today. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/22/22 Full Review Gorptholemew T 🍅 6.5/10Bro, got his GTA moment. I wanted to like this a lot more I really like the design of the creatures and the idea is very good. I liked a lot of the beginning but I feel like it doesn’t fully go for it. Still really enjoyable but I guess i was just a bit disappointed. And it doesn’t really flow well in my opinion. Still the end and the bank scene were really fun. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/21/24 Full Review Garrett B Pretty solid film. That’s not saying much Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/16/24 Full Review Dionisis T A classic 80s action movie! Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/31/24 Full Review Raiodesol S Wow…I went into this movie without knowing a thing, just thinking it was a horror movie, just to be surprised by what unfolded.This movie has a very interesting twist with a very good execution, making it believable and shocking at the same time. The makeup is on point and the effects are good, helping the believability of it all. With a, still, modern plot, the film achieves a narrative that truly discusses issues that still roam society. The only problems with the movie are the extensive action sequences. While the movie has, as previously said, a fantastic story, it unfortunately resorts to a lot of action packed sequences that take too much time and eventually feel saturated. It’s interesting how the director of Halloween, that has very good “fight” scenes can repeat the quality but this time making it a bit tiring. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/15/24 Full Review Read all reviews

They Live

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Cast & Crew

John Carpenter Director Roddy Piper Nada Keith David Frank Meg Foster Holly George "Buck" Flower Drifter Peter Jason Gilbert

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They Live

They Live: Official Clip - Here to Chew Bubble Gum and Kick Ass