Plot: What’s it about?
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper stars in this thriller, as a loner who falls into a much larger scheme of world dominance by alien forces. Piper gets a construction job, lives in a make-shift village, and finds out some of the other people in this village are part of an underground movement against the aliens. Piper finds a box of sun-glasses in a dumpster, puts them on, and the world changes! Piper can now see the aliens, who look like normal people unless you are wearing the glasses. Piper can also see the messages hidden within signs, magazines, and hell, everything! Subliminal messaging gets whole new meaning after this one!
Needless to say, Piper fights back, and tries to shut down the alien empire. But will one great Scotsman triumph? Watch for yourself. Don’t dismiss this movie just because a former pro wrestler has the lead. Piper is perfect for the role, even if his acting is lean, because the role seems to fit his real personality like a glove. This flick is nothing but action and witty catch-phrases, just like all your favorite muscle bound hero vehicles. But this one has a decent story, and very cathing visuals.
The scenes after Piper discovers the glasses are very moving, sometimes nearly disturbing. The phrases hidden under the alien’s guise are startling, and conspiracy buffs will love the whole theme. “Obey”, “Watch TV”, and my favorite, seen on money, “This Is Your God.” These are great, and the movie is very entertaining. Carpenter may be better known for other movies, but this is a sometimes over-looked gem. If you want suspense, action, and humor rolled into one movie, this is it. But, this is not a deep film, so what you see is what you get. But what you get is a fun movie, so give it a chance.
Video: How does it look?
The image is a little grainy, but by far, the best print of They Live ever mastered. It is anamorphically enhanced, so some care was obviously taken to ensure high quality video. The picture is better than average, with great colors, just a tad to much grain for my taste, but it might be the age and condition of the original print.
Audio: How does it sound?
All the gun-fire and explosions will rip through your system, leaving the feeling of “being right there” with you in all the big action scenes. The soundtrack is outstanding, and it is well seperated from the other audio.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Nothing. Nada. Forget about it.
