________________They Live____________________
Directed by:John Carpenter
Starring:Roddy "Rowdy" Pipper
They Live is a 1988 film by John Carpenter(The Thing,)and based on Ray Nelson's 1963 short story "Eight O’Clock in the Morning."
The story is about a man named George Nada and how when hipnotized and told to "Wake up" he woke up to see the world is actually controlled by these aliens called "the Fascinators" who in the book are described as reptillian yellow eyed monsters..George goes and realizes that the Fascinators are brainwashing, and controlling people threw television and billboards that say things like "Marry and Reproduce" and "OBEY". George gets a call from one of the Fascinators telling him "This is your control, Chief of Police Robinson. You are an old man, George Nada. Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, your heart will stop. Please repeat." Which he then repeats..George then goes to see his girlfriend and try to wake her up also, this fails and leads to george killing one of her neighbors who was a Fascinator. She believes hes a crazy homicidal maniac now, and freaks out. He ties her up and gets this Dart gun from the Fascinator's home, and then goes off and invades on one of the television shows that make people brainwashed and wakes them up, causing people to see the Fascinators and making a war between them..
George unfortunatly doesnt make it because his heart stops..
The short story is written very well, and is a pretty intresting read, if your too cheap to buy the story, like me you can go and read it at this site:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/9412/8oclock.html
Now this movie adaption is pretty close to the original, but instead of hypnotism waking the main character, its shades that allow you to see the Fascinators for what they are.
They also changed the look of the aliens to more of a more human looking skullish creature with strange skin. Though they did keep the billboards saying things like "OBEY" and the fact they use television as a source to brainwash the humans.
Now this movie stars proffecinal wrestler Roddy "Rowdy" Pipper as "John Nada"(They changed the name a little bit from the original story) a Nomad wanderer who goes to look for some work, and stumbles apon a wild adventure full of aliens, and violence.
If your a fan of the Piper like me, then you will love this movie.Its that kind of movie has all the aspects of a great late night flick.
The movie starts off kinda slow showing John as a homeless wanderer, as he goes off to find a job at this construction site.
While working there he meets the other main character Frank(Played by Keith David) who helps him find a place to sleep, and thats when the movie picks up.
After eating at a soup kitchen with Frank, John notices wierd stuff at the small church across the street. Investigating, he finds out that the church's soup kitchen is a front, the loud "choir practice" is a recording, used to cover up a scientific lab in the back room. Also there are cardboard boxes are stacked everywhere full of these wierd sunglasses that allows the wearer to see the world as it truely is.
John takes one and goes off, once putting them on everything turns a shade of gray, and bilboards have messages like OBEY on them. The most noticable thing they do is allow the wearer to see the Facinators. And finds out...
THE WORLD IS BEING RULED BY ALIENS!
So now he can pick the aliens out. So he has his fun going around looking at stuff, then he starts going on a mini rampage. During this Rampage he says the line:
"Im Here..To Kick a**..And Chew Bubble Gum!...and Im alll...out of Gum.."(A qoute used many times by Duke Nukem)
Which is one of the best qoutes ive heard since Repoman
Now the movie takes a wierd turn into action adventure/sci-fi alien flick.
So Frank gets chased by Facinators disquised as police because of his wild antics in the grocery store and bank..To get away he forces this woman named Holly to drive him away, and takes him to her house. Once there he tells her his situation and..Well she throws him out a window.
Just like in Romeo and Juliet..
Because of this little fall, he loses his shades and goes off to tell Frank and get more glasses. Frank is at first doesnt care about Franks story but after what has to be one of the longest fight scenes Ive ever seen he deciedes to put them on(I think it was just an excuse to have piper fight. Im suprized he didnt eye gouge him then get him in a sleeper lock..)
Anywho..
After seeing them Frank deciedes to join Nada.
Roddys being chased by Alien police and forces this woman to drive him away..She takes him to her house and he tells her his situation and she throws him out a window.
Just like in Romeo and Juliet..
Roddy very disgruntled by this goes and Contacts that let you see past the aliens illusions, trys to take down the alien camouflage satelite and him, the woman, and Jack die, not before Roddy destroys the satellite and revials all the aliens to the humans..
Frank and John go to this underground resistance agenst the aliens and they give him these contact lenses that are pretty much the shades, but more easy to wear(called a Hoffman lens). There he meets Holly again. She tells him how she saw the Facinators threw the glasses and now believes him. This little reunion is short lived as the base is then attacked and Frank and John escape using a wrist device off a Facinator and venture off to stop them
This leads them to the basement of a local TV station, Cable 54, and Where the alien signal is. Holly, who works at the station, meets up with Frank and Nada and they go to roof. Nada runs up to the roof expecting that Holly and Frank are behind him..but Holly betrays them and kills Frank. Through the hoffman lense Nada notices the broadcasting antenna. Holly gets to the roof and trys to shoot John, but uses a hidden pistol and kills Holly. John then turns his attention back to the broadcasting antenna, but is shot and fatally wounded by the aliens, but manages to destroy the broadcasting antenna. As a last dying act, Nada gives the aliens the finger. With the signal now destroyed, the Facinators are shown for who they really are.
I was really suprized at Roddys acting in the movie, its actually good..which is what I cant say for other wrestler actors(John Cena) and the qoutes..so, so many good qoutes. This is Ethier a buy, or Rent..in my case a Buy.
Overall:
Deaths/Gore:2/5 There are some moments where he shoots people and I laugh..
Villian:3/5 The aliens look cool, though probably not the deadliest..
Final verdict:4/5:This movies great, makes me want glasses that see only black and white now..Just like Roy Orbison..
Body Count:
1.)Holly
2.)Frank
3.)The "Cultists"
4.)John
5.)LOTS of Aliens
6.)Lots of Hobos
Some of the subliminal messages:
"OBEY"
"CONFORM"
"MARRY AND REPRODUCE"
"CONSUME"
"WATCH TELEVISION"
"SLEEP"
Qoute:
"You see, I take these glasses off, she looks like a regular person, doesn't she? Put 'em back on...(puts them back on)formaldehyde-face!" - John Nada
