They Live (1988)
John Carpenter takes wrestler Roddy Piper into the realms of classic fifties alien invasion thrills in this entertaining yarn about a drifter who on finding a special pair of sunglasses discovers that aliens with skeletal faces appear to have taken over Los Angeles' wealthy class and seem to be manipulating the rest of the population via subliminal advertising.
Fun is the main thing here. Compared to say The Thing and The Fog it feels very light hearted for a Carpenter movie. Even the strong violence is turned into a five and a half minute back alley brawl between Piper and mate Keith David. Yet there's also quite a bit of heavy social commentary which is easily overlooked due to the breeziness of the whole thing.
They Live has always been a lesser John Carpenter film for me but it's entertaining enough all the same.
The recentish Studio Canal restoration really looks the business.
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