Hello this is Jake Winters for eye on the triangle with Snowverated this week I will be taking a look at the 1988 film They Live. They live was directed by John Carpenter who is known for his science fiction films. They live takes place in a dystopian future and follows the story of a man looking for work in a new city. This movie is based on the short story that goes by the name of eight O’clock in the morning. The short story is very similar to the movie and I feel it is a well done adaptation.

They live is an action movie, and it has all the staples of one. It is over dramatic, it has the love interest, and of course the long drawn out fight scenes. There is a fight scene between Nada, the main character, and his friend and it seems it will never end. They are continuously being thrown down only to get back up while the other has their back turned and punch them, again.

The idea of the short story and the movie is outlandish, but the concept is fun to toy around. The concept is this. Aliens control the world and have been doing so for some time. They live among us as giant lizards in disguise as men and control the humans using subliminal messaging. So, I just gave away the whole plot of the movie and the fact that I could do that in one sentence goes to show how basic the plot is. Just because the plot is basic though does not mean that a movie cannot be entertaining

The movie is hilariously violent. Nada kills so many aliens in the film it is hard to count them all. The reason it is hilarious is because of how nonchalantly is seems that he does it at times. The aliens don’t realize he knows what they are and he just kills them. While he does realize they are suppressing the humans and he becomes frightened he gives away what he knows far too obviously. It is like watching a person in a horror movie walk into a dark alley way.

I can’t say I didn’t enjoy this movie though. The ideas are fresh although they are the working of a conspiracy driven mad man and they are a fun distraction which makes the movie entertaining. After seeing the movie it easy to see how its ideas could also be applied to our own lives even though they seem extremely distant from anything remotely close to how we live. If you think about the essence of many of the advertisements on television ads or in magazines they all try to get you to buy something using some level of subliminal messaging. Another thing this subliminal messaging points out is one word slogans. Like Obama’s campaign slogan HOPE, or Nike’s simple Just Do IT.

This is kind of ridiculous but the clothes brand Obey is in a funny way very similar to the underlying messages in They live. The movie shows that behind all ads there are simple words like enjoy and obey. These messages are everywhere in the film once Nada is able to see them.

Nada is played by Roddy Piper a famous WWE wrestler from the 80’s. He is just the person for the role too. He is a big guy and he fits that stereotypical hero picture perfectly. The only thing is that his acting is slightly but that’s ok since this isn’t really a drama driven story.

The movie has become a cult classic to many. People will reference it from time to time and some artists even still utilize its ideas in their work. It was not very successful when it was released though and so many have never heard of the film before.

This film I would say is decent. IT doesn’t have great acting and its story is just one idea dragged out through an hour and thirty minutes. The redeeming quality of the film is that it has a lot of action. Albeit ridiculous action but it is amusing to watch. If you feel like watching something that isn’t too serious but still has good ideas in it then they live is the movie for you. They live does what all movies really should by providing a message but I feel that like the short story the movie too should have remained short.

You can rent They live on Amazon or ITunes and if you are looking for a something to watch I’d say it wouldn’t be my first pick in many cases, but it is alright.

Thank you for listening to this week’s edition of Snowverated I am Jake Winters for eye on the Triangle. Have a good night.