Universal Pictures released They Live in the United States on 4 November 1988. And this little low-budget film did surprisingly well with critics and at the box office.
I like the film. But it isn’t great. In particular, the fight scene in the middle goes on way too long. And its politics are of the fluffy kind that can appeal to everyone even though they are all thinking different things. But I do like those politics because I know what Carpenter means, and I agree with it.
You see, the film was a criticism of the Reagan presidency. Carpenter has been pretty clear about that.
John Carpenter wrote the film with Kurt Russell in mind. But Russell didn’t want to do the film. He said he didn’t want to be a one-director actor. Over the years, he’s stated other reasons. But I think it’s very simple: he knew what Carpenter was doing and he didn’t like it. Russell has been very clear that celebrities shouldn’t talk about politics, but he does all the time. And it is well known that he admires Ronald Reagan.
So they game Roddy Piper the role. Unlike Russell, Piper didn’t talk a lot about how he didn’t talk about politics. So we don’t know what he thought. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing?
So They Live isn’t as sharp as it could be. And it features a six-minute fight scene that should have been 90 seconds. But it’s a whole lot of fun. And you don’t even need to pay a lot of attention.
On its 37th birthday, let’s watch They Live!
Other 4 November Psychotronic Birthdays & Releases
Filmmakers
- Will Rogers (1879-1935): Comedian who appeared in a lot of comedies and musicals.
- Art Carney (1918-2003): Actor known for too much to list, including Harry and Tonto and The Late Show. But I most like him for The Twilight Zone episode “Night of the Meek.”
- Cameron Mitchell (1918-1994): Actor known for a lot of psychotronic films later in his career like Blood and Black Lace and Nightmare in Wax.
- Martin Balsam (1919-1996): Prestige actor in films like 12 Angry Men and A Thousand Clowns, but was in psychotronic films latter like Psycho and Mitchell.
- Peter Lord (1953-): Co-founder of Aardman Animations.
- Ralph Macchio (1961-): Actor known for The Karate Kid and My Cousin Vinny.
- Matthew McConaughey (1969-): Actor known for The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Frailty.
Films
- The Haunted House (1928): Family come to read the will at an old, dark house.
- The Man Who Laughs (1928): A man has his face disfigured.
- Tarantula (1955): Mad scientist creates huge animals and the spider gets out.
- The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977): Sketch comedy feature. Some of it is dated but the fake trailers are as good as ever.
- Frankenstein (1994): Kenneth Branagh’s rather romantic take on the story.
- Gods and Monsters (1998): Film about the last days of director James Whale.
- The Captives (2001): A woman is brought to a psychopath’s torture chamber but turns the tables on him and then tortures his other victims.
- Curse of Pirate Death (2006): College students looking for buried treasure make its ghostly owner mad.
- Hood of Horror (2006): Pretty tedious urban horror anthology.
- Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008): A camp where the slasher is the best part.
- The Loved Ones (2010): Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned — especially when she has an electric drill.
They Live (1988) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.
