They Live
1988 · Directed by John Carpenter
A drifter finds sunglasses that reveal the ruling class are actually aliens broadcasting subliminal messages. I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.
Why It's Cult
They Live is Carpenter smuggling a class-war pamphlet into a Roddy Piper B-movie and nobody noticed until twenty years later. The alley fight over the sunglasses runs six minutes and is a comedy set piece, action set piece, and thesis statement at once. Internet-era rediscovery has not been gentle.
The Plot, Officially
Nada, a down-on-his-luck construction worker, discovers a pair of special sunglasses. Wearing them, he is able to see the world as it really is: people being bombarded by media and government with messages like "Stay Asleep", "No Imagination", "Submit to Authority". Even scarier is that he is able to see that some usually normal-looking people are in fact ugly aliens in charge of the massive campaign to keep humans subdued.
Starring
Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster
Where to Watch
via JustWatch →
