They Live (DVD)

(Also appears at ShaunMunro.co.uk) Director: John Carpenter Cast: Keith David, Meg Foster, Roddy Piper Release Date: November 4th, 1988 (US), June 23rd, 1989 (UK) Certificate: R (US), 18 (UK) John Carpenter's "They Live", by sheer premise alone, could easily have gone either way - a horrendous, overstuffed failure, or a witty, hugely entertaining commentary on modern society. Fortunately, with Carpenter's steady directorial hand, this film assumes the latter identity - it makes remarks about consumerism and social inequality which are relevant even near-twenty years on, taking the viewer on an extremely fun ride as it does ...  Read the complete review

'They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. THEY LIVE.' 'They Live' is a 1988 science fiction action film directed by John Carpenter from the short story 'Eight O'Clock in the Morning' by Ray Faraday Nelson. The credited onscreen screenwriter Frank Armitage is in fact Carpenter himself. The film revolves around Nada (Roddy Piper), a drifter who arrives in Los Angeles looking for some casual work in increasingly tough times. Nada gains employment on a construction site and workmate Frank (Keith David) tells him he can find somewhere to stay in 'Jesseville', a ...  Read the complete review

John Carpenter's 1988 film 'They Live' stars WWF wrestler Roddy Piper as a drifter who stumbles across a global conspiracy, whereby people everywhere are being controlled and manipulated by aliens using subliminal messaging and radiowave signals to keep the population in check and to disguise themselves as they wander around freely amongst everyday people. Homeless and without a job, Roddy manages to find some work on a construction site, staying in a nearby refugee camp by night. Unemployment is rife, and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, whilst the middle class appears to be being slowly dissolved. People live in tents overlooked by ...  Read the complete review

John Carpenter is a director whose work I've seen many times, but I've never really warmed to. It's not that I think his films are bad, just above average without being outstanding. So it was with some trepidation that I sat down to watch this on the recommendation of a friend of mine. -= Story =- A drifter arrives in Los Angeles looking for work and befriends a construction worker called Frank. Frank invites the man (who is never named throughout the movie, but is credited at the end with the name "Nada") back to a shanty type encampment where he is free to stay for a while. During Nada's stay at this encampment, two ...  Read the complete review

This is one of H.G.Wells' best-known and loved stories, and is a true classic. This film was made very early for Sci-Fci films and has tried very hard with the special effects, making use of what was available at the time. The story is about an inventor who creates a time machine and sets off to prove that he can really travel through time. He travels to various time zones, but does not move physically in terms of location, so when he travels forwards, for instance, his house disintegrates around him. The inventor finally finds a time in the future where humans have evolved into two species, the Eloi and some creatures who live ...  Read the complete review