Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

They Live

Play trailer 2:00 Poster for They Live R Released Nov 23, 1988 1h 33m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
87% Tomatometer 75 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Nada (Roddy Piper), a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

They Live

They Live

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A politically subversive blend of horror and sci fi, They Live is an underrated genre film from John Carpenter.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (75)
Chris Bennion The Times (UK) It is a big, silly barrel of fun, with a delirious, tongue-in-cheek script... Feb 2, 2024 Full Review Phil Hoad Guardian The film was was responding to the start of the US rust belt and Reagan-era consumerism, but its themes of working-class subjugation and omnipresent media control have only become more pressing. Rated: 4/5 Oct 25, 2018 Full Review Jason Bailey Flavorwire Carpenter's primary objective was to make a tough action flick, which he does; it fits snugly into his filmography's subset of urban mayhem movies (alongside 'Escape from New York,' 'Assault on Precinct 13,' and parts of 'Big Trouble in Little China'). Feb 17, 2017 Full Review John Ferguson Radio Times Piper handles the action scenes better than he deals with dialogue, but he is well supported by Keith David and Meg Foster. Rated: 3/5 Sep 13, 2024 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills [It] provides moments of catharsis, not to mention a measure of gloating-at-somebody-else’s-trainwreck satisfaction. Oct 16, 2023 Full Review Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh Both outlandish and prescient, Roddy Piper exudes charm and director Carpenter is fully confident in this crowd-pleasing, sci-fi dystopia. Rated: 5/5 Sep 22, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+)
Jason one of the best movies ever made probably more true than we know Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/29/23 Full Review Cody A True Classic that rings true today. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/22/22 Full Review Calvin T A classic.....sadly this was my first time seeing it 💯 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/07/25 Full Review Audience Member This film is worth watching for one reason..the incredible Meg Foster. One of the kind eyes. Homelessness and aliens among us, how far fetched is that. The elite rich running the country. Never happen. This movie has a lot of flaws. The two leads beat each other to a pulp. A couple of hours their all heald. Their filthy and torn clothes like new. Guns never need reloaded. Despite small imperfections it's entertaining. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/06/25 Full Review Nara B Man this movie is so deep. I wasn’t ready for this movie. Such a great film! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/02/25 Full Review Koi P Suspensful. Guessing that a lot of movies were inspired by this one. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/17/25 Full Review Read all reviews
They Live

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

They Live

View more videos
Cyborg 22% 31% Cyborg Watchlist TRAILER for Cyborg Alien Nation 53% 43% Alien Nation Watchlist The Fly II 33% 24% The Fly II Watchlist Freejack 25% 25% Freejack Watchlist The Borrower 30% 26% The Borrower Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Nada (Roddy Piper), a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.
Director
John Carpenter
Producer
Larry J. Franco
Screenwriter
John Carpenter
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Alive Films, Larry Franco Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 23, 1988, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Sep 3, 2023
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$12.3M
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Surround
Most Popular at Home Now