The general principle behind satire is that it needs to occupy one of two extremes – either, it needs to be subtle enough that we don’t realize what is being conveyed until a crucial moment in which we encounter some major revelation, or it needs to be so glaringly obvious that there is never any room for even an iota of doubt about what is being lampooned. John Carpenter would probably be the last person to ever consider himself a comedically inclined filmmaker, and even though many of his films have moments of terrific levity, for the most part, they are hard-hitting, serious genre pictures with a lot of nuance and very little room for folly. This slightly shifted when he collaborated with iconic science fiction writer Ray Nelson to adapt his short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning” into the film that would eventually become They Live, in which the director tells the story of a nameless drifter who decides to try his luck in Los Angeles, only to accidentally stumble into a sinister conspiracy that involves a pair of specially-designed sunglasses that give the wearer the ability to see the world for what it truly is: a vicious regime driven by capitalistic desires, spearheaded by macabre aliens that have assimilated into everyday society, secretly guiding the American people towards doing their bidding. Armed with only these spectacles and an undying desire to save the day, our protagonist wages a one-man war against these villains and unearths some sinister secrets about his country and the entities who are supposedly running it. An irreverent and sharp satire that is driven by a genuine sense of morbid curiosity and an undying belief in its underlying message, They Live is often cited as one of Carpenter’s finest works, and watching it from a contemporary perspective, it is increasingly difficult to argue with the sentiment that views this as one of the greatest pieces of satirical science fiction ever produced.

Despite having been made in 1987 and based on a short story written and published in 1963, They Live is still considered one of the most timely and resonant science fiction films ever made, and it is still appreciated decades later. The reasons for it being considered such a progressive work has to do with the underlying political and social concepts that drive the story, as well as Carpenter’s execution of the material. Regardless of the era or place in which one lives, there is an inherent distrust between the public and their leaders, almost to the point where the entire purpose of politics is convincing the population to vote for one egomaniac over another, with the promise that their chosen regime will supposedly be less brutal and draconian, which is not always the case in reality. Of course, this is a severe over-exaggeration of the political system, but it is one that still bears quite a bit of weight, as evident by the extent to which a film like They Live continues to strike a chord with audiences – whether baby boomer or Generation Z, we can all unite under the shared sense of incredulity towards the political system, and how it promotes certain leaders as being some miracle tonic for a broken society. Carpenter receives a lot of acclaim for being a master of suspense, but he doesn’t always get credit for the firm grasp he has on the cultural pulse, and his awareness of the broader social consciousness has never been more evident than in this film. The fact that a film made in the 1980s can still feel fresh and relevant is both a credit to the incredible storytelling and the unfortunate reality that what we see depicted on screen is all to real for many viewers, almost to the point where much of the horror comes from the realization that so much of what we see in this film – political corruption, agendas that guide the daily lives of ordinary citizens and the general tendency for social norms being put in place as a way for us to blindly obey the status quo – is all too recognizable, and makes us wonder whether the solution this film offers is perhaps not the most appropriate and logical conclusion.

A good concept is a strong asset, but the elements that really make it memorable has to come in the form of the execution. Carpenter is perhaps one of only about half a dozen filmmakers working at the time that could be trusted with this material, both in terms of how it playfully subverts conventions and how it attains a very specific kind of tone, which would not have been possible from many other directors. Having someone more comedic at the helm would have detracted from the underlying terror and just made They Live another off-kilter dark comedy, whereas someone who took their work seriously to the point where it was dour may have made interesting political statements, but at the expense of the genuinely off-the-wall fun that envelopes this film. Carpenter exists right at the perfect intersection between the two – he takes his work seriously, but is still able to have fun, and he acknowledges that, despite the heavy political commentary, They Live is an inherently funny film in terms of its premise, or at least one that is definitely very much veering towards the satirical. Much of the impact is made in how Carpenter plays around with genre – They Live is constructed as a blend of dark comedy, science fiction, psychological horror and action, all of which are equally balanced and delivered in rapid succession, and our responsibility as the viewer is simply to acknowledge the madness that is about to ensue, and just surrender to it through putting faith in the director and his process. The film is exceptionally well-made, and we find ourselves consistently drawn into the magnificent world Carpenter creates for us, and through his careful curation of iconic genre-based tropes that serve to be throwbacks to many great films that clearly inspired this film, he manages to create something extremely original and genuinely very exciting in terms of the form the film takes, which is just as integral as the storyline, since without a strong execution, the film would fall flat almost immediately.

About two dozen actors were working in Hollywood at the time that could have feasibly played the part of the unnamed protagonist in They Live, but yet Carpenter chose to go with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who had only made his debut as an actor a year before, and whose only other major credit to date was the lead role in the almost entirely non-existent, essentially underseen Hell Comes to Frogtown, which didn’t convey much in terms of knowing what to expect from him as an actor. Having worked in the industry for some time, Carpenter knew exactly what he was looking for, and Piper ended up being perfect for the role. The character, credited only as “Nada” (doubling down on his anonymity), is not one that required a skilled actor, or even one who approached the process with the intention of delivering much of a performance. Instead, it was one built on his hulking physicality and almost otherworldly sensibility – the protagonist is supposed to appear like he stepped straight out of the pages of a comic book, being some perfect example of a hero, albeit one that is not defined by his intellect but rather his impulses, something that the genuinely wonderful Piper manages to do very well without playing the character like a total airhead. The more complex work is done by a young Keith David, who plays the protagonist’s rival-turned-ally, and delivers a solid, nuanced performance as a man who wants a simple existence, but is drawn into the conspiracy and forced to confront the reality he witnesses with his own eyes. They Live is not a film known for its character-based storytelling, but in terms of both the leads and supporting players, the film is still very effective, particularly in how it uses archetypal characters as the foundation for a wickedly subversive genre film.

In the decades since its release, They Live has quite rightly been cited as a masterpiece, not only in terms of how it handles genre filmmaking, but overall as a satire that takes aim at political figures and how they all preach different ideologies, but are all united by their shared intention to control the masses. Perhaps it may not be as extreme as this film suggests (although many of us secretly wish that reality could be as easily explained as we see here), but there are kernels of truth scattered liberally throughout this film, which proves to be a much more engaging piece of cinema than many would expect, particularly in how the story resonates on such a fundamentally complex level, despite the off-the-wall premise that borders on absolutely absurd. It’s an excellent, subversive film with a lot of dark humour to help soften the more striking blows when it comes to the underlying commentary, and the general premise of the film is essentially to offer a thoroughly engaging depictions of an alternative reality, one in which we are quite literally enslaved by the same system that misleads us into believing that we have free will. There are reasons why They Live is studied in every sector, ranging from the arts to politics and existential philosophy, since the commentary is sharp, resonant and continues to speak to modern issues, proving just how we have barely progressed since the era in which this story was written, and showing that we are stuck in a cycle of repetition that isn’t showing any signs of abating, solely because we blindly obey without questioning, which may seem like an extreme assertion, but remains one that is extremely and undeniably very profound.