They Live is a 1988 American science fiction action horror film[b] written and directed by John Carpenter, based on the 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson.

Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster, the film follows a drifter[c] who discovers through special sunglasses that the ruling class are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to consume, breed, and conform to the status quo via subliminal messages in mass media.

[9][2] The film has also entered the pop culture lexicon, notably having a lasting effect on street art (particularly that of Shepard Fairey).

Nada, a homeless man, comes to Los Angeles, California in pursuit of a job, where he spots a preacher warning that "they" have recruited the rich and powerful to control humanity.

He finds employment at a construction site and befriends his coworker Frank, who invites him to live in a shantytown near a church and meets their community leader Gilbert.

A hacker takes over TV broadcasts, alerting that humanity is "their cattle" and the only way to unfold the truth is to shut off the signal at its source.

They are given contact lenses to replace the sunglasses, and learn about the aliens using global warming to make Earth's atmosphere similar to their homeworld, while depleting its resources for their own gain.

Mistaking them for new recruits, he gives the pair a tour of the facility, where the aliens broadcast a signal that prevents humans from identifying them and their hidden messages.

President Ronald Reagan's economic policies—also known as Reaganomics—and what Carpenter viewed as increasing commercialization in both the popular culture and politics of the era.

[e] The idea for They Live came from a short story called "Eight O'Clock in the Morning"[17] by Ray Nelson, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in November 1963, involving a protagonist, George Nada, and an alien invasion in the tradition of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which Nelson, along with artist Bill Wray, adapted into a story called "Nada" published in the Alien Encounters comics anthology in April 1986.

"[10] Carpenter was impressed with Keith David's performance in The Thing and needed someone "who wouldn't be a traditional sidekick but could hold his own.

They Live was shot in eight weeks during March and April 1988, principally on location in downtown Los Angeles, with a budget only slightly greater than $3 million.

[18] They Live was theatrically released in North America on November 4, 1988, and debuted at #1 at the box office, grossing $4.8 million during its opening weekend.

[20] The film's original release date, advertised in promotional material as October 21, 1988, had been pushed back two weeks to avoid direct competition with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

The website's critical consensus reads: "A politically subversive blend of horror and sci fi, They Live is an underrated genre film from John Carpenter.

[21] In his review for the Chicago Reader, Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote, "Carpenter's wit and storytelling craft make this fun and watchable, although the script takes a number of unfortunate shortcuts, and the possibilities inherent in the movie's central concept are explored only cursorily.

"[22] Jay Carr, writing for The Boston Globe, said "[o]nce Carpenter delivers his throwback-to-the-'50s visuals, complete with plump little B-movie flying saucers, and makes his point that the rich are fascist fiends, They Live starts running low on imagination and inventiveness", but felt that "as sci-fi horror comedy, They Live, with its wake-up call to the world, is in a class with Terminator and RoboCop, even though its hero doesn't sport bionic biceps".

[6] In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "Since Mr. Carpenter seems to be trying to make a real point here, the flatness of They Live is doubly disappointing.

"[23] Richard Harrington wrote in The Washington Post, "it's just John Carpenter as usual, trying to dig deep with a toy shovel.

"[25] The 2012 documentary film The Pervert's Guide to Ideology, presented by the Slovene philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek, begins with an analysis of They Live.

Shepard Fairey credits the film as a major source of inspiration, sharing a similar logo to his Andre the Giant Has a Posse campaign.

[31] The 2013 video game Saints Row IV features an extended parody of the film with Roddy Piper and Keith David voicing fictionalized versions of themselves in a recreation of the fight scene between Nada and Armitage.

[35] The film is noted for a popularly quoted line spoken by Nada: "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.

[41] In 2014, Universal Pictures released They Live on DVD along with The Thing, Village of the Damned, and Virus as part of the 4 Movie Midnight Marathon Pack: Aliens.

[43][44] In 1996, while promoting Escape from L.A., Carpenter revealed that he'd always wanted to make a sequel to They Live as it's one of his favorite films, but was never able to get interest or financial backing for the project.

The project eventually shifted away from being a direct remake of They Live, to a re-adaptation of "8 O'Clock in the Morning" with intents of abandoning the satirical and political elements of the original movie.