Master of fright, John Carpenter directs this entertaining and darkly humorous horror film. Roddy Piper plays Nada, a down-on-his-luck construction worker who stumbles upon a special pair of sunglasses that reveal an awesome global secret--the ruling elite of the world are actually aliens in disguise, their aim being to keep humans in a state of mindless consumerism.
Wearing the glasses, Nada is able to see the secret messages behind all advertising, and he is capable of discerning which normal-looking people are in fact ugly aliens in charge of the campaign to keep humans subdued.
Now, the battle is on to free the human race from this secret, subliminal tyranny! Good fun filled with genuine chills and scares and a bitingly satirical assault on our consumer culture, "They Live" is one of Carpenter's finest achievements.