From Outer Space, They Live

John Carpenter makes movies that are out of the ordinary. Leave it to a filmmaker whose subjects have included a haunted car (Christine) and the island of Manhattan as a futuristic prison (Escape From New York) to come up with this one: evil free enterprisers from outer space starring with a former pro wrestler.

In his latest film, They Live, John Carpenter brings his unusual type of social commentary to the subjects of subliminal seduction through media, and the growing homeless population. The story turns the tables on exploitative first world societies by making Earth a "third world" planet, exploited by aliens who use the mass media to gain control. Posing as successful humans, the aliens corrupt the greedy to their cause, and control the rest through subliminal messages in the media. If allowed to continue, the aliens would deplete all natural and human resources, discard the earth like so much trash, and move on to another planet. John Nada, played by former pro wrestler Roddy Piper, slowly uncovers the insidious plot. He joins the underground movement, which is based in the ever-growing tent city for the homeless, Justiceville.

"They Live began three years ago with a comic book I bought called 'Nada'," recalls Carpenter. "It was published by Eclipse Comics, a company which puts out very beautifully rendered science fiction stories. This particular strip was taken from a short story called 'Eight O'Clock in the Morning' by Ray Nelson. In the story, this guy wakes up and realizes that the entire human race has been hypnotized, and that there are creatures among us. I became entranced with the story, but I felt that it should be updated. I thought that it might be more current if the guy woke up and realized that the Reagan Revolution was run by aliens from another planet."

This eccentric, yet topical premise remained a seed in Carpenters fertile imagination while he made Prince of Darkness. But when Carpenter paid a recreational visit to Wrestlemania III, the seed germinated. There he met "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, professional wrestler and future star of They Live.

"My idea of a male hero is based on a person, a very close friend of mine, that I knew when I was growing up,"...