They Live: Critic Reviews

58%

MovieWeb: 0 reviews

89%

Rotten Tomatoes: 38 reviews

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Janet Maslin New York Times (Top Critic)

40

Credibility isn't the problem with John Carpenter's They Live... but execution is.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Richard Harrington Washington Post (Top Critic)

The plot for They Live is full of black holes, the acting is wretched, the effects are second-rate.
Full Review » 13 years ago
Dave Kehr Chicago Tribune (Top Critic)

75

They Live is the looniest movie of the season and also one of the most engaging.
Full Review » 7 months ago
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader (Top Critic)

50

All in all, an entertaining (if ideologically incoherent) response to the valorization of greed in our midst.
Full Review » 6 years ago
Variety (Top Critic)

A fantastically subversive film, a nifty little confection pitting us vs them, the haves vs the have-nots.
Full Review » 6 years ago
Michael Wilmington Los Angeles Times (Top Critic)

80

The joke is in the material; the idea itself is funny and daring. And some time soon, They Live suggests, with grim, knowing wink, the joke may be on us.
Full Review » 7 months ago
Eric Melin Scene-Stealers.com

75

They Live is a paranoid thriller that stretches a paper-thin budget with inventive special effects that serve the story and a message that still holds water today.
Full Review » 5 months ago
Lisa Williams Electric Sheep

Carpenter sweeps aside political preaching to allow the film to finish on a note of humour when the aliens are finally revealed for what they are.
Full Review » 7 months ago
Dennis Schwartz Ozus' World Movie Reviews

75

A loopy movie that got its messages right.
Full Review » 1 year ago
Film4

They Live is thought-provoking while maintaining its B-movie credentials.
Full Review » 5 years ago
TV Guide's Movie Guide

88

An erratically amusing throwback to the science-fiction paranoia films of the 1950s.
Full Review » 6 years ago
Derek Smith Cinematic Reflections

75

Carpenter's ability to fuse the bawdy humor and action with an intelligent script make for a genre film that is both thoughtful and entertaining
Full Review » 7 years ago
Stefan Birgir Stefansson sbs.is

88

great cult flick
Full Review » 7 years ago
Geoff Andrew Time Out

The black-and-white visuals disturb for only so long, and while themes of indoctrination and conspiracy prove initially intriguing, the film quickly descends into fistfights and gunfire.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily

60

Full Review » 8 years ago
Kevin Carr 7M Pictures

80

An excellent Carpenter film, if you can get past the fight scene.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com

60

Full Review » 8 years ago
Thomas Delapa Boulder Weekly

40

Full Review » 8 years ago
Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness

The loopiest, and coolest, entry in the director's canon.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Mark Palermo Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

60

Full Review » 8 years ago
Kevin N. Laforest Montreal Film Journal

80

Full Review » 8 years ago
Luke Y. Thompson New Times

80

Kicks ass and chews bubblegum -- metaphorically speaking.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Andy Klein Los Angeles CityBeat

80

Full Review » 9 years ago
Daniel M. Kimmel Worcester Telegram & Gazette

60

Full Review » 9 years ago
Christopher Null Filmcritic.com

90

Piper is easily the star of the show, making They Live Carpenter's best film -- I don't care what you say.
Full Review » 10 years ago