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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1988)
Reviews "They Live" Starring Roddy Piper and Keith David Directed by John Carpenter Rated R ★★★★ The “they” in “They Live” refers to those among us who are not actually human, although they look like us. John Carpenter’s new science fiction/horror film is an entertaining and utterly bizarre look at society. Professional wrestler Roddy Piper plays a drifter, known to us only as “Nada,” who discovers that the country is full of beings, the “they, ” who appear to be slowly taking over. The problem is, nobody is aware of these beings because they look exactly like humans. Well, on the surface, anyway. A resistance movement against “them” has developed sunglasses that distinguish real humans from the others. When we see the world from the perspective of someone wearing the glasses, the movie goes to stark black . and white. Those who are ' not human are revealed to be skull-faced monstrosities. Even worse, they’re in important positions: anchoring the news and on the police force. There’s even one on television talking about a “morning in America. ” When the glasses are j worn, the message of ' “them” is clear. Billboards, j magazines and other printed , matter become pages covered in large block letters: OBEY. DO NOT QUESTION AUTHORITY. SUBMIT. Piper, bearing a shotgun, goes on a rampage to wipe “them” out. He keeps the glasses on so as to distinguish who is human and who is not. He hooks up with the resistance movement to try to stop what appears to be an attempt to control the minds of everyone in America. The film’s only real fault is an overly long fight scene full of wrestling moves between Piper and co-star Keith David. Aside from this, the movie is great. Although this film may sound like some prime B- grade junk, “They Live” is a fascinating movie. As director of films such as “Prince of Darkness, ” “ T he Thing” and the original “Halloween,” Carpenter has demonstrated himself to be one of the greatest talents in horror, a genre all too often populated with directors who think the trick to scaring people is to show numerous close-ups of power tools mangling the human body. In “They Live,’’the horror lies in what you cannot see and are not immediately aware of. With the film’s references to mind control, one suspects Carpenter is telling us something about the world we live in today. With the movie’s references to who is one of us and who is not, the statements the presidential candidates were making on television about being one of us are cast in a new light. Review by Shane Hall Rating Key ***** — A classic. Not to be missed. *•***__ Excellent- ***— Some flaws, but good overall. ** — Fair. ★ — Elstinko. Photo byJayJanner Bad Mutha Goose, a funk sextet from Austin, performed at Brazos Landing Saturday night. Bad Mutha Goose Billy, vocals, harmonica; Paul, sampler, congas; Ryan, bass; Denia, vocals; Alvin, vocals; Tim, guitar. Brazos Landing, Saturday, Nov. 7 ★★★V2 A Bad Mutha Goose show delivers some serious funk with relentless rhythm that could make even the most inhibited dance their tails off. The Austin funk sextet brought their energetic show to Brazos Landing Saturday night, playing songs from their two self-titled records on the Fable record label. Bad Mutha Goose began their set just after midnight and the crowd received each song with boisterous applause. The band’s music is some of the hottest funk around, complete with the deep thuds of bass guitarist Ryan and the congas and adventurous sampling work of Paul. The sampler, for those who don’t know, is an electronic instrument that can be made to sound like just about anything. Bad Mutha Goose also v has some elements of rap and hip-hop in their sound, particularly in the rhymings of vocalist Alvin. There were some problems with the sound during the show. In fact, somebody accidentally pulled the plug once or twice. In the absence of sound, the members of the band led the crowd in clapping and chanting “find the power. ” But sound troubles or no, Bad Mutha Goose is one of the most exciting bands to come this way. They have the potential to do some great things. While Bad Mutha Goose had a great show that was well-received by the crowd, opening act Ignition did not fare so well. The band is a hardcore quartet from Washington, D.C. Ignition played an hour of mediocre thrash that was occasionally interesting, but mostly discordant and plagued by weak vocals. The latter is surprising since vocalist Alec MacKaye is the brother of Ian MacKaye, who fronted the D.C. hardcore band Minor Threat. Compared to other hardcore outfits from the nation’s capital, Ignition does not stack up as well. Review by Shane Hall Page 4/At Ease/Thursday, Nov. 10,1988