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