About this episode

The episode discusses the political implications and cultural significance of John Carpenter's film 'They Live'.

Ben and Rob intercept the frequency in John Carpenter's They Live (1988), starring Roddy Piper as a man with nothing, Keith David as a man with just enough left to lose, and an entire ruling class of skull-faced aliens doing their most convincing work in business suits. What begins as the story of how a six-page pulp story from 1963, written by a man almost nobody has heard of, adapted into a comic nobody much read, ended up in the hands of a furious filmmaker who wanted to give the finger to a sitting president slowly develops into something considerably larger; a conversation about the collision of rage, resourcefulness, and sheer unlikely chemistry that produced one of the most politically precise films Hollywood has ever accidentally greenlit and whether a B-movie with a four-million-dollar budget and rubber alien masks is secretly one of the most important documents of the twentieth century. And finally… what does it really mean? CONSUUUME to find out all this and much, much more! PLUS we have a Patreon with EXCLUSIVE content just for you starting at less than £2 a month - Click the link below! Find us on your socials of choice at www.linktr.ee/everymovieeverpodcast

People in this episode

Hosts: Ben Groves, Rob Macfarlane

Topics covered

• political commentary
• B-movies
• film analysis
• sci-fi
• cultural critique

Keywords

• They Live
• John Carpenter
• Roddy Piper
• political film
• B-movie
• sci-fi
• cultural critique

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: John Carpenter

Books & works: They Live

More episodes of The Every Movie Ever! Podcast

• Spiderman 3 (2007): With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility AKA The Franchise Killer · July 19, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Snakes On A Plane (2006): The Best Thing To Come Out Of WWII... AKA Snakes Together Long · July 12, 2026 · 56 min
• Spiderman 2 (2004): Why Is This The Stickiest Superhero Movie? · July 5, 2026 · 57 min
• Spiderman (2002): Don't Come In Aunt May... · June 22, 2026 · 56 min
• Sunlight (2024): It's A Mentally Able Episode · June 14, 2026 · 56 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Every Movie Ever! Podcast podcast page.