They Live poster

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Streaming data from JustWatch

They Live

1988 · Movie · 94 min
B

MEANRANK

73/100

Averaged across 12 ratings · 638K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 29 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

Google: Google retired the star ratings it used to show in search results, so this one no longer updates. More on where the numbers come from →

55–90 out of 100

Split

Lowest is Metacritic critics on 55, highest is Google on 90.

See the most agreed on films →
Compare Trailer

A drifter arrives in Los Angeles and discovers a pair of special sunglasses. When he wears them, he sees the world's true reality: black-and-white consumerist messages and a ruling class of skull-faced aliens who have infiltrated society and keep humans complacent through mass media. He joins a resistance movement to expose the conspiracy and shatter the population's subliminal conditioning.

Details

Released
4 November 1988
Country
United States
Language
English
Runtime
94 min
Rated
R
Budget
$4.0M
Box office
$13.0M
Awards
0 wins, 3 nominations

This title elsewhere

Roddy Piper

Roddy Piper

John Nada

Keith David

Keith David

Frank Armitage

Meg Foster

Meg Foster

Holly Thompsen

Peter Jason

Peter Jason

Gilbert

Raymond St. Jacques

Raymond St. Jacques

Street Preacher

Jason Robards III

Jason Robards III

Family Man

John Lawrence

John Lawrence

Bearded Man

Awards & nominations

See all 3 →

0 wins from 3 nominations across 2 ceremonies

International Fantasy Film Award 1988 Best Film John Carpenter Nominee
Saturn Award 1988 Best Science Fiction Film They Live Nominee
Saturn Award 1988 Best Music John Carpenter, Alan Howarth Nominee

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.