They Live (1988)

An itinerant worker discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see society's corruption, greed and selfishness that is thinly covered by the superficial glossy veneer of 1980's consumerism.

Roddy Piper plays Nada, a nobody, an Everyman who thinks that if he works hard and does the best he can then everything will work out okay. Once upon a time this would have been true but the "greed is good" ethic of Reagan and Thatcher put paid to this and we've been struggling to pull ourselves out of the sewer ever since. You only need to look at that modern microcosm of society, the supermarket. Shopping trolleys/carts are not put back as "it's someone else's job", kids run riot, people shove past you without an "excuse me", there is no consideration for our fellow human beings, and without simple consideration and courtesy everything else starts to rot.

Excluding the final raid sequence, the film itself is well shot in widescreen. The soundtrack is a really nice slow blues riff that echoes throughout the film. Roddy Piper and Keith David are likeable heroes, Meg Foster still unnerves me with her spooky eyes, and then there's the fight scene between Piper and David. It's like a little film within a film, with it's own structure,rhythm, plot. It's just one of the finest fights ever filmed. The visual effects are excellent with chrome-eyed, skull-like alien faces, but my personal favourites are the black on white subliminal messages - they look so sharp and authoritative and terrify way more than any number of uber-rich, alien scumbags.

If there is a fault with They Live, I'd say it's with the final sequence. It's almost as if Carpenter needed to fill 10 minutes but ran out of steam. The same shot of a rifle barrel is used over and over again and it's just too damn long.

They Live is as relevant today as it was back in the eighties and next time you're out shopping please put your trolley away correctly!

Letterboxd Review

Residue (2015)

Part of an unnamed city is cordoned off and quarantined after the bombing of a nightclub on New Years Eve. Residue tells the story of a photographer, her boyfriend and a police detective's hunt for the real story behind the blast. Their investigation uncovers corruption, murder and the horrors of bio-warfare.

Although filmed in Leeds, Residue could be set anywhere. The lighting and set design owe a great deal to Blade Runner and the Cyberpunk books of the 1980's. This gives the city a near future Euro-Japanese feel, full of cold neon, noodle bars and Kanji road markings.

The photography is stunning and leaves most other TV series in the shade, and the simple plot hangs together well and leaves you wanting to know more. If there is one thing that lets Residue down it is the uneven performances.

An enjoyable mini-series and hopefully the start of something longer.

Starry Eyes (2014)

Hey, we're all stars... aren't we?

Starry Eyes starts with an examination of our unhealthy obsession with fame, celebrity, stardom and the darkness, filth and corruption that sits just beneath the thinly veneered gloss of Hollywood. How far will we go for validation and acceptance?

I loved the first half of the film but the second falls into its own pool of decomposing body-horror silliness, full of obvious metaphor and none of the subtlety of the first 40 minutes, but I guess they needed to pull the punters in somehow.

I think I would have preferred Starry Eyes if it was a 40's black & white film staring Bette Davis with (and this is the possibly only time you'll hear this from me) none of the gore!

Original letterboxd review

The Conspiracy (2012)

A below average faux documentary about the new world order, mithras worship etc.

I had no idea what I was about to watch as I didn't read the synopsis and assumed it was just a documentary. Then, in the first few minutes, we are introduced to an ageing conspiracy theorist in the usual grubby flat with iots walls covered in clippings. This is where my issue with this film started - all the clippings were of a uniform photocopier white and not the expected mixture of whites, yellows and brown aged newsprint - everything was too perfect, too clean, too... arranged. The film was paused while I checked and, yes, it was a mockumentary. Suspension of disbelief (hugely important in this type of film) was broken into little pieces and I just couldn't get into the film again.

I did continue watching and the rest was one telegraphed twist after another. Anyone that is surprised by the final scenes really needs to watch a few more thrillers.

A decent idea ruined in its execution.

Original letterboxd review