cult classic horror movies of the eighties that, at one point and for some reason, was involved in remake discussions. One of the most perplexing attributes of the now-defunct project was to shift the focus from social commentary to more psychological horror, a move that would have distanced the film so much from its predecessor that it makes one wonder why Hollywood would even bother to use the term "remake."
John Carpenter's bitingly-edged satire is a wonderfully offbeat combination of science-fiction, horror, action, and comedy, a scathing critique of Reaganomics that managed to embrace a sense of fun and goofiness while simultaneously pointing out the ills of free-market capitalism. The film, about a pair of glasses that reveal subliminal messages beamed by extraterrestrials that order people to consume and conform, became a symbol of political activism and inspired artists well beyond the realm of film. Shepard Fairey's distinctive "OBEY" street art, for example, is particularly recognizable regardless of familiarity with They Live.
Carpenter loosely based the film off of a short story called "Eight O'Clock in the Morning," written by sci-fi author Ray Nelson in 1963 and later adapted in illustrated form in 1986 with artwork from Bill Wray. However, the source material is a brisk tale of psychological paranoia that may or may not be a figment of the protagonist's imagination, quite different than the definitive alien takeover in They Live. There aren't any glasses here, just a possibly disturbed man who "wakes up" while participating in a public hypnotism and sees reptilian creatures telling him to "obey the government." As a result, the short story is significantly darker, ending with the main character murdering a newscaster and dying of a heart attack himself.
A Remake of They Live Shouldn't Ignore the Original's Themes
All the way back in 2010, producer Eric Newman (who also worked on the 2011 prequel to John Carpenter's The Thing) and writer and director Matt Reeves (who is now busy with the The Batman) were in discussions about making another adaptation of "Eight O'Clock in the Morning," meaning that a remake might have happened. The basis of They Live isn't necessarily unviable as a movie, it's just that it would be strange and confusing at this point to revisit the material and name the remake "They Live." The film is so synonymous with its themes and messages that drastically changing what made it meaningful is bound to end in disappointment.
There's certainly merit and respect to the idea of Newman and Reeves choosing to avoid replicating the magic of the original. In fact, if the project does end up getting resuscitated, a more faithful adaptation following a more psychological premise might actually make the proposed story more interesting. It's just that this theoretical movie shouldn't be labeled as a remake, or even adopt the same title. If it does, then it might do a disservice to the original film, turning viewers' heads away from that urgent message that made They Live such a punk rock, blue-collar, anti-establishment work of satirical art.
