John Carpenter's Films - Ranked From Worst To Best

3. They Live (1988)

Pros: Roddy Piper's greatest film role. Political message and clever subversion. Legendary alley fight scene

Cons: The alley fight scene could be at least fifteen minutes longer. Purposefully naff, 1950s style effects could irk some. Runs out of a steam a little towards the end

Overall: 'I'm giving you a choice: Either put on these glasses, or start eating that trash can'. How can you not love a film with dialogue like that?

They Live is cheesy, yes, but it also has a serious anti-capitalist political message. On top of that, it has humour, liberal amounts of action and a cracking central performance from recently-deceased WWE icon 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper.

One of the true highlights is the much-parodied alley fight between Piepr's John Nada and Keith David's Frank Armitage. Their scrap goes on for about five full minutes (without any score). A moderate success when it was released ($13 million on a $3 million budget), its reputation has grown significantly over the years. They Live is an eminently re-watchable film.