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1 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 7/29/2009
Two classic John Carpenter films, both have their ups and downs but ultimately I'd have to go with The Thing.
on 8/15/2009
I love both of these. THE THING is undoubtedly higher in my rankings, but THEY LIVE is fried gold. A friend of mine *claims* to have come up with the sunglasses gimmick while working on a Carpenter movie and is pissed to this day that he didn't receive story credit, but whatever... a classic.
on 9/17/2009
I think both are cool movies. The Thing was executed very well. Tons of great old school effects. They Live has many problems. It is a movie that I think might benefit from being remade.
on 10/7/2012
John Carpenter is simultaneously underrated and overrated. His movies are like what would happen if your not-quite-there-in-the-head estranged dad or uncle got some "deep", "out there" idea and somehow scored a studio deal.
on 1/8/2013
I just finished watching They Live, and it's awesome. I think I like it more than The Thing, but they're both solid movies. I should rewatch The Thing; it's probably the better film of the two, but eh, I thought the first half was kind of boring in places.
They Live has one of the most hilariously long fighting scenes I've ever seen in a movie. Keith David kicks ass in both of these. I'll probably go with The Thing. Those special effects are still better than most of the ones in today's movie age.
on 11/23/2015
They Live is awesome, but ultimately it has a share of problems. My least favorite Carpenter movie, it just waste some time. It's a lot of cheesy fun, and a great social commentary, but that's all. The Thing isn't my favorite nor his best; but actually it works very well as chilling sci-fi cult classic. The visual effects, as mentioned above, are some of the coolest. And, it's not Roddy Piper and Keith David, it's KURT RUSSELL and Keith David. They Live is a lot of fun, but isn't brilliant, nor filled with fantastic ambiguity. Both equal awesome soundtracks.
The Thing is top notch. They Live is hilarious in parts but the first third was really slow and had no jokes that I can remember.
on 8/8/2016
Keith David is the shiznit, even if I fall short of loving either of these. Anywho, The Thing wins. Closest I've come yet to truly digging a Carpenter flick.
on 9/11/2016
Both absolutely fantastic classic films. The Thing is stronger, tho.
on 8/12/2017
Both amazing John Carpenter films. But I'd have to go with The Thing just for the use of practical effects
