Buy me a coffee
They Live (1988)
“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubblegum.”
They Live is a 1988 American science-fiction action thriller film written and directed by John Carpenter, and based on the 1963 short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning” by Ray Nelson. It follows an unnamed drifter played by Roddy Piper, who discovers that the ruling class are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to spend money, breed, and accept the status quo with subliminal messages in mass media.
They Live was a minor success at the time of its release, debuting #1 at the North American box office. It originally received negative reviews criticizing its social commentary, writing and acting. However, like other films of Carpenter, it later enjoyed a cult following and eventually became recognized as a largely underrated work.
They Live has also entered popular culture, and notably had a lasting impact on street art (particularly that of Shepard Fairey), while its near six-minute alley brawl between the protagonists makes appearances on all-time lists for best fight scenes.
DM Dave3 Fascinators (They Live Aliens) | New Monster For Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition
Fascinator
The aliens have a vaguely similar body structure to humans, enough that they can convincingly disguise themselves. However, they have blue skin, bulging eyes, and no lips. It is said that they adapted their bodies to look humanoid for the invasion of Earth, therefore what is shown in the movie might not be their true form or perhaps they just don’t have any and take the appearance of the dominant species of every planet they take over.
This alien species does not have a specific name; in the end credits of the movie two actors playing the aliens are referred to as “Male Ghoul” and “Female Ghoul”, while in the source material short story Eight O’Clock in the Morning and its comic book adaptation Nada (which the movie was based on) they are named the “Fascinators”.Fandom
Fascinator
Medium monstrosity, unaligned
Armor Class 11
Hit Points 9 (2d8)
Speed 30 ft.
| Str 13 (+1) | Dex 12 (+1) | Con 10 (+0) | Int 16 (+3) | Wis 12 (+1) | Cha 16 (+3) |
Skills Deception +7
Senses Pereception 11
Languages Common
Challenge Rating 1/4 (50 XP)
Innate Spellcasting. The fascinator’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). It can cast the following spells:
At will: disguise self
1/day: dimension door
Actions
Handgun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 50/150 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d6 + 1) piercing damage.