A blue-collar worker ('Rowdy' Roddy Piper) discovers X-ray specs
which reveal that extremely ugly aliens are taking over the world with
subliminal advertising. The best of John Carpenter's films since The
Thing, this shouldn't work at all but does, as a chipper, sprightly,
try-it-on sci-fi romp with hints of intelligence and satire (against
Reaganite consumerism). Bouncily comic and appealing after a
slightly lethargic opening, it boasts one fantastic line (like a lot of
Carpenter's films): "I've come to chew bubblegum and kick ass,
and I'm all out of bubblegum." Exactly!
