Summary

• The aliens in the comic version of John Carpenter's They Live, "Nada" were truly horrifying, and visually striking, depicted as writhing piles of organic matter, with an almost a Lovecraftian vibe.
• John Carpenter's film version intentionally toned down the aliens' appearance, in part to fit the movie's anti-capitalism theme, portraying them as hollowed-out humanoids rather than grotesque extraterrestrials.
• A potential remake of They Live could differentiate itself by embracing the body-horror and sci-fi aspects of the comic, and attempting to bring a version of its the wild design to life.

The aliens in the late 1980s They Live have an undeniably iconic look, but as it turns out, this was a radically toned down version of what it could have been. The film's comic book source material depicted its alien conquerors as wildly more grotesque and inhuman – something an inevitable remake of the movie should consider, in order to differentiate itself from Carpenter's classic.

Published in a 1986 issue of the Alien Encounters anthology magazine, "Nada" – written by Ray Nelson, with art by Bill Wray – is itself an adaptation of Nelson's earlier prose short story, "Eight O'Clock in the Morning," both of which would in turn go on to be adapted into They Live by acclaimed filmmaker John Carpenter.

The aliens depicted in the comic version of the story are truly horrifying, in addition to being visually striking in a different, but no less effective way than the design Carpenter ultimately went with for his movie version.

Bill Wray's "Fascinators" Are Truly Out Of This World

Dubbed the "Fascinators," "Nada" depicts the secret alien rulers of humanity as writhing piles of organic matter, a nearly indistinguishable mass of eyeballs, teeth, appendages, and seemingly even organs. These aliens are truly inhuman, in a way that almost borders on Lovecraftian. "Nada" is largely colored in dark tones, with jolts of color, with the vibrant and evocative design Fascinators providing the greatest contrast in color. Though John Carpenter created his own design for They Live's Fascinators for both practical and thematic reasons, Bill Wray's visuals could absolutely be brought to life in a modern retelling.

John Carpenter's redesign of the aliens for They Live intentionally gave them a the film's anti-capitalism theme. Carpenter's Fascinators look like humans who have been hollowed out by their need for wealth and power. This proved to be dramatically appropriate – but if and when a remake is produced, something that seems inevitable, the franchise's contemporary creative team may not necessarily retain Carpenter's themes. If not, they should strongly consider going back to an even earlier precedent, Bill Wray's Fascinators from "Nada."

"Nada" Presents An Utterly Extraterrestrial Threat To Humanity

The Fascinators from the "Nada" comic book adaptation of Ray Nelson's "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" are unequivocally extraterrestrial. John Carpenter insightfully extrapolated a socioeconomic and political meaning from Nelson's work, and while this was certainly latent in "Eight O'Clock," the driving force of the original 1963 story was pure existential horror. The protagonist becomes aware of a higher order of reality, a horror in itself, and then finds that the secret truth of the world is horrifying and malevolent. "Nada" furthers this with Bill Wray's artistic interpretation of the "Fascinators" as pure nightmare-fuel monsters.

A They Live remake, or more accurately, a fresh adaptation of Nelson's original concept, would be right to try to distinguish itself from Carpenter's beloved movie. By doubling down the body-horror possibilities of the story, and truly embracing the sci-fi aspect of the story, a contemporary retelling would be giving itself room to do its own thing, unlike if it attempted to return to Carpenter's design. The aliens from John Carpenter's They Live are fixed in the popular consciousness, but a potential remake offers the chance to bring the truly wild design from "Nada" to life.