Unique artwork for John Carpenter (opens in a new tab)‘s 1988 sci-fi in which a drifter, played by wrestler Roddy Piper (opens in a new tab), finds a set of special sunglasses that reveal that aliens have taken over the earth and are subduing the general population through secret messages and signals. The film is famous for being the inspiration behind graphic designer Shephard Fairey (opens in a new tab)‘s famous OBEY (opens in a new tab) street art and clothing label, which is based on the hidden alien slogans only visible when the sunglasses are worn (opens in a new tab).

The film also features the infamous line “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubblegum.”, which you can watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab). There’s also the legendary fight (opens in a new tab) between Nada (Piper) and Armitage (Keith David (opens in a new tab)) that lasts over five minutes and was apparently proposed and choreographed by the two actors.

Note that the smashed human skull featured on this Japanese B2 has the word OBEY scrawled on the side. I also like the random ‘Intelligent Space Man’ text next to the skull.

Here’s the great original trailer (opens in a new tab).

See the other John Carpenter posters I have collected.