Customer Reviews

The Hills Have Eyes (R)

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(69)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

This past weekend I saw film critic Roger Ebert and the other guy he does a show with talking about the worst films of 2006 (so far), and one of them on their list was The Hills Have Eyes (2006), which is actually a remake of a 1977 movie made by Wes Craven. Roger's biggest gripe seemed to be the film was too `by the numbers' (it is a remake), and he would have preferred more character development in the antagonists (Roger, they're radiated, grotesque, cannibalistic mutants...what else do you need to know?). Co-written and directed by Alexandre Aja (High Tension), the film features Dan Byrd (A Cinderella Story), Emilie de Ravin ("Roswell", "Lost"), Aaron Stanford (X-Men: The Last Stand), Kathleen Quinlan (Lawn Dogs), Ted Levine (Heat, "Monk"), and Vinessa Shaw (Corky Romano). Also appearing is Tom Bower (Die Hard 2), Robert Joy (Land of the Dead), Desmond Askew ("Roswell"), and Billy Drago (The Untouchables, Freeway).

The movie begins by telling us that between 1945 and 1962 the United States performed over three hundred atmospheric nuclear tests in the American southwest, and has yet to own up to the possibility of any negative genetic effects that may have resulted. Soon after we see some gooberment men in radiation suits performing various radiation checks in a desert in New Mexico, only to get seriously jacked by someone with a pickaxe. Following this bit of nastiness we see a large family traveling cross-country through the desert, stopping off at a dilapidated filling station in the middle of nowhere. There's Big Bob (Levine), his wife Ethel (Quinlan), their children Bobby (Byrd), Brenda (de Ravin), and Lynn (Shaw), her husband Doug (Stanford), their baby Catherine, two German Shepherds, two parakeets, and a partridge in a pear tree (a decent sized pool of potential victims is always appreciated)...anyhow, the old man (Bower), working the service station, lets Big Bob in on a shortcut, one that turns out to be anything but as Bob ends up crashing his Suburban into a giant rock after a mysterious blowout of all four tires. Big Bob and Doug try to go for help, each going in separate directions. Soon after Doug returns (he came up empty), the unpleasantness begins...you see, these here deserts are populated not only by snakes, coyotes, and scorpions, but also by hideously deformed, homicidal mutants with a hankering for fresh meat and a penchant for violence. Things get particularly nasty as Big Bob returns (sort of), comely Brenda makes some new friends, Bobby freaks out, some characters bow out of the production, and the mutants abscond with Catherine (babies are good eatin', I guess). As those remaining try to pull it together (the mutants said they'd be back), Doug, armed with a bitey dog and a baseball bat, goes off in search of Catherine and ends up finding a whole mess of trouble as he makes his way to mutant central...

Overall I thought this remake a very slick and intense entry in the survival horror genre, one that does get extremely messy at times, so if you can't stomach scene of extreme violence (the piercing of flesh with sharp implements, blood spurting, etc.), you might want to skip this movie (the unrated version has like two extra minutes of violence, bits originally cut to secure an `R' rating). One aspect I liked is the movie seemed to try and stay true to Craven's original, while adding a lot of extra material in terms of the mutants (here we get more of a back story as to who they were and how they came about). There were a couple of parts that did bug me though, the first being when Big Bob and Doug are preparing to go for help. Big Bob, a former police detective, gives Bobby a gun (supposedly Bobby's been trained in the use of firearms), and Bobby proceeds to joking point the gun at Doug. Now I've never handled a firearm, but I do know one thing...you never point a loaded weapon at someone unless you're willing to shoot them (I don't care if the safety is on). Not only that, but no one said anything, especially not Big Bob, who wasn't all that fond of Doug, but still...the other bit that annoyed me was when Big Bob got to the filling station and some stuff went down. At one point he begins firing blindly into the dark, which seemed really stupid and a waste of valuable ammunition, especially given he was supposed to be a hardened veteran of some police force...oh well...I did learn a number of things from this film including the following...

1. There are no shortcuts in the desert.

2. There's a real shortage of non-radiated, hot, young women out in the desert, making them extremely coveted.

3. Babies are juicy.

4. Desert mutants can imitate dog sounds really well.

5. Whiny cell phone salesmen are a lot tougher than I would have thought.

6. There are some serious economic opportunities to be had in opening a dentistry practice in the desert.

7. Dogs desire payback just as much as humans.

8. While years of exposure to atomic radiation can make you deformed and ugly as sin, it can also make you ridiculously strong and difficult to kill.

9. Bobby can't shoot for spit.

10. Doug, the guy who hates guns, wields that boomstick like a pro.

11. Nuclear test houses built by the military aren't all that solid.

12. Movie dogs will run off every chance they get.

13. Chevrolet Suburbans are quite roomy, enough so to store a few corpses.

14. Desert mutants are well organized.

15. Bobby might be able to run faster if he pulled his damn pants up.

16. Doug stole that `feigning helplessness and then jabbing a sharp implement in the foot of your attacker' bit from the movie True Romance (1993).

I thought all the performers did well, and I really liked how once things got going, the action rarely let up. I didn't really get too much into the amount of violence or many of the specifics within my review as not to spoil any of the shocks for those who haven't had a chance to watch the film, but know things do get nasty. I did see a few scenes taken from other films (besides the original film) scattered throughout, possibly indicating the writers influences, and perhaps they could have done a better job in not making their usage as obvious as it was, but then again the movie industry tends to be in the business of recycling, so it's probably best not to get too hung up on this aspect.

The picture quality, presented in widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic looks very sharp and the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio comes through clearly (it's also available in Spanish Dolby Digital Surround 2.0). Included are English, Spanish, and French subtitles, a commentary track with co-writer/director Alexandre Aja, art director/co-writer Grégory Levasseur, and producer Marianne Maddalena, a second commentary track with producers Wes Craven and Peter Locke (both of whom behind the original film), a `making of' featurette titled `Surviving the Hills', production diaries, and a music video for the song `Leave the Broken Hearts', by The Finalist.

Cookieman108

By the way, I saw on the IMDb that Alexandre Aja is signed up to make a sequel to this movie, scheduled for a 2007 release...I hope it turns out better than the sequel for the original film.

Well, I must admit to you that I was a bit skeptical about this movie. One of the reasons for this was the fact that the movie was a remake. With the constant stream of remakes pouring out of Hollywood lately, I was worried that this would just be another worthless movie, a remake of a movie that didn't need to be remade. And, while I did see promise for this movie in the trailer, I just didn't think that it would be as good as the original. The second reason for my skepticism going into watching this movie was because the original was directed by Wes Craven, arguably the greatest horror director ever. Nobody can match what he did with the original, can they?

Alexandre Aja, the director of the movie Haute Tension, stepped up to the plate to direct this remake. As a matter of fact, Aja was selected by Wes Craven to direct this remake, which Craven also produced. If you aren't familiar with Aja, I'd recommend that you check out Haute Tension, which was later released in the United States under the name High Tension. It was only the third movie that Aja had directed to that point and was, in my opinion, one of the best mainstream horror movies of 2005 and was the movie that got Aja noticed among the horror community, as represented by the fact that Craven hand-picked him to direct the remake. Haute Tension was a movie that didn't cave in to achieve a teenage audience, and for once, an idea that was truly an original. And, for that, I guess you could say the movie resurrected something that had been missing in horror movies since the release of The Ring in 2002...originality.

The opening begins in a setting that looks almost like Mars, where some research on the effects of nuclear weapons on the environment is being done. The story about the nuclear testing goes back to the period of 1943-1962, where the US supposedly tested nuclear weapons around the area of New Mexico. This form of testing was outlawed in 1962, but testing continued underground until 1992. Anyway, before the researchers can get their finish, however, they are all savagely and brutally murdered, starting the movie off very well.

The movie begins to slow down, however, as we join the Carter family on their trip to California. Big Bob Carter, the father and obvious leader of the family, played very well Ted Levine, decides that the family needs to see the desert, rather than driving on the highway all the way down to California. On their way through the desert, however, they are directed to take a shortcut by a gas station owner, in what is obviously a set-up, even if you haven't seen the original. Of course, they are sabotaged, their tires are popped, and they end up crashing the car into a rock, stranding them in the middle of the desert. It is here that the movie begins to pick up pace yet again, as Big Bob Carter and his son-in-law, Doug, played by Aaron Stafford, who also shines through with his role, begin to get into it a bit, showing their frustration and the obvious difference in their characters.

With the family stranded, the two go for help, and this leads up to the biggest scene in the movie, the scene where the mutants attack the family's trailer. This scene is directed very well, and shows the brutality and quickness with which the movie delivers it's fright. It begins with the family being taken away from the trailer when finding Big Bob tied to a tree, burning to death. As this is going on, Brenda Carter, played well by Emilie de Raven, is being raped by two of the mutants. The family comes back to the trailer after hearing their family member's screams, but this only leads to the Lynne, Doug's wife, and Ethel, Brenda's mother, being gunned down in what is a very quick scene. This scene just symbolizes what the movie is all about, nothing is really dragged out and all of it is just so blunt and to the point, which is what the original was.

The movie continues to pick up pace for the last half of the movie, as Doug goes in search of his baby, which had been kidnapped in the trailer scene. He reaches the mutants' town, which has a very cool look to it, and in his hunt for his baby becomes the unlikely savior of the film. At the beginning of the film he seemed like the last person that would be hunting down mutants, but his quest to get his child back shows two things. First, it displays the dramatic change in his character from the beginning of the film. This may have always been in him, but it took a situation this desperate for him to become the savior he is at the end of the movie. Second, it also shows what a parent will do when their child is in danger, to a very extreme extent, of course.

While I do agree that Aja may have had a bit of an advantage over Wes Craven in the fact that his actors were all a lot more experienced than in the original, it is still quite an accomplishment for him to create a remake that was just as good as the original, especially when the original was directed by Wes Craven. As a matter of fact, the acting wasn't even what I was truly impressed with. What really stood out for me was the environments that Aja created. From the beauty of the hills and desert around our characters to the grittiness of how our characters, especially Doug, looked at the end of the movie, after battling with the mutants. He just portrayed so much on-screen to us, through the bluntness of some of the death scenes, or through the obvious frustration and desperation that the family was feeling. He portrayed that all on screen and di it very well.

Through this movie, Alexandre Aja has solidified his name as one of the new premier directors of the horror movie genre. While I enjoyed Haute Tension, Aja's remake of The Hills Have Eyes proved to me that Aja knows what the horror genre is all about. This movie proved that he can hang with the legends of the horror genre and I must say, my skepticism eliminated, Aja's version of The Hills Have Eyes was just as good as Wes Craven's orginal.

I don't claim to be an expert about producers, directors, movies, and which remake is better than what remake. I just know I like horror--the new, more realistic kind AND the old cult classic kind--with all the accompanying gore common to this genre.

This movie has enough gore to satisfy even the most hard-core horror addict, but if you're at all queasy, this movie is not for you. But I loved it. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time; it was THAT exciting. The mutant, deformed killers, a product of government bomb-testing in the New Mexico desert, were masterpieces of make-up artistry ... what real monsters are supposed to look like. Terrifying.

The poor family who gets stranded in the desert are terrorized by these monsters, but they muster their survival skills and stand up to their attackers in true "movie hero" fashion.

Do they all survive? Of course not; this is horror, after all, and the more victims the better ...the more blood and guts the better.

The actors were well-suited for the roles they played, but I felt let-down by the non-closure at the ending. Then when I learned there would be a sequel ... well, that explained it. I can live with that.

This movie was filmed in 2006, and I saw it for the first time last night (on DVD). I told my son what I was watching and he told me the sequel is even better. I plan to run to the video store and enjoy back-to-back HILLS ... with a huge bowl of buttered pop-corn.

Join me, anyone?

Oh My God!!! I was very dubious about this remake as I wasn't that impressed with the original but two minutes into the film I realised I was in for something not quite normal. The suspense and gore in this unrated version is relentless and very in your face....not for the sqeamish and I must admit during the scenes where the family are being terrorised I was at the point of shedding tears. I watched this alone on my lounge room wall until the last quarter of the film where my Dad joined me. Even though he hadn't seen the first half of the film he sat riveted to the screen and I don't think he believed exactly what he was witnessing. Ten times better than "Hostel".....and ten times more graphic..

Enjoy

I can remember seeing the original The Hills have Eyes when I was younger, on its cinema release. Since then it has acquired a cult film status and has been a regular must see throughout the years in the horror section of Video Rental Stores. I was really curious to see what director Alexandre Aja would do with his remake. The net result is that he stays very close to the original in terms of plot but adds on more detail and background, to the point that the result seems more of a rebuild than a remake. I wonder if Wes Craven in his involvement in this remake actually had some input into the film itself. I say that because this film is so good that it could almost be the original director, revisiting his film and adding to it. However, don't let that observation detract from Aja's work as the director because believe me, he has made a superb horror film here.

As I have mentioned before, it stays very closely with the plot and sequences of the original film. The cast get well stuck into their roles, and some of them look eerily like the same characters in the original film too.

Aja gives the film a sun bleached look and brings the harshness of the desert environment to life superbly. At times the rocks themselves seem to emanate heat. The plight of the Carter family in this harsh environment is starkly realised, as is the terrifying nature of their assailants - the irradiated mutants.

The remake is even gorier than the original, and at times the pace of this film is breathtaking and relentless. Aja, however, gives us more detail than the original into the background of the mutants, and how they came to be the way that they are.

He also shows us that the horror genre can make serious social comment. The test dummies that are found throughout the houses of the mutants, can also be interpreted as the attitude of the then US Government towards its citizens at the time of nuclear testing....

The audience I saw the film with in the cinema were utterly engrossed in it from start to finish. For the most part they were completely silent, except when screaming and jumping at certain sequences. When leaving the cinema after the film had ended they were all talking among themselves about how good it was.

I was amazed at how good it was and the dvd will definitely be joining my collection.

If you have not yet seen this film then prepare to be chilled.

As a somewhat "jaded" horror fan (pardon the cliche)I can honestly say this movie kicked my ass. I watched this before I saw the original, and although I appreciate the gritty filmstock and grindcore mentality of Craven's work, I was far more entertained by Aja's slick update. As some have pointed out this movie does start relatively slow, although the acting and family interactions are more convincing and effective than in most horror films. The action begins with the family gathering around a nice bonfire, and man once it starts it does not stop. This movie is very violent, unrelenting, and brutal in a good way(probably won't phase you sick Cannibal Holocaust, Guinea Pig nerds). Unlike Hostel, the other decent horror movie released this year, this movie relies on old tactics of making the audience jump at both expected and unexpected moments. Based on one viewing this is one of my favorite horror movies of all time, and it is the kind of horror movie I like to watch. I'm sure some will complain that it relies on too many cliches(creepy gas station, deformed inbreds that won't die, people wandering off like idiots) but hey it is a remake--its got an excuse(Unlike the very similar, Wrong Turn, which I liked too). Definitely check this one out...you won't be dissapointed.

The Hills Have Eyes Unrated is a terrifying, viseral down spiral into Hell. This remake finally outdoes the original for its edge of the seat, nail biting horror. The story is fairly cloned from the original Wes Craven production from the 70s, but with Aja's bigger budget and acting veterans like Ted Levine (Monk), Kathleen Quinlan (A Civil Action), Dan Byrd (Mortuary) and TV's Lost castaway, Emilie de Ravin, it is worth it's wait in viewing. I cannot believe that fans of the original would be disappointed with this version in the least.

Those of you not familiar with the story: A wrong turn for a family travelling through New Mexico to get to California for vacation becomes a journey through Hell when they are waylaid by a family of cannibal mutants who survived nuclear testing in the desert. A true creep show that will keep the gore hounds satisfied. Enough said, make sure to rent it although it is much worth the price to own! Try to sleep after this one!

As a horror flick junkie,this is definately the best i've seen in quite sometime.It's one of those that totally freak you out-the kind i like-It kept me on the edge of my seat.Honestly,parts of this one made me QUEEZY !!

if you like horror,it's a must see.

The re-make of The Hills Have Eyes is a step back into the old school horror days. And that's a good thing. The film doesn't get bogged down in convoluted plot details as if every little thing has to be explained to the nth degree. Instead the story chooses to focus on the family so that we can grow to care for these poor schlubs and anticipate the horror that much more when it arrives.

The basic premise is this. A family is driving through the desert on a road trip vacation. They have an "accident" and are stranded in the middle of the New Mexico desert. Soon after the mutants start moving in. The fun goes from there!

This film is executed exactly as horror afficianados would want. If only more horror productions would follow this film's example. There's plenty of creepiness to tease viewers along early on as the story unfolds. And plenty of blood, guts and oh yeah, pick axes to satisfy the most hardcore gore lover! Surpisingly, the acting is quite believable and isn't too over the top making the horror that much more meaningful. We believe to a greater degree than usual that the vacationing family could be a real one. We are tempted to put ourselves in their shoes and ponder the frightening proposition that is before them. The pacing and editing is crisp and pushes the story along quite well most of the time. If you love gory horror this one is a winner. They did Wes Craven proud.

The hills may have eyes but they also have arms, legs, toes, fingers and other choice body parts. There is no point discussing a storyline since it is basically the usual bunch of idiots being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The switch is this time the wrong place idiots are the mutant cannibals themselves who refused to evacuate when they knew the government was going to be testing nuclear weapons nearby. They hid together in a nearby mine to no avail and now look as if someone smacked them in the face with a pick-axe, which coincidentally seems to be their weapon of choice.

A family soon to be known as "fresh meat" are traveling to San Diego by way of the New Mexico desert are tricked by an unhinged gas station attendant to take a "short cut". What the "fresh meat" family doesn't know is the attendant is actually the "fresh meat" pimp for the cannibals.

One of the potential menu items is sneeringly referred to by his father-in-law as a liberal and non-confrontational-in fact he has to smoke cigarettes behind his wifes' back but turns into Mad Max with a baseball bat when his baby daughter is kidnapped by the mutants.

The movie is more intense than scary but there are a few creepy jolts and the killings are gruesome and even more gruesome when the mutants get theirs'-but even the victory for the survivors seems suspect due to the movies reliance on the usual horror movie cliche-it seems to be over-but THEN.....