The Hills Have Eyes Movie Review
When their vehicles have some issues, a family out on a road trip is terrorized by a group of cannibals in the middle of the desert. This 1977 Wes Craven film seemed almost lost over the years, and chances are, in the last 12 years, you've probably come across the 2006 remake more often than the original film. It's easy to understand why--unlike the remake, this movie was never meant for mass consumption--it is so gritty it actually stands out in a decade filled with gritty films, and was right at home in seedy side of town grindhouses and drive in movie theatres.
And a lot of the audience probably looked like this
The violence is fairly unrelenting in this movie, which is one of the things that will keep you going, even if the acting makes you want to turn it off. The character development is severly lacking--Craven does little to make you care about the victims, and in fact makes one or two so unlikable (especially Bob), you actually cheer when they meet their demise. The cannibal killers are a whole different story--Craven did a wonderful job with this group, making them despicable, disgusting, and easy to hate--everything a villain of this type should be, although I must admit, it's hard to hate Michael Berryman because, well, he's Michael Berryman.
"I told you no smoking!"
If you are familiar with the remake and not the original, one stark contrast is in the villains--in the remake they are much more mutated; in the original, they are more like derange inbred hillbillies in the desert--desertbillies? A whole lot of this movie is scene for scene similar to the remake, with less happening between the chaos and bloodshed. The shots are also very...interesting. I know The Hills Have Eyes is considered a classic, and I really wanted to like it more than I did--I respect how influential the film is, and completely understand why, but as a viewer, I found it too slow, too clunky, and the acting far too unbearable to love it.
On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6
The Hills Have Eyes Movie Trailer
