THE HILLS HAVE EYES PART 2

The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 Movie Review

Set seven years after the events of the original The Hills Have Eyes, this one has survivors Bobby (Robert Houston) and Rachel (Janus Blythe) heading a motocross team that has a race in the desert...the same desert where Bobby's family was butchered and eaten by Rachel, then known as Ruby, and her family. Bobby says no thanks, but Rachel leads a group of victims, and they soon come across the remaining cannibals. If you are a fan of the original film and are hoping this one lives up to what Wes Craven brought us in 1977, you'll almost certainly be disappointed. The story goes that this was in production, then shelved, and Craven moved on to create the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. After the success of that movie, production kind of came back together for this sequel, except Craven was told no more shooting could be done, and to throw something together with what he already had. There wasn't enough footage to make an entire movie, so the holes were filled in with a lot of flashbacks from the first film, including a dog flashback...seriously. Beast, the survivor dog from the first film, is back, and he has flashbacks from the first movie. 

"The year was 1977..."

Remember how the original movie was brutal, gritty, and so chilling it was uncomfortable at times? That's pretty much gone in this movie, traded for a more conventional slasher approach--worse, there are many elements of comedy thrown into this one. Along with the return of Blythe and Houston, Michael Berryman also reprises his role of Pluto, and we get the rematch nobody at all waited for when he faces off with Beast once more. There's really not a lot going for The Hills Have Eyes Part II--I dig any scenes with a desert setting, some of the death scenes are mildly interesting, and you have to love Berryman, but these alone are not reasons to watch this movie. It had been years since I last saw it, and I forgot just how uninteresting this movie is. Berryman said it's a bad movie, and Craven disowned it. That says everything you need to know about this flick. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 4

The Hills Have Eyes Part II Movie Trailer