The Hills Have Eyes
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Written by: Alexandre Aja, Wes Craven, Grégory Levasseur
Starring: Emilie de Ravin, Kathleen Quinlan, Aaron Stanford, Dan Byrd, Ted Levine

It might seem fitting to begin this review with a rant about the neverending wave of horror remakes that have been plaguing theatres throughout the past few years. The thing is, The Hills Have Eyes is one of those rare occasions where I’m actually not so put off by the thought of a remake. I don’t hold Wes Craven’s 1977 original on any particularly high pedestal; it’s not that I don’t see it as a classic, but I do think it’s a classic that shows its age. And with an opportunity for a talented young director to give a fresh take on it, there was certainly potential for some tense and gory fun.

I should mention that I’ve only caught bits and pieces of the original The Hills Have Eyes, so I can only really compare in terms of style and not plot differences (of which I don’t think there are many). I also have yet to see Alexandre Aja’s High Tension, but from what I know about it, I am pretty sure that The Hills Have Eyes captures similar images of blood-soaked mayhem on screen.

For those who have no idea what this movie is about, The Hills Have Eyes centers around a family driving through a desolate New Mexico desert on their way to California. After being given fake directions by gas station owner, they end up miles away from the freeway driving down an unused dirt road. Their trailer mysteriously blows out its tires and they suddenly find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way of getting help. What they don’t know is that they are about to be ambushed by a bunch of cannibalistic mutant people who live in the hills surrounding the area.

The most obvious and talked about aspect of this remake is probably the violence, which has been increased significantly from the original. With this movie and Hostel being released within a few months of each other, one might assume that this is the “unfortunate” direction horror movies are taking nowadays. Some people take these movies as a form of copping out — incompetent directors using gore as an easy way to shock rather than truly scaring you. However, I don’t think either Hostel or The Hills Have Eyes use blood and guts as a crutch; both have a fair amount of suspense and skillful direction behind them.

In both cases there’s a slow build up before the movie hits its stride, and although the movies are bleak and downright disturbing at times, they both offer forms of retribution for the viewer. In this case, things don’t really get going until we hit the infamous “trailer scene”, at which point the movie unleashes its full clip of terror. This scene in particular is one of the most intense I have seen on the big screen, and it is uncomfortable to watch because of the combination of an implied rape, and a man burning to death. I believe they were forced to cut the scene down not for the sake of a rating, but just to make it watchable. Despite this fact, the scene is still excruciating and difficult to sit through.

While Hostel seemed to have a little more fun with its gross out factor, The Hills Have Eyes is slightly more serious and unforgiving. Part of the film’s intensity probably comes from the focus on a family unit with a baby involved, as opposed to just a typical bunch of teenagers out for a good time. There is a point in The Hills Have Eyes where the brutality crosses over into ridiculousness, where there is so much blood covering our protagonist that it is almost comical. Because of this I think the movie loses a bit of its edge by the time the credits roll.

Aja has an interesting way of shooting manic action scenes; he likes to use the high film speed look, (often seen in large scale battles such as the ones in Gladiator) adding to the chaos and confusion. There are also a couple neat moments where sudden camera movement is used as a scare tactic.

Perhaps my biggest complaint about The Hills Have Eyes is that it just kind of leaves you hanging. After the build up and the tension of the trailer scene, it’s basically a downhill ride. Even venturing into the heart of the evil was not as creepy as it should have been, and it felt somewhat anti-climactic. I suppose there was really nowhere else for the plot to go.

There’s a quick 2 minute intro to the movie that features some scientists being killed by hill people, and I felt that kind of undercut the movie’s ability to truly build suspense as well. No doubt it was added to please studio execs who felt there wasn’t enough action in the first 30 minutes, but it sort of spoils the surprise of what we’re up against (even though you don’t really see much). On the other hand, the movie’s opening credits were really cool, mixing pictures of mutations and old nuclear testing footage to set an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Perhaps one weakness of the movie is that the core concept itself, the paranoia of nuclear testing and radiation is not as prevalant now as it was back in the 70’s. So that might take away from some of the underlying fear in the film. The hill people in this movie still look pretty odd and creepy, but not nearly as real as the main actor from the original (who of course, is actually deformed in real life). That aspect of the movie did not feel as believable as one might have expected it to. There are also some slightly illogical things about the movie, the most obvious of which is the super genius dog that always happens to conveniently be in the right place at the right time.

In general, although it’s far from perfect, I’d say this new version of The Hills Have Eyes is a much stronger film — stronger in terms of production quality and stronger in terms of emotional impact. The acting is not the greatest, but it is good enough to carry the weight of the majority of the movie. I guess if 1 out of every 10 horror remakes ends up being this good, maybe — just maybe — it will all be worth it. — Sean

SCORE:

Recommended If You Like: Hostel, High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes (original), Wrong Turn