The Hills Have Eyes Review [2]
Posted by Chad Webb on 03.15.2006
You might think twice before traveling down a dirt road in the vast desert.
Aaron Standford: Doug Bukowski
Kathleen Quinlan: Ethel Carter
Vinessa Shaw: Lynne Bukowski
Emilie de Ravin: Brenda Carter
Dan Byrd: Bobby Carter
Robert Joy: Lizard
Ted Levine: Bob Carter
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Release Date: March 10, 2006
Running Time: 107 minutes
Rated R for strong gruesome violence and terror throughout, and for language.
It is nearly half way through the month of March and moviegoers are blessed, or maybe cursed, with yet another horror remake. This time around, director Alexandre Aja is at the helm as he finagles with Wes Craven's 1977 chilling tale of the same name, The Hills Have Eyes. His version succeeds with a quick glance, but fails if one stares. Hollywood has become obsessed with new horror adaptations because they are fairly inexpensive to make, and the public continues to drag themselves to the theater to watch the same dribble. However, other studios and filmmakers should take lessons on remaking horror films from the fiercely creative Mr. Aja.
The Carters are your standard family, and they decide to experience the sights of the desert, and travel down a long stretch of road. They stop for refueling at a rundown gas station, and when the owner questions them about their destination, he directs the family to a shortcut off the main road. Bob Carter (Ted Levine) is a retired police detective, who is about to start his own security company, while Ethel Carter (Kathleen Quinlan) is the common, thoughtful, and concerned wife and mother. Their oldest daughter, Lynne Bukowski (Vinessa Shaw), and her husband Doug (Aaron Stanford), are typical newlyweds, who are busy with a new child of their own. The youngest children are Brenda (Emilie de Ravin), who wants nothing to do with her parents, and Bobby (Dan Byrd), the goofy member of the family.
Things take a dramatic turn for the worse when their vehicle mysteriously breaks down on the shortcut. With no cell phone signal, and no one in sight, Doug and Bob split in opposite directions for help. Meanwhile, the ladies and young Bobby are occupied with the two curiously unruly dogs, Beauty and Beast. When Bobby finds Beauty dead and gutted after she ran loose through the hills, a series of events unfold that causes the family to wish they had never taken that shortcut. Little did the Carters know, but the desert land they broke down in was once a nuclear bomb-testing site for the U.S. Government. Those tests created a murderous bunch of bloodthirsty transformed maniacs that view the Carters as tasty prey.
The loyal horror fanatics might scoff at the gore offered here, and the women will be petrified of everything, but truth be told, The Hills Have Eyes has loads of horrifying goodies around every corner. As one of the heroes explores the territory of these mutants, he stumbles into a replica type village used by the government during their test bombings, and the houses come complete with mannequins. These scenes in particular were increasingly eerie as viewers are taken through various rooms where plastic bodies have been torn apart and stained by the remnants of atomic bombings. The unspeakable and horrendous images penetrate the mind with enough indescribable force to leave a lasting indentation.
There is no specific weapon of choice for these deformed humans. They will inflict shockingly disturbing violent acts with baseball bats, guns of all sorts, knives, axes, and much more. Although the monsters are revolting and daunting, their histories never sprouted from the soil. The film would have benefited greatly with some added exploration through the lives of these rampaging psychopaths, but unfortunately it just barely scratches the surface. Nevertheless, an understanding and even intriguing motive rears its gruesome head as acceptable. It's humorous at times because some of the villainous creatures resemble Slough from The Goonies.
Director Alexandre Aja is impressively terrorizing in his mainstream debut with dreadful and viciously cruel illustrations of brutal carnage and violent sadism. Aja remains cleverly close to the 1977 script from Craven, but he also takes the panic to a new level with inventive growth by means of scenery and plot development. What Aja highlights are the distortions of their faces, their warped and untamed brains, and the alarming and merciless look in their eyes as they prepare to eliminate the enemy. What this new filmmaker establishes is a sinister, spine-chilling, and severe form of gore that Craven could not make memorable. He transforms the grotesque abnormalities from demented, yet misunderstood, victims to an ominous influence. The Hills Have Eyes is a foreboding escalation and advancement from his 2003 flick High Tension, and in the modern horror genre altogether.
During the crucial climactic sequences, the score by tomandandy presented itself as insanely immature, and sometimes ridiculous. Seperately, tomandandy are Tom Hadju and Andy Milburn, who met at Princeton University. An occasional chill is felt when an unnerving guitar riff echoes across the desert wastelands, but those spots are too few in number. This vital aspect of the filming process could have propelled this film from a mediocre slasher fest, to a cult classic. On a more important note, expect a great and deserved featurette on the outstanding makeup department when this DVD is released.
Obviously people get killed in every horrible way possible, so that's really not a spoiler. With most horror films, the poor individuals that get blown to bits or cut to pieces early on are meaningless and stupid, but these characters are very likable indeed. I'm still unsure if that was an insistent purpose by Aja or not. Either way, it amplified the feeling of fear with horrific and grisly results.
Aja lacks on some character development, and is forced to stick in a couple of clichés, but his choice of relatively unknown performers was exposed as convincing and intelligent. The difference between this and the disaster remake, When a Stranger Calls, is the use of menacing imagery and suspense to induce the screams instead of predictable scares and absurd storylines. Aja proves that he wanted a prolonged existence for this version, instead of popularity for one weekend. It has very noticeable flaws, but rest assured, Alexandre Aja and company don't simply make one's hair stand on end, but cause your skin to boil.
The 411: I am not a big fan of horror. As a matter of fact, I hate almost everything that is released in this genre, but I was surprised to see that I enjoyed myself for the most part during The Hills Have Eyes. No, it is nowhere near perfect, but it is a worthwhile frightfest for those who love them. This definitely recommended for the interesting plot, creepy images, and even scary sequences of violence.
