The Hills Have Eyes

Rating:
Summary: Crazy Cannibal Clan Cause Catastrophic Campout...
Review: The Carter family are on their way to a silver mine, under the guidance of patriarch / retired-cop "Big Bob" Carter. This is his idea of a vacation. Well, he drives them into the desert, only to get lost and run off the road. The car undrivable, The Carter's are stuck in the middle of a wasteland. Thay have a trailer full of food and drink, two german shepherds (named Beauty and Beast), two pistols, ammo, and there are seven Carters (including a baby). They'd be just fine if it weren't for the family of cannibals preparing to swoop down and wipe them out! THE HILLS HAVE EYES is a survivalist nightmare, loaded with creeping dread. The Jupiter clan is small but deadly. They are extremely vicious and conditioned to steal, kill, and eat to stay alive. The Carters are typical american suburbanites on a holiday; soft, civilized, and totally unaware of danger. When these two families meet, it appears to be no contest, as the Carters begin dropping like blowflies. Papa Jupiter (James Whitworth), and his family (including Michael Berryman in the role that made him infamous as Pluto) see the Carters as their next big feast. However, once the murder and mayhem have taken their toll, the remnant of the Carters strike back, in ways that are equal to, if not more extreme than the evil they've endured. Even Beast goes on a rampage after Beauty is killed. The heroic canine offs two of the horrific hayseeds all by himself! The tables definitely turn in surprising ways. This movie was made way back when Wes Craven was scary. It's terror lies in the fact that it is believable. Both families seem real. Check out Dee Wallace (E.T., The Howling, Cujo, Critters) as the oldest Carter daughter. Highly recommended...

Rating:
Summary: Crazy Cannibal Clan Cause Catastrophic Campout...
Review: The Carter family are on their way to a silver mine, under the guidance of patriarch / retired-cop "Big Bob" Carter. This is his idea of a vacation. Well, he drives them into the desert, only to get lost and run off the road. The car undrivable, The Carter's are stuck in the middle of a wasteland. Thay have a trailer full of food and drink, two german shepherds (named Beauty and Beast), two pistols, ammo, and there are seven Carters (including a baby). They'd be just fine if it weren't for the family of cannibals preparing to swoop down and wipe them out! THE HILLS HAVE EYES is a survivalist nightmare, loaded with creeping dread. The Jupiter clan is small but deadly. They are extremely vicious and conditioned to steal, kill, and eat to stay alive. The Carters are typical american suburbanites on a holiday; soft, civilized, and totally unaware of danger. When these two families meet, it appears to be no contest, as the Carters begin dropping like blowflies. Papa Jupiter (James Whitworth), and his family (including Michael Berryman in the role that made him infamous as Pluto) see the Carters as their next big feast. However, once the murder and mayhem have taken their toll, the remnant of the Carters strike back, in ways that are equal to, if not more extreme than the evil they've endured. Even Beast goes on a rampage after Beauty is killed. The heroic canine offs two of the horrific hayseeds all by himself! The tables definitely turn in surprising ways. This movie was made way back when Wes Craven was scary. It's terror lies in the fact that it is believable. Both families seem real. Check out Dee Wallace (E.T., The Howling, Cujo, Critters) as the oldest Carter daughter. Highly recommended...

Rating:
Summary: "We have seen the enemy, and they is us!"
Review: The DVD release of the THE HILLS HAVE EYES should have longtime horror fans in a state of paroxysmal nirvana. A genre favorite from the 1970s, this gem from the early career of writer/director Wes Craven--arguably one of contemporary horror's most interesting auteurs--has garnered an admirable cult following since its initial release.

Though most critics rightly cite Wes Craven's SCREAM series as his commercial magnum opus, it would be difficult to deny that THE HILLS HAVE EYES is one of the best and most original of his early films. In terms of commercial and professional development, Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT would most likely be cited as the seminal piece that forged the path towards A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and, specifically, the highly successful SCREAM trilogy; but in terms of personal artistic expression, psychological self-reflection, and pertinent social commentary, THE HILLS HAVE EYES is Craven's creative and aesthetic pièce de rèsistance.

As a cinematic work of literature, the film functions as a biting satire of the ease with which "civilized" humans can eject moral values and social accoutrements when it is expedient to do so. As a horror film, THE HILLS HAVE EYES not only provides a heaping dose of scares, but it is also raw and unrelenting in its use of repulsive imagery, intense emotion, and savage violence to drive home its satirical theme.

The film is also notable for providing early roles for two thespians destined to become genre regulars. THE HILLS HAVE EYES marked the first high-profile professional appearance on celluloid of Dee Wallace (a.k.a. Dee Wallace-Stone), better known to genre fans for starring roles in later films such as THE HOWLING, CRITTERS, CUJO, and ET: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. And it introduced horror fans to Michael Berryman, an actor whose unique cranial deformities have given him the opportunity to play everything from STAR TREK aliens to demons to ambulatory cadavers, and all with a minimum of additional make-up.

To put it succinctly, THE HILLS HAVE EYES is a must-see for any serious fan of horror cinema, and Anchor Bay's DVD release is a must-own for Wes Craven fans.

Rating:
Summary: Before SCREAM, before ELM STREET there were THE HILLS...
Review: The editorial review for this film says HILLS HAVE EYES is "highly recommended for Craven completists"- which again causes me to ask: When the heck can NZer's get to legally see LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT?, especially with the much anticipated FREDDY VS JASON coming soon (to NZ) which sees LHOTL's Writer/ Director Wes Craven (ironically, a former Professor of Humanitarian Studies) & Producer Sean Cunningham's famous characters going one on one- isn't that a sure sign for LHOTL to be reclassified R18? OK, enough of my liberal rambling & on to the review.
Wes's next cult hit (which he also wrote) was THE HILLS HAVE EYES, which has to be one of the scariest movies I've seen. Bar none. It's not technically brilliant or anything, but in terms of the scare factor HILLS is up there with the best of 'em.
The premise is pretty basic: The Carter family are heading away on vacation when their car & trailer are run off the road in the desert when swerving to avoid hitting a cute little bunny rabbit. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, little do the Carters know they are being watched by a redneck cannibal with a walkie talkie, who memorably & menacingly purrs into the radio: "They's done gooooood! Easy pickin's now!" No more cornbread an' buttermilk for these yokels no mo'! Yee haw! To celebrate; the Entree on their menu is Beauty, the family dawg.
With their car temorarily out of order, Fred Carter (John Steadman) an ex-cop who served 25 years on the Force; & son Doug set off to on the long trek to get help, leaving the rest of the family behind at the mercy of the cannibals.
When Fred reaches the township, he meets an old man who recounts the tale of his wife giving birth years ago to a baby boy who "was ten pounds & hairy as a monkey". Fred learns that Junior's leisure pursuits extended to killing dogs, biting off chickens heads & burning down the family house. So the old man did what had to be down: he bashed in the mutant's face with a tyre iron & left it in the middle of the desert to die. Junior survived & met a lovely hairy cannibal girl & soon there was a whole family of mutant cannibals roaming the desert, among them mama Ruby (Janus Blythe), Mercury (Arthur King) & of course who could forget Pluto? (played by cult fave Michael Berryman). Must've seemed like a good idea at the time.
Now Pappy's scared that "the devil boy's grown up to be a devil man". Then as soon as he finishes speaking, a cannibal conviently leaps through the window & stabs him to death....
Meanwhile the rest of the family find themselves fighting for their lives & a bad situation gets even worse when the mutants kidnap their baby with the intention of eating it. But I won't elaborate any further because that will just spoil everything.
Craven has made a geniunely frightening movie which is not for all tastes, with subject matter including numerous taboos like cannibalism, incest & infanticide; but in my opinion that's what makes the film all the more terrifying. THE HILLS HAVE EYES is a must-see for horror fans; though people of a nervous disposition are advised to pass on this one. Try and avoid the sequel, best categorized as a lesser remake which is mainly just comprised of flashback footage from #1 and was probably only released in 1985 (after being shelved for two years) to cash in on the success of ELM ST. Proof that you (usually) can't beat the original.

Rating:
Summary: Before SCREAM, before ELM STREET there were THE HILLS...
Review: The editorial review for this film says HILLS HAVE EYES is "highly recommended for Craven completists"- which again causes me to ask: When the heck can NZer's get to legally see LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT?, especially with the much anticipated FREDDY VS JASON coming soon (to NZ) which sees LHOTL's Writer/ Director Wes Craven (ironically, a former Professor of Humanitarian Studies) & Producer Sean Cunningham's famous characters going one on one- isn't that a sure sign for LHOTL to be reclassified R18? OK, enough of my liberal rambling & on to the review.
Wes's next cult hit (which he also wrote) was THE HILLS HAVE EYES, which has to be one of the scariest movies I've seen. Bar none. It's not technically brilliant or anything, but in terms of the scare factor HILLS is up there with the best of 'em.
The premise is pretty basic: The Carter family are heading away on vacation when their car & trailer are run off the road in the desert when swerving to avoid hitting a cute little bunny rabbit. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, little do the Carters know they are being watched by a redneck cannibal with a walkie talkie, who memorably & menacingly purrs into the radio: "They's done gooooood! Easy pickin's now!" No more cornbread an' buttermilk for these yokels no mo'! Yee haw! To celebrate; the Entree on their menu is Beauty, the family dawg.
With their car temorarily out of order, Fred Carter (John Steadman) an ex-cop who served 25 years on the Force; & son Doug set off to on the long trek to get help, leaving the rest of the family behind at the mercy of the cannibals.
When Fred reaches the township, he meets an old man who recounts the tale of his wife giving birth years ago to a baby boy who "was ten pounds & hairy as a monkey". Fred learns that Junior's leisure pursuits extended to killing dogs, biting off chickens heads & burning down the family house. So the old man did what had to be down: he bashed in the mutant's face with a tyre iron & left it in the middle of the desert to die. Junior survived & met a lovely hairy cannibal girl & soon there was a whole family of mutant cannibals roaming the desert, among them mama Ruby (Janus Blythe), Mercury (Arthur King) & of course who could forget Pluto? (played by cult fave Michael Berryman). Must've seemed like a good idea at the time.
Now Pappy's scared that "the devil boy's grown up to be a devil man". Then as soon as he finishes speaking, a cannibal conviently leaps through the window & stabs him to death....
Meanwhile the rest of the family find themselves fighting for their lives & a bad situation gets even worse when the mutants kidnap their baby with the intention of eating it. But I won't elaborate any further because that will just spoil everything.
Craven has made a geniunely frightening movie which is not for all tastes, with subject matter including numerous taboos like cannibalism, incest & infanticide; but in my opinion that's what makes the film all the more terrifying. THE HILLS HAVE EYES is a must-see for horror fans; though people of a nervous disposition are advised to pass on this one. Try and avoid the sequel, best categorized as a lesser remake which is mainly just comprised of flashback footage from #1 and was probably only released in 1985 (after being shelved for two years) to cash in on the success of ELM ST. Proof that you (usually) can't beat the original.

Rating:
Summary: True Art!
Review: The Hills Have Eyes is a true representation of cinematic art at it's best. No digital effects or blue screens. Just gritty violence. Just what Hollywood should be!

Rating:
Summary: One of Wes Craven's best films.
Review: The hills have eyes is without one of Wes Craven's best films. It is only toped by Last House On the Left. Like Last House this was a shocker for its time. Suspensful and terrifing story about a family stranded in the deseret who are attacked by a family of cannibals. The gore is quite good and the story is also quite disturbing. A great film.

Rating:
Summary: Snack Preparation for Those Lengthy Roadtrips
Review: The Situation: While on your way to California with two married couples, two teenagers, a couple of dogs, and a baby in a tow, you all decide to trek off-the-beaten-path in search of a Silver mine to commemorate that same milestone in one of the couple's married years (although I'm sure how much say the dogs or the baby would have to say on the matter). The problems involved that should possibly warn you away for this plan of action are: (1) you don't know where you're going, (2) there seems to be some sort of military firing range in the area where you are headed that, on occasion, seems to have jets flying over it (3) a scary hillbilly warns you not to deviate from the road with a plight that should be listened to, (4) nobody in your car can use a map correctly, (5) the driver, when provoked, could either: (a) react by getting angry, accelerating the car and wrecking it, or (b) have a heart attack because he's old and apparently prone to violent outbursts - despite his doctors recommendations about that, and (6) there's a little group of cannibals ferally living amongst the sands. Still, traveling on sees the wise thing to do, doesn't it? Well, doesn't it?

Well, as any good movie driver would do when confronted with these difficulties, the words of warning are ignored and turning back is never optional, situation (a) occurs when the driver is messed with, and the car finds itself with an axis snapped out in the middle of nowhere. Worried about the heat and how to stay alive while setting in such a lovely spot, the group sends out two human tendrils to see if they can find help. Unfortunately for them, they find themselves wrapped up in a little more than they bargained for. This, of course, leads to a few little problems with the mentionable horror number (6), the oddities living in the middle of nowhere and apparently surviving on barter, dog, and the occasional baby that happens to wander across their path.

With The Hills have Eyes, there are some pros and some cons involved in this presentation that do not, no matter what anyone says, present that much gore in the process (a pigeon dying is perhaps the bloodiest thing I can recall off the top of my head). First, there are a few issues with the acting that typifies this type of B-movie outing and many Wes Craven movies for that matter, sometimes hurting the storyline because of a lack of literacy and emotive conveyance. This convolutes the movie in places it shouldn't, making the victims seem a little less victimized and the heroes seem a little less heroic, with the exception of the frightening cannibals living in the dune. They, by and far, seemed to have it in for the tenderloin of youth they seem to crave throughout the movie. Also, the pace is hit-or-miss, either pushing itself too slow with presses of character development that kick the crutches out from under the movie in crucial points or deaths that are dwelled upon for no reason by characters that don't seem bound to them, making their portrayal seem almost heartless when the moment obviously is meant to express something more. Again, however, the friendly clan from the dunes seem to defy that in some brutishly comical ways, showcasing for their admiring fans exactly "how its done" in a storyline that isn't too terribly copycat in a genre that suffers from that little woe. Lastly, the aging of the movie can be considered a pro or a con, depending on what you think about pieces set in the past. For myself, I really find no horrid problems within it, but some do.

That said, however, it still isn't that bad of an outing for someone who hasn't seen it before. If anything, one valuable lesson that is overwhelming apparent is this can be learned: When on your way to California on your "Silver Wedding Anniversary," never deviate through an area filled with military might and always carry at least five guns on you just in case the driver your with doesn't read this review! Semi-recommended, but only to those looking for a cannibalistic way to pass their desert survival days!

Rating:
Summary: A little off the beaten path...
Review: This flick scared the fecal matter outta me as a thirteen year-old babysitter late one night back in the seventies. Haven't seen it since but would jump at the chance... The 3-star rating is just a guess and may be overly rosy as I couldn't tell bad acting from good at that age, of course.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT CRAVEN FILM
Review: This is a GREAT Craven film! As an early effort on a shoestring budget this film does what alot of horror films dont, it scares you!!! Its a "could happen" type of film and brings it home with some disturbing scenes etc. If you are a fan of films like the "texas chainsaw" series or "Wrong Turn" then you'll eat this one up.