The Hills Have Eyes

This movie is near un-reviewable without comparing it to, of course, the original The Hills Have Eyes, but also, French director Alexandre Aja's last jump into the horror genre, High Tension. Many remakes and director follow-ups can stand alone, and this movie is no exception. However, the obvious combination of these two creative influences has to be referenced and can't really be taken from the movie. This is because:

A. Aja seems to have a very distinct style thus far that is seen in both movies, and

B. This movie very closely follows the plot of the original (it's interesting to note, that both movies had to be edited to escape the original NC-17 rating)

Speaking of plot, The Hills have Eyes has one of the most staple horror formulas of all time. A family gets lost in uninhabited area and ravaged by unsophisticated (understatement of the year) savages. However, Wes Craven (the producer of this movie, but more importantly, writer and director of the original), loves to turn his horror movies into great revenge flicks near the end, which gave this particular plot a nice original spin back in 1977. I get the feeling Alexandre Aja does as well. This movie is no different in that it is a near scene by scene remake of the original.

Oh Jesus! Did I just say "scene by scene remake"?! Horror fans rejoice. This is why the phrase "horror remake" is so common. People WANT to see a super low budget, gory drive-in movie from the 70's be remade with a tighter script, better actors, and more budget for gore. That's all. Don't wow us with new stuff. The only reason we gave Dawn of the Dead ANY respect is because it went SUCH a different direction that you could barely consider it a remake (plus the amount of brain matter spraying all over couldn't have hurt either). Anyway, this is exactly what Aja does. He successfully brings us the tone and shock value of the original, but with today's lowered violence standards he gives us some fantastic kills. If any of you saw High Tension you know exactly what I'm talking about. With the exception of an incomprehensible ending, that movie was magnificently bloody and suspenseful.

I can't even stop praising this movie. This is the horror remake to end all horror remakes. And don't worry about it being too scene-by-scene, because there's a slight change or two of character motivation and some added vengeance towards the end of the movie. We were allowed to have actual make-up for the bad guys and instead of making them a family of feral people, instead Aja gave them a society as warped as their faces.

The characterization is more intact, obviously the acting is better, and nowadays the blood and guts can be a little more in-your-face. Does this make the movie better than the original? Not necessarily, because the original still stands strong today and is barely dated. This movie, though, has the means to create something exactly the same, but original in its own right. It is like trying to compare Peter Jackson's King Kong to the original, (except The Hills have Eyes is much more parallel to its fatherly counterpart as far as plot, characters, and scenes.)

Ted Levine, of Buffalo Bob fame from Silence of the Lambs, gives a great performance, adding a little more depth to the hardass, retired cop, father. Aaron Stanford (who I just realized is Pyro from X2, seriously, I didn't recognize him at all) makes the son-in-law a bit more likeable than the original. The casting is spot on in recreating the types of characters audiences saw in the first one. Also, I'm proud to announce that the guy who played the airport janitor from Die Hard 2 is in this. Nothing special, I just always liked his character in that movie.

Alexandre Aja is a master of building suspense and providing us with gore, which is really what makes a good horror movie in my book. However, in this, he employs nearly all horror techniques. There are disturbing images, there are things that flash across the screen and make you jump, and there's just sheer brutality. As much as fans of the original did in 1977, I just wanted the pain to stop for this poor family, because the cruelty by these radiation-deformed hill people was unrelenting. You'll want to leave but be glued to your seat with fear and actual interest for the characters on screen.

Practically every "bad guy" death, no matter how gruesome, elicited a cheer from the audience. Everything bad that happened to a "good guy" elicited groans, shrieks, and jumps. This movie doesn't just do the original an honor; it is a truly proper updating of its predecessor. It's not necessarily a better movie, because the first was still very well-made given its budget and it was original, scary as hell, and an incredibly vicious movie. On the other hand, that doesn’t make it less creative because although very faithful, Aja puts his own unique spin on it. And seriously, I don't know who he's sleeping with in the MPAA, but between this and High Tension, it's hard to see this much revolting violence in any R-rating. Only other R-rated movie I know that measures up is Hellraiser.

Anyway, I just have to say, "Wow, oh wow. Run, do not walk to this movie." It's not Oscarworthy, nor

is this movie traditionally better than other films I've reviewed but given lower grades. However, The Hills have Eyes is perfect for what it was. Craven's masterpiece has been recreated in Craven's own image, and I like it. Aja is very adept at creating a certain atmosphere, and although this movie is slow to start, there's still a sense of impending doom. As soon as the mayhem begins, we're transported to a world of hopelessness and fear for the duration of the rest of the movie. I have two words for this movie: disgustingly terrific, and I'm buying it whenever it comes out on DVD"¦ end of story.

Movie Grade: A+ (no joke, A effing plus)

Synopsis:

A new take on Wes Craven's 1977 film of the same name, The Hills Have Eeyes is the story of a family road trip that goes terrifyingly awry when the travelers become stranded in a government atomic zone. Miles from nowhere, the Carters soon realize the seemingly uninhabited wasteland is actually the breeding ground of a blood-thirsty mutant family…and they are the prey.