Time: 106 Minutes
Age Rating: R18 – Graphic violence & sexual violence
Cast:
Aaron Stanford as Doug Bukowski
Kathleen Quinlan as Ethel Carter
Vinessa Shaw as Lynn Carter-Bukowski
Emilie de Ravin as Brenda Carter
Dan Byrd as Bobby Carter
Tom Bower as Gas Station Attendant
Billy Drago as Papa Jupiter
Robert Joy as Lizard
Ted Levine as ‘Big’ Bob Carter
Director: Alexandre Aja

When The Hills Have Eyes is often mentioned or brought up, its usually the remake that’s being referred to as opposed to the original film, which is impressive considering that the 70s film was directed by Wes Craven. Having seen the original however, its pretty clear that it was far from Craven’s best; very much an early career above average horror flick, but it was nonetheless impressive in some ways. I was curious as to how the remake would fare and personally, it was definitely an improvement.  

The plot points of 2000s The Hills Have Eyes are largely the same as the 70s film, the story is still about a family who are attacked by mutated cannibals in a desert. But it does add some new elements and some welcome changes into the mix, and it deviates in some ways in the third act. It trades out the campiness of Wes Craven’s film, and leans even further into the griminess and brutality. For what its worth, the 2006 film is far more scary than the original. There is a feeling of such dread throughout and effectively creates a tense horror experience.

Another area in which the remake improves over the original is with the acting, there are some strong performances, especially seen in the actors for the central family. The acting for the family of cannibals are equally good and they are effectively scary.

Alexandre Aja’s direction is strong, it constantly feels sleazy and grimy and an excellent atmosphere is built up. The cinematography is great, utilising the desert landscapes very well. As I said, the brutality is definitely upped in the remake, and it absolutely delivers on that aspect. The violence and gore are far more extreme, it’s definitely doing this for extra shock value, and these scenes are fittingly horrific. The great makeup and effects are also deserving of a lot of praise.

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) is a deranged, intense, gruesome, and greatly directed and performed horror film, which improves on the Wes Craven original. Honestly you don’t need to watch the 70s version first, you could jump straight to this version, if you can stomach it.