Friday night my entourage and I headed out to the local Regal Cinema to catch the opening of Alexandre Aja’s remake of Wes Craven’s 1977 horror classic “The Hills Have Eyes“.
“The Hills have Eyes” was Wes Craven’s second film. After the controversy of “Last House on the Left”, Craven’s career was on the line and this next film could have been the end of a very short run. Instead of adding to the negative press from “Last House”, “The Hills Have Eyes” marked a keystone in movie horror and has become one of the scariest movies of American film.
As always, when a remake is released I am very skeptical. I fear the bastardization of great films as much as anyone, especially when it comes to iconic films such as “Hills”. None the less, I was excited and the boys and I ventured out to the high school student filled theater with the hopes of being scared and grossed out as much as we were in high school.
It is important to note that we saw this in a packed theater on a Friday night. Normally I never go to the movies on a Friday -I’m to busy drinking in some pub-, you can often catch me at a Sunday afternoon show when the theater is solely occupied by my friends and myself. I feel that seeing the new “Hills” in this setting enhanced the overall experience. The frightened screams of 16 to 17 year old girls followed by twisted laughter from their dates placed me in just the right setting to enjoy the gore that much more.
Overall I felt the movie was done well. Aja stuck to the original story pretty closely with a few minor exceptions. For example; there were a few added family members hidden within the hills, and the background of these seriously demented mountain nomads was based on nuclear bomb testing completed by the government which mutated the inhabitants of the area. This didn’t bother me, and it made it possible to launch this story into modern day.
Gore! The gore-iffic effects were pleasing and I’m confident that many horror fans would agree. There’s just something about watching a grizzled towny blowing his face off with a shot gun entertaining and even more entertaining is being able to watch this action with no scene cuts. The cannibalism was limited. A short few scenes showing the inbred family chowing down on dog flesh and human organs wasn’t enough. The shock factor now a days is significantly higher than in the 70’s, and although displayed well I feel we could have seen more feasting of human body parts or perhaps some munching on a live victim while she was screaming in fear and agony -notice I state female, I think that would strike fear nerves more effectively-.
The characters themselves were satisfying. Each one had their own unique look and after each introduction you think to yourself “I wonder what the next one will look like”. Certain characters like Billy Drago’s Jupiter where hidden and didn’t have nearly enough screen time. While others who were relativly useless kept poping up and not truly making an impact.
Another small disappointment was a few instances of suggestive horror. One which comes to mind is the rape of the youngest daughter Brenda (played by Emilie de Ravin). While sleeping and unaware, two grotesque mutated mountain men hover over the soft young vixen, drooling and chuckling. When she awakes, they pounce, grabbing, touching, and pretty much just being disgusting. Reference is displayed that she is about to be raped by this horribly mangled version of a human man but then we are taken somewhere else, only to return asking ourselves “did that actually happen or did she get lucky?”. I personally would have made it abundantly clear what happened, perhaps showing more bare skin so we know clothes where removed, more gyrations and movements and even having her say something. I’m not into that sort of thing, but think of how horrifying it is to be raped, and then add this twisted wretched sloppy man into the equation and you’ve just freaked the crap out the audience.
The new “Hills” carries a number of jumpy moments -it got me like 4 times-, lots of gore -body parts and blood-, and a good supply of chilling and disturbing actions.
For fans of the original “The Hills have Eyes”, I think you will be happy with this new representation. For those who are new, Aja’s “The Hills have Eyes” is a fun horror coaster which will give you that tickle in your stomach and leave you feeling strange for enjoying such a story.
