Starring: Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, Martin Speer, Dee Wallace-Stone,
Russ Grieve, John Steadman, James Whitworth, Virginia Vincent, Lance
Gordon, Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Cordy Clark, Brenda Marinoff.
Directed by: Wes Craven
Story: A family going to California accidentally goes through an Air Testing
range closed to the public. They crash and are stranded in a desert. They are
being stalked by a group of people, which have not emerged into modern times.
Review:
Before Wes Craven created the masterpiece known as A Nightmare On Elm
Street, he made a few other talked about horror films including the Last House
on the Left and the Hills Have Eyes. Many critics described Last House as brutal,
realistic and tragic in many forms. Last House built up a reputation for Wes,
but it would be in his later projects that would truly give him the title master of
terror. In 1977 Wes Craven released 'The Hills Have Eyes'. A film with a
puzzling story and realistic approach to civilization in which I will get to later in
this review. Shot in a budget between $275,000 to $325,000, Craven terrified
an audience without showing a lot of blood and die hard gore. Instead he used
suspense to scare viewers and it worked out very well. The Hills Have Eyes was
one of the most suspenseful films that year of its release, featuring a family
who are being tormented by a mutated/cannibalistic family who live in the
desert hills. The Hills Have Eyes is a true landmark in the horror genre.
In the Hills Have Eyes we fallow a family who are on a road trip to California.
Along the way their cars pulls off the road and breaks down in the middle of the
desert. Soon after that they are being haunted and slowly killed off by the
Planet family. A group of mutated individuals who live uncivilized in the hills of
the desert. While the family is being tormented by these cannibals they come
up with ways to fight back and defend themselves in hope of surviving and
saving the ones they love most. When I look back at it the plot and overall idea
was pretty original for its time. We've seen other films similar to it but it
doesn't have the same approach or message in the end. The Hills Have Eyes is
a different kind of horror film. Using suspense to shock an audience and it does
a great job of that. When the film was first rated it received an X rating. It
wasn't as much of the blood and gore but the suspense that caused it to
receive an X. It's the suspense and music which make it seem realistic,
horrifying and tragic in some parts. It's not as strong or as edgy as Last House
on the Left, but it's damn near close.
The film has a fair amount of blood but very little gore. This is mostly due to
the films low budget. In this movie we are introduced to a great cast of actors.
It's surprising to hear what these actors had to go through, filming out in the
desert running around in the rocks and having to withstand all the cold nights.
I thought the acting was great, it made the look and feel of the movie realistic
and it really caught my attention seeing all these different characters trying to
handle all of these violent situations. As the film progresses you'll notice a
change in some of the characteristics of the people in the film. Half of the
characters in this movie are normal and the other half are well, different. I
thought they did a pretty good job casting actors who were odd looking but
very warm spirited groups of people. This helped out especially with the films
low budget. Normally you would take an actor and sit them down on a makeup
chair to give them a less than normal look, but they just couldn't do that with
this movie. So instead we are treated with natural and great on screen
performances by Lance Gordon, Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Cordy Clark,
Brenda Marinoff and a cameo by producer Peter Locke.
If the film had a bigger budget you can just imagine how much more they could
have done with the look of the characters. What impressed me the most about
this was its overall message about civilization. You ever notice not just in films
but also in real life that people will go out of their way to do whatever they can
to protect a loved one? I think that aspect is greatly shown in this film. Not
only does the family in this picture fight back but you start to see a turn, or
switch between the character roles. Eventually the hunters become the hunted
and with the ending it showed you that the most civilized can be the most
savage. Although I did like the message in the ending I thought the film could
have went on a little longer. The movie just seemed to end very fast and when
it did end I was puzzled saying to myself "is that it?". I thought the ending
could have been longer or at least included some more scenes to show what
happens later with the characters who survived.
Overall I thought the Hills Have Eyes was a good movie. It's a horror classic
which relies on it's suspense to terrify an audience. For me the films setbacks
were with the budget. It would have been nice to see more blood and gore, and
even a better look with some of the characters. I also thought that there could
have been much more to the ending. Those were my only real big problems
with the film. Other than that I loved the story and cast of characters. The
acting is good and the suspense is well done, especially with the films music.
This is a horror film that I will always remember and enjoy watching. It's an old
film but it's not all that outdated. I was most impressed with the story and
message about civilization. For me the good definitely out weighs the bad and I
had a good time watching the Hills Have Eyes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall: 7/10
Russ Grieve, John Steadman, James Whitworth, Virginia Vincent, Lance
Gordon, Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Cordy Clark, Brenda Marinoff.
Directed by: Wes Craven
Story: A family going to California accidentally goes through an Air Testing
range closed to the public. They crash and are stranded in a desert. They are
being stalked by a group of people, which have not emerged into modern times.
Review:
Before Wes Craven created the masterpiece known as A Nightmare On Elm
Street, he made a few other talked about horror films including the Last House
on the Left and the Hills Have Eyes. Many critics described Last House as brutal,
realistic and tragic in many forms. Last House built up a reputation for Wes,
but it would be in his later projects that would truly give him the title master of
terror. In 1977 Wes Craven released 'The Hills Have Eyes'. A film with a
puzzling story and realistic approach to civilization in which I will get to later in
this review. Shot in a budget between $275,000 to $325,000, Craven terrified
an audience without showing a lot of blood and die hard gore. Instead he used
suspense to scare viewers and it worked out very well. The Hills Have Eyes was
one of the most suspenseful films that year of its release, featuring a family
who are being tormented by a mutated/cannibalistic family who live in the
desert hills. The Hills Have Eyes is a true landmark in the horror genre.
In the Hills Have Eyes we fallow a family who are on a road trip to California.
Along the way their cars pulls off the road and breaks down in the middle of the
desert. Soon after that they are being haunted and slowly killed off by the
Planet family. A group of mutated individuals who live uncivilized in the hills of
the desert. While the family is being tormented by these cannibals they come
up with ways to fight back and defend themselves in hope of surviving and
saving the ones they love most. When I look back at it the plot and overall idea
was pretty original for its time. We've seen other films similar to it but it
doesn't have the same approach or message in the end. The Hills Have Eyes is
a different kind of horror film. Using suspense to shock an audience and it does
a great job of that. When the film was first rated it received an X rating. It
wasn't as much of the blood and gore but the suspense that caused it to
receive an X. It's the suspense and music which make it seem realistic,
horrifying and tragic in some parts. It's not as strong or as edgy as Last House
on the Left, but it's damn near close.
The film has a fair amount of blood but very little gore. This is mostly due to
the films low budget. In this movie we are introduced to a great cast of actors.
It's surprising to hear what these actors had to go through, filming out in the
desert running around in the rocks and having to withstand all the cold nights.
I thought the acting was great, it made the look and feel of the movie realistic
and it really caught my attention seeing all these different characters trying to
handle all of these violent situations. As the film progresses you'll notice a
change in some of the characteristics of the people in the film. Half of the
characters in this movie are normal and the other half are well, different. I
thought they did a pretty good job casting actors who were odd looking but
very warm spirited groups of people. This helped out especially with the films
low budget. Normally you would take an actor and sit them down on a makeup
chair to give them a less than normal look, but they just couldn't do that with
this movie. So instead we are treated with natural and great on screen
performances by Lance Gordon, Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Cordy Clark,
Brenda Marinoff and a cameo by producer Peter Locke.
If the film had a bigger budget you can just imagine how much more they could
have done with the look of the characters. What impressed me the most about
this was its overall message about civilization. You ever notice not just in films
but also in real life that people will go out of their way to do whatever they can
to protect a loved one? I think that aspect is greatly shown in this film. Not
only does the family in this picture fight back but you start to see a turn, or
switch between the character roles. Eventually the hunters become the hunted
and with the ending it showed you that the most civilized can be the most
savage. Although I did like the message in the ending I thought the film could
have went on a little longer. The movie just seemed to end very fast and when
it did end I was puzzled saying to myself "is that it?". I thought the ending
could have been longer or at least included some more scenes to show what
happens later with the characters who survived.
Overall I thought the Hills Have Eyes was a good movie. It's a horror classic
which relies on it's suspense to terrify an audience. For me the films setbacks
were with the budget. It would have been nice to see more blood and gore, and
even a better look with some of the characters. I also thought that there could
have been much more to the ending. Those were my only real big problems
with the film. Other than that I loved the story and cast of characters. The
acting is good and the suspense is well done, especially with the films music.
This is a horror film that I will always remember and enjoy watching. It's an old
film but it's not all that outdated. I was most impressed with the story and
message about civilization. For me the good definitely out weighs the bad and I
had a good time watching the Hills Have Eyes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall: 7/10
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rated: R
Country: USA
Year: 1977
Runtime: 89 minutes
Studio: Anchor Bay
IMDB Page
Amazon Page
Rated: R
Country: USA
Year: 1977
Runtime: 89 minutes
Studio: Anchor Bay
IMDB Page
Amazon Page
Online since: February 20th, 2006
Review done by: Nightmare Child
