Great Film overall

Good movie but grossly overrated

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It always begins with the Wrong Gas Station. In real life, as I pointed out in my review of a previous Wrong Gas Station movie, most gas stations are clean, well-lighted places, where you can buy not only gasoline but groceries, clothes, electronic devices, Jeff Foxworthy CDs and a full line of Harley merchandise. In horror movies, however, the only gas station in the world is located on a desolate road in a godforsaken backwater. It is staffed by a degenerate who shuffles out in his coveralls and runs through a disgusting repertory of scratches, splittings, chewing, twitching and leering, while thoughtfully shifting mucus up and down his throat.The clean-cut heroes of the movie, be they a family on vacation, newlyweds, college students or backpackers, all have one thing in common. They believe everything this man tells them, especially when he suggests they turn left on the unpaved road for a shortcut. Does it ever occur to them that in this desolate wasteland with only one main road, it must be the road to stay on if they ever again want to use their cell phones?No. It does not. They take the fatal detour, and find themselves the prey of demented mutant incestuous cannibalistic gnashing slobbers, who carry pickaxes the way other people carry umbrellas. They occupy junkyards, towns made entirely of wax, nuclear waste zones and Motel Hell ("It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent's fritters"). That is the destiny that befalls a vacationing family in "The Hills Have Eyes," which is a very loose remake of Wes Craven's 1977 movie of the same name.The Carter family is on vacation. Dad (Ted Levine) is a retired detective who plans to become a security guard. Mom is sane, lovable Kathleen Quinlan. A daughter and son in law (Vinessa Shaw and Aaron Stanford) have a newborn babe. There are also two other Carter children (Dan Byrd and Emilie DE Ravin), and two dogs, named Beauty and Beast. They have hitched up an Airstream and are on a jolly family vacation through the test zones where 331 atmospheric nuclear tests took place in the 1950s and 1960s.After the Carters turn down the wrong road, they're fair game for the people who are the eyes of the hills. These are descendants of miners who refused to leave their homes when the government ordered them away from the testing grounds. They hid in mines, drank radioactive water, reproduced with their damaged DNA, and brought forth mutants, who live by eating trapped tourists. There is an old bomb crater filled with the abandoned cars and trucks of their countless victims. It is curiously touching, in the middle of this polluted wasteland, to see a car that was towing a boat that still has its outboard motor attached. No one has explained what the boat was seeking at that altitude.The plot is easily guessed. Ominous events occur. The family makes the fatal mistake of splitting up; dad walks back to the Wrong Gas Station, while the dogs bark like crazy and run away, and young Bobby chases them into the hills. Meanwhile, the mutants entertain themselves by passing in front of the camera so quickly you can't really see them, while we hear a loud sound, halfway between a swatch and a swatch, on the soundtrack. Just as a knife in a slasher movie can make a sharpening sound just because it exists, so do mutants make swatches and swatches when they run in front of cameras.I received some appalled feedback when I praised Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects" (2005), but I admired two things about it: (1) It desired to entertain and not merely to sicken, and (2) its depraved killers were individuals with personalities, histories and motives. "The Hills Have Eyes" finds an intriguing setting in "typical" fake towns built by the government, populated by mannequins and intended to be destroyed by nuclear blasts. But its mutants are simply engines of destruction. There is a misshapen creature who coordinates attacks with a walkies-talkie; I would have liked to know more about him, but no luck.Nobody in this movie has ever seen a Dead Teenager Movie, and so they don't know (1) you never go off alone, (2) you especially never go off alone at night, and (3) you never follow your dog when it races off barking insanely, because you have more sense than the dog. It is also possibly not a good idea to walk back to the Wrong Gas Station to get help from the degenerate who sent you on the detour in the first place.It is not faulty logic that derails "The Hills have Eyes," however, but faulty drama. The movie is a one-trick pony. We have the eaters and the ea-tees, and they will follow their destinies until some kind of desperate denouement, possibly followed by a final shot showing that It's Not Really Over, and there will be a "The Hills Have Eyes II." Of course, there was already "The Hills Have Eyes II" (1985), but then again there was "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977) and that didn't stop them. Maybe this will. Isn't it pretty to think so.

Yes, 'The Hills Have Eyes' is a good film. Doesn't that mean it's a classic? No, it's a remake. And, seeing as – seemingly – every film needs to remade/re-imagined or have Spock home back in time to create an alternate timeline, most of them fall nowhere near 'okay.' Therefore, remakes need to be judged through more lenient eyes, so it may not be a good film, but it's a damn fine remake! The plot from the 1977 original remains the same – a nice, happy family gets stranded in the middle of an American desert and is slowly picked off by the local mutants who generally want them dead for varying reasons. Nice and simple. The family must therefore fight to survive.And that's all there is to it. With a plot so simple, it could be great or it could fail. Luckily, the cast of actors save it. They work pretty well together and generally annoy each other (as most real families do). They bicker, they moan and get at each other, but ultimately come together to overcome a greater threat. Plus, most importantly, they don't make too many ridiculous judgements meaning they're the architects of their own demises. There's nothing worse than yelling at the TV screen to the protagonist because they're making ridiculous calls which simply further the plot. Here, the family do basically what we'd do in such a grisly situation.And it is grisly. First of all there is gore (and strong violence) aplenty. Not only are the kills pretty extreme, but the make-up on the mutated locals is suitably gruesome. 'The Hills Have Eyes' certainly isn't for everyone. Its strong gore and adult content will certainly put some people off. It's not for the squeamish, but if you like your horror films brutal and violent then this one is for you.

The Hills Have Eyes (2006) is a decent horror slasher remake flick from Wes Craven's classic film from the 70's. Don't get me wrong by my title when I said is better than the original, I like Wes Craven's classic horror film from the 70's, but Wes Craven ruined it, with a rushed unnecessary sequel. Watching this flick I must say I love this flick to death, much better than the original. It is my personal best horror remake of them all, the best one that Hollywood come up with it, this is just my opinion. It is more bloody, more entertaining and it has for more action than Wes Craven's original flick did. I love this flick and it is definitely in my favorite horror slasher films. The fact is: this film is well shot, well directed by Alexander Aja, has a good intensity to it, wonderful score by Tomandandy, a solid job by Aaron Stanford aka Doug (for me the acting of the leads, like Doug, in this version was way better than the original), and the ending was extremely thrilling. Great comeuppance of the mutants by Aaron Stanford. His fight against the mutants to save his baby was intense, brutal, bad ass, and was a hell of a fight. He deserved his victory. This film is a fast action packed horror flick that put's you on the edge of your seat. I recommend this film to any horror film fan, but it is not for everyone.Plot: A cross-country road trip takes a deadly turn in this chilling remake of Wes Craven's classic horror film about a stranded family that falls prey to a freakish clan of blood-thirsty mutants in the New Mexico desert. Packed with gut-wrenching gore and heart-stopping suspense, The Hills Have Eyes will keep you on the edge of your seat! I like the original, but it ends without any explanation, this movie does far way better, I like the changes Doug Bukowski (Aaron Stanford) was such a bad ass in this movie, far way better than the character was in the original. Pluto (Michael Bailey Smith) was a creepy horror slasher mutant in this film, unlike he was in the original. I like the music score by Tomandandy François-Eudes Chanfrault, which it was far way better score than in the original film was. Aaron Stanford for me in this film is a real bad ass no question debut. I also liked the actress in this film Emilie de Ravin who plays sister-in-law of Doug Bukowski, her acting was amazing, she was gorgeous and weary beautiful I love her to death. Mostly I remember her as Claire Littleton from Lost (2004).I know this film isn't a cult classics or potential classic, but for a horror flick, it is far way far better than the original and this film took my breath away. Dan Byrd also did a solid job as Brenda's brother Bobby Carter. You have also Ted Levine from Joy Ride, Tom Bower from Die Hard 2 (1990), Billy Drago from Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990) who plays another villain in this film and Robert Joy from CSI: NY (2005) as his beloved character Dr. Sid Hammerback. The cast is still great in this film and it have a solid cast. You have an explosion in this film, a lot of action, a lot of fights, the villains are really scary and not goofy like they were in the original.I like the scene when Doug then awakes in an icebox where the mutants keep the bodies of their victims and he bangs on the box until it opens, I love all bloody scenes and I love that Brenda, Bobby and of course Doug with his baby Catherine stays the family on the end of the film.Good horror films STICK WITH YOU. "The Hills Have Eyes" (2006) is such a film -- a masterpiece of horror. I saw it in on my computer 3 years ago and I never forgot it. It's bloody, grotesque, and very disturbing -- which, of course, make it a great film -- a film to be remembered (and heck, it's only a re-make)! The performances and the story are believable and shocking -- and really, that's what I want in a horror flick: I want realism -- otherwise, what's so scary? They spared nothing.Overral: I love this flick to death, It is my favorite horror flick and the best one in the remakes. It get's a solid 10 by me.The Hills Have Eyes is a 2006 American horror film and remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes. Written by filmmaking partners Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur of the French horror film Haute Tension, and directed by Aja.10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: 20th Century Fox, Dune Entertainment Major Studio Partners Starring: Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, Vinessa Shaw, Emilie de Ravin, Dan Byrd, Robert Joy, Ted Levine Director: Alexandre Aja Producers: Wes Craven, Peter Locke, Marianne Maddalena, Cody Zwieg Screenplay: Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur Based on The Hills Have Eyes by Wes Craven Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 48 Mins. Budget: $15.000.000 Box Office: $69,570,032

Switchblade romance was already a really stupid film who treat it's audience like idiots and this remake of the Wes Craven classic if less stupid is still quite moronic. Then again it's full of incoherences, it's heavy on symbolism, then again Aja has never been known for subtlety, but if it's the case don't do,symbolism or psychology and just go plain trash! The scene with killings with the American flag doesn't make any sense : the US army is after all responsible for the mutation of the bad guys. In the original the bad guys were characters , here they're just a freak show with no depth at all. The Wes Craven was really inventive in ways of killing people, the dragging of the bad guy with a rope and a car wheel, the python scene. Here it's just violent and pointless. The end is particularly bad, Ruby sacrifices herself, she could have pushed her dad but no she's jumps with him, in the original she saves the young dad using a python, that was bad ass. The bits where the guy is holding his phone to check if there's any network is phony, especially when they do it twice , that actor for that scene only should get an award for worst actor ever . I cannot believe people think that might be a better version than the original , the make up on the villains is so bad you can actually see the plastic, it's plain awful.