The Hills Have Eyes

Year: 1977

Director: Wes Craven

Written by: Wes Craven

Threat: Psychopath

Weapon of Choice: Snake

Based upon: Original

IMDb page: IMDb link

      The Hills Have Eyes

Other movies in this series:
The Hills Have Eyes Part II

Rish Outfield's reviews
This was extraordinarily well-made. I'm sure it cost less than a trip to the lingerie shoppe, but it didn't look it.
A big family (and their two dogs) on a cross-country journey happens upon a scared old man who warns them not to take the "scenic" dirt road through the desert. Of course they do, and they pay a nasty price. You see, there's something of a pack of wild hill people out there, intent on robbing, killing, and doing god knows what else to those unfortunate souls who happen into their blood-stained territory.
Directed by a young and impressionable Wes Craven, I was terrified that "Eyes" would be in the same vein as Last House On The Left, which was so grim and depressing, it made Seven look like The Journey of Natty Gann.
Luckily, I found it so much lighter and so much more watchable, that I didn't even feel I had to justify myself in liking it. It wasn't a laugh riot, or one you'd want to watch every Kwanzaa, but so much better than my expectations that my praise is mile high. The characters were pretty realistic (as usual, I related to the most useless, cringing of the characters) and the action sequences were clever and exciting. Like I said, it was cheap, but that actually made it better. The dogs were a nice touch, and one of them produced one of the most gruesome wounds ever! Mr. Craven is one of my favourite directors, and unlike his earliest work, this one was legitimately entertaining (something he'd guarantee even in such bad films as Deadly Friend, The People Under the Stairs, and Vampire in Brooklyn). It was disturbing and scary, especially since the story was told in a way that hinted that evil not only COULD win, but probably would. And the thought that someone would steal your newborn baby, not to raise as their own, but to EAT. . . well, that just unsettles me beyond words (they call the child "tenderloin"). Here was another example of a film where I never even considered wanting the villains to win.
I'd Recommend It To: Now, this film isn't for everyone. Sometimes it gets really unpleasant. But if you like that sort of thing, I think you'll appreciate The Hills Have Eyes as I did.
Note: If I ran the world, Michael Berryman would get lots of girls. But who knows, he may already.
Posted: January 12, 2001

The tyranist's thoughts
I've long been a Wes Craven fan but have neglected to search out this, his second film. No special reason, it was just never at the top of my list. That and the fact that I find the cover image for this one particularly creepy.
So we have yet another story of a family that lives out in the middle of nowhere and likes to kill, rape, and or eat innocent passersby. It really doesn't deviate from the formula that much and since it is a formula that I particularly don't enjoy, you can guess what I thought of the movie.
I have to admit that it wasn't all bad and didn't leave me with the sick feeling that Last House on the Left did. There are a couple funny bits, a few inexplicable bits and a lot of normal killer stalking victims, victims try to strike back type stuff.
See it for yourself. I didn't like it much but Rish seemed to so you might too.
Posted: January 12, 2001

Total Skulls: 15

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex skull
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location skullskull
Power is cut skull
Phone lines are cut skull
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer skull
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls skull
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start skullskull
Cat jumps out
Fake scare skull
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth skull
Warning goes unheeded skull
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim skull
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood hits camera
Poor death effect
Excessive gore skull
No one dies at all
Virgin survives skull
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?