Review of The Hills Have Eyes (1977) by Ritankar B — 06 Apr 2009

Whilst travelling through the desert, a family decides to visit an old silver mine they have just inherited, but runs into more than they could have bargained for.

Wes Craven is one of the genre's classic directors, and in this (his second) movie he really finds his feet. For a low budget feature, it is technically fantastic, with great acting and story-line. But, compared to other movies of the time (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, etc.), it just isn't that scary any more!! In fact, it now feels more like an almost Mad Max type fantasy film than a horror movie. Notably, this is Dee Wallace's first genre movie and it shows what a fine horror actress she was going to be when moving on to later efforts. Still a great movie, but watch it now more as a curio piece.