Review of The Hills Have Eyes (1977) by Peter D — 13 Jul 2007

This is a nasty film. Don't watch it expecting an all out gore fest so if you're a fan of films like Saw, Hostel etc etc you will be disappointed. By todays standards The Hills Have Eyes is not a frightening film. That's not to say it hasn't got scary moments; it has and this is part of what makes it good film. A lot of horror films, particularly more recent films (again see Saw, Hostel) have substituted character development for blood and gore with a crappy plot and normally a busty young actress who keeps falling out of her top. Nice if you like that sort of thing, but if you like some characters inbetween your bloody scenes then The Hills Have Eyes is a good starting point. And that's part of the charm. Wes Craven spends the first 40 - 50 minutes (nearly half the film) deveolping this family and making you care about them. And obviously, because you know people are going to die, you spend the first half of the film waiting for it and wondering who is going to die. This is good direction and Kraven creates a nice sense of atmosphere around them. You find yourself being drawn into them, caring about them even. That is because it isn't a gore fest and Craven does it well.

Once the violence does start it's brutal. Once more, Craven does very well, this time in his camera work. The violence is seen through jerky camera shots and swift cutting so you struggle to see what is going on, leaving your imagination to do the rest. While this is now well used The Hills was made in the late 1970s and this was a new technique in horror films. As the film progresses you get drawn further into it and it really does the job. A couple of scenes do make you wince and it's a good ending, leaving you with a bitter taste in your month. This isn't a nice film, it's not a date film and it doesn't really stand up against todays horror films. However, alongside The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead it is a good film which perhaps leads into greater things, certainly these two other horror films are better.

And if you get the 2 disc DVD make sure you watch The American Nightmare documentary, it's a really good study about the great horror films from Night of the Living Dead onwards.