Review of The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Thequietgamer — 10 Oct 2021

Wes Craven's 1977 original is a cult classic for good reason. It may have just been a toned-down, southern-fried version of his directorial debut The Last House on the Left, but it was a nasty, brutal film for the time with a creative setting and villains. This remake tops it in every way though, which is remarkable given how few changes were made to the script. The events are largely the exact same ones as before. Only portrayed in a harsher, more sickening manner with better acting and pacing. There's a more action-packed third act, it really hammers home a nuclear testing angle to instill the violence with a political message, and a much improved ending. That's really all that's different. Which, as someone who appreciates the original, but felt it was missing a little extra oomph, wasn't a problem for me personally.

This is how you do a remake. It takes a flawed, yet respected movie and irons out a lot of its faults (sans things like the slow beginning and dumb characters), while imbuing the horror with an increased level of savagery and a lesser sense of silliness that it arguably always should have had. This isn't for the squeamish as it's definitely a product of the post-Saw, "torture porn" era of the mid-to-late 2000s where gore and depravity were matching the heights seen during the exploitation cinema craze of the '70s and '80s. If you have the stomach for it however, this is one of the best redneck cannibal nightmares you can find this side of House of 1000 Corpses.

8.