The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Horror fans are well versed in all things Wes Craven. Craven has presented a number of movies in the horror genre and was the creative mind behind Freddy Krueger and the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series of films. But before that he had already cemented his name in the halls of horror. Before SCREAM, before THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, before DEADLY BLESSINGS and before SHOCKER, Craven had given us two movies that are still talked about to this day. The first was THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. The second was this film, THE HILLS HAVE EYES.The story is an original one. It begins with a family traveling out west bound for California but stopping by an old silver mine they were given as a gift for parents of the group for their silver anniversary. The group consists of Bob and Ethel Carter (Russ Grieve and Virginia Vincent), their daughter Lynne, her husband Doug and their infant child (Dee Wallace and Martin Speer) and their youngest children Bobby and Brenda (Robert Houston and Suze Lanier-Bramlett).As they reach the desert they stop for gas at an about to be abandoned station. The owner Frank (John Steadman) tells them the mines dried up years ago and that now the Air Force uses that area for target practice, advising them to turn around and get back on the highway. Of course they ignore his suggestion, go forward and eventually run off the road resulting in a broken axle. Bob heads back to the station and Doug goes to see if he can find the air base.What Bob finds when he gets to the station is Frank in a panic. He tells him he tried to warn him and then gives him his story, how he was once married with two children, one beautiful and the other evil as sin. When the evil one kills his wife and other child, Frank hit him with a tire iron and though he had killed him. But the child survived in the desolate hills of this dessert becoming wild and kidnapping a prostitute for his bride and raising a group of savages along the way. Before he can offer a way out one of them grabs him, killing him and leaving Bob behind who then sets off to his family.As the film progresses we see this "mutant" family attack the nuclear family with the intent of not only taking what they have but with the hope of using them for food as well. Only one is having second thoughts, Ruby (Janus Blythe) who looks for a way out of this life and into civilization. By the end of the film the question of just which family is more savage is brought to mind and the victor is determined. But which family will that be? As with all early films this one had a limited budget but Craven put that to good use. Most of the actors involved were unknowns, including Dee Wallace who'd had just a few roles prior to this film and went on to star in movies like THE HOWLING, E.T. and CUJO. That these actors were not famous seems to have worked to the benefit of the film since had they been we would have been more involved with that aspect rather than investing in characters that are in jeopardy.The concept of the "mutant" family living in the dessert surrounded by rocks and caves to hide in was interesting and "based on a true story" at least partially. They have a hierarchy with the father in charge and ruling over all, keeping them in line via fear. The stand out among them is Pluto (Michael Berryman), an actor born with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare condition leaving him with no sweat glands, hair, fingernails or teeth. This gives him a different appearance than most people which he used to his advantage taking on roles in numerous horror films. (An aside note, having met him I can tell you that Berryman is a gentle giant of a man who is perhaps one of the nicest and friendliest people you will ever meet. Like actor Bill Mosely he is nothing like the characters he plays in films.).The film moves at a steady pace offering us enough back story and set ups to hold our interest from the beginning on. When the confrontations begin we are by then invested in the family and the struggle to survive they go through while being attacked. As viewers we are often asked to put ourselves in the shoes of those characters we watch. Trying to do so hear leaves you in a state of fear many movies can't begin to form.The film has been released numerous times on both video and then disc so why bother with this new edition? Two words should make that easy to understand: Arrow Video.To begin with you get a brand new 4K restoration from original film elements, supervised by producer Peter Locke. Then you move on to the extras. As always Arrow goes overboard here. Included are 6 postcards, a reversible fold-out poster featuring new and original artwork, a limited edition booklet featuring writing on the film by critic Brad Stevens along with a consideration on the Hill franchise by Ewan Cant illustrated with original archive stills, audio commentary by the late Craven and Peter Locke, LOOKING BACK ON THE HILLS HAVE EYE a making of documentary with interviews including Craven, Locke, Berryman, Wallace, Blythe, Houston, Lanier and director of photography Eric Saarinen, THE DESERT SESSIONS a brand new interview with composer Don Peake, an alternate ending in HD for the first time, trailers and TV spots, an image gallery, the original screenplay and a reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper.

I saw this for the first time in the late 80s. Found it to b disturbing then. But when i saw the remake in 2006, i found this to b very mild. Jus revisited it again. The plot is about a family taking the wrong turn off the main road and finding themselves being hunted down by a cannibal family. Talking bout this original, some scenes i found to b comedic. Maybe if the remake didn't exist, this movie wud have still been disturbing. Well this movie does deserve some respect among horror fans. The dress of the mother of the cannibalistic looked as if she is some gypsy woman. One member wearing bear skin in a desert n most of em wearing necklaces made outta some teeth. The cannibalistic clans looked more like dirty hippies n Mexican bandits rather than ferals. The scene where the kids on the radio r asked about their defence strength n the reply they get..... was really comedic. Sitting ducks. Hahaha... The scene wher the old ex cop is roasted alive n his eyeballs r shown.... Comedic? This movie lacked the tension, atmosphere n suspense. It lacked the brutality. Remember Texas chainsaw massacre being brutal, atmospheric n tensed without blood n gore. Agree the remake by Aja is hands down much superior than this original but Craven shud b applauded for making this n Last house... in the 70s. Except for Berryman, the cannibalistic male members looked more like Mexican bandits who hasn't taken bath for months. Avoid the 1984 sequel like plague. The sequel contains unnecessary tremendous footage from the first part.

After having announced himself to the horror hordes with The Last House on the Left, Craven's next horror pick would be this, The Hills Have Eyes, another slab of grit and grime. A nuclear family head across the desert in their giant trailer only to break down and find there's beasties in the hills hungry for their blood.It has become very much a popular cult pic with Craven fans, which is understandable given the brisk pacing, moments of intensity and suspense, while the allegories and messages are smartly inserted. But the low budget does affect the product, it looks cheap and renders much of the violence and sexual aspects (implied or otherwise) as being not very frightening or stomach churning. While some of the acting is very poor, further adding a cartoonish feel to what should have been a nerve shredding experience.Above average for sure, but not the masterpiece some would have you believe. 6/10

Boy, the American family barely got through this one, and not without casualties. I've seen our moms and dads, buds and sis's, menaced by lots of critters, but this is first time they almost ended on a dinner table. Not that the cannibal primitives that menace them use anything like a table. Looks like they prefer big rocks instead. Okay, with names like the planets we don't expect the queen's court. But this grotesque clan makes you wonder about evolution itself. So, can our all-American family survive this trip to the desert and the cannibals that live there.Great horror flick. Director Craven not only builds suspense, but also shocks the bejesus out of us. And what about Berryman as the deformed Pluto. His no-makeup close-ups are really jarring, making the whole deal seem real. No doubt about it, he really deserved a big payday. In fact the whole cast deserved combat pay. What with crawling all over that lunar landscape, the bandage concession must have been huge. Kudoes too to the normal folks, who get to do a lot of screaming and running, uphill and down. And I like the way the helpless girl turns it around at the last minute. Should please feminists in the audience. Too bad the old gas station coot is often overlooked. He's enough to make you want to run out of gas. Plus, Virginia Vincent is the most realistic looking corpse I've seen in decades of movie viewing. I hope it was just makeup.No doubt about it, the 90-minutes really delivers the goods for horror fans. The result amounts to a triumph of directing and staging, though the acting does wobble at times. Meanwhile, I'm canceling my trip to the desert, in fact, make that any desert, any time.