Horror fans will head for The Hills

By Bill Drust
Collegian Staff
March 22, 2006

For a while, the trend in the horror genre has been the rehashing of stylish foreign imports. The Hills Have Eyes provides a refreshing respite; it’s better at telling a story. Originally released in 1977, this early work by slasher-movie master Wes Craven receives a makeover by up-and-coming writer/director Alexandre Aja. Although Aja decisively helms his latest project, Craven lurks in the background as producer of this gore-fest.

Early on, Aja breaks out many of the familiar horror movie standards. A family is heading out across southwestern America on vacation. They stop for gas at an extremely questionable roadside establishment and take sketchy shortcut instructions from the oddball proprietor. Soon after, their truck and camper roughly break down in the middle of the desert. However, they have no idea they have been ambushed and they certainly wouldn’t be able to imagine who’s done the ambushing: a group of grossly deformed cannibals mutated by Cold War-era atomic weapons testing.

I know. It’s not sounding too good for the viewer, let alone the fictional family. But the material is handled well. First off, adequate time is allowed for character development. Veteran character actor Ted Levine plays the patriarch of the Carter family as Kathleen Quinlan fills in the role of Mom. Fairly new to being grandparents, their daughter (Vinessa Shaw) brings along her husband (Aaron Stanford) and their infant child. Dan Byrd and Emilie de Ravin of TV’s Lost work well as the Carters’ two teenagers.

For a while, Aja gently tugs the viewer along. We get to know the family and we also begin to realize the sinister nature of the hill dwelling miscreants, complete with familiar jump-out-of-your-seat sounds. However, the film suddenly jumps into full-throttle horror mode as the depraved mutants unleash their attack on the family. Further down the line, the prey begins to act as predators.

The film definitely deserves its R rating. Although the extreme gore and violence that is paraded about on-screen will be right up the horror fan’s alley, some of it may be too much for the young or the squeamish.

It should be noted that the film seems to offer some opportunities for deeper analysis. With so many problems affecting America and the world, especially terrorism and the war in Iraq, attempts to address them symbolically within film have become the norm.

The Hills Have Eyes is no different. Parallels between post-9/11 America and Cold War America are here for the asking, as well as questions of responsibility for a government's actions. Thankfully, Aja, a native Frenchman, is clever enough not to be heavy-handed with this. He rightly focuses on the movie’s potential for pure entertainment. The rest is there, but is not at all superfluous or forced.

In the end, a lot of the film is familiar territory, but there are just enough nuances to hold your interest. The main point, though, is the spectacle. Feeling like an action flick at times, The Hills Have Eyes is nevertheless an unmistakable exercise in horror and is as violent and vicious as they come. If you enjoy seat-squirming and the possibility of projectile popcorn, this one’s worth checking out.

drustw1@lasalle.edu