The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

On the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Wes Craven

Stars:

John Steadman, Janus Blythe, Suze Lanier-Bramlett

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Steadman	...	Fred
Janus Blythe	...	Ruby
Peter Locke	...	Mercury (as Arthur King)
Russ Grieve	...	Big Bob Carter
Virginia Vincent	...	Ethel Carter
Suze Lanier-Bramlett	...	Brenda Carter (as Susan Lanier)
Dee Wallace	...	Lynne Wood
Brenda Marinoff	...	Katy
Robert Houston	...	Bobby Carter
Martin Speer	...	Doug Wood
James Whitworth	...	Jupiter
Michael Berryman	...	Pluto
Lance Gordon	...	Mars
Cordy Clark	...	Mama
Flora	...	Beauty

Storyline

A family going to California accidentally goes through an Air Testing range closed to the public. They crash and are stranded in a desert. They are being stalked by a group of people, which have not emerged into modern times.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | gas station | cannibal | map | claim in title | 

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Taglines:

The lucky ones died first...

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes

Filming Locations:

Apple Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$230,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blood Relations Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 86 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dee Wallace said little acting was required in the scene where Lynne encounters the tarantula. Wallace said her fear of the spider was very much authentic.

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Goofs

One brief nighttime shot of "Bobby" has been flipped: a cut on the right side of his face can be seen on the left hand side.

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Quotes

Ethel Carter: [while looking at a road map] We are not lost, we're right here somewhere on this little blue line.
Lynne Wood: This road is not a blue line, it's a dotted line, if it's even on the map at all!

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Connections

Referenced in Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000)

User Reviews

The Eyes Have It!

Wes Craven first directed a film back in 1972 called Last House on the Left. If you haven't seen it...do so...for it is quite an experience. It blends dementia, depravity, cruelty, and blood and guts with values and basic moral and philosophical questions(at a very base level). He next directed The Hills Have Eyes, which many feel might be his best work. It is a horror classic to be sure for a number of reasons. It has the struggle of an innocent typical American family with a gang of cannibalistic subhumans that live in the desert. This struggle is intense, and blurs the boundary between normal and abberant behaviour(just as Craven did in LHOTL). The basic story is one of survival, not just survival of life but a way of life. The cast does a fine job...some of the psychos are quite convincing, as are the "normal" characters rather good in their roles. The story builds rather slowly but crescendos after the first death and we are given one climactic event after another. The real stars of the film, however, are the dogs...which are integral to the plot, and the desert itself, which establishes a mood and atmosphere of bleekness, desolation, and futility. Craven did a fine job with his second feature, and I would have no problem saying it was one of his better films. I would even concede that technically it is vastly superior to Last House on the Left, however, for me at least, not as horrific or chilling. Just as with Last House, much of the subject matter of the film is decidedly outrageous, with an infant possibly being served up for Thanksgiving Dinner its high point(or low point if you prefer). Unlike Last House, Hills is not nearly as graphic in its action, leaving a bit more to the imagination.