The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Wes Craven (writer)

Release Date:

22 July 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The lucky ones died first...

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Cannibal | Blood | Dead Animal | Shot In The Chest

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Blood Relations (USA) (original script title)
Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (USA) (LD title)

Runtime:

89 min | UK:86 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | USA:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Finland:(Banned) (1986) | Finland:K-16 (1996) | USA:R (MPAA rating) | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (cut) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | Germany:18 (uncut) (2008) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Australia:R | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Victorville, California, USA

Company:

Blood Relations Co.

Trivia:

The rattlesnake used in the film actually escaped while preparing to shoot a scene in a narrow mountain crevasse. The entire crew fled at once from the narrow passage frightened. Minutes later the snake wrangler went in and recaptured the snake.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Jupiter and Pluto are heading toward the trailer, the scar on Jupiter's face disappears for several shots.

Quotes:

Pluto: This is air force rescuewwwwww, what's up ?
Bobby Carter: We're being attacked. I don't know who. We have one gun with 2 bullets. We're sitting ducks!
Pluto: We recommend that until we can get to you, you stand on your heads, with your thumbs up.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Great American Road Trip: California or Bust (#1.7)" (2009)

Heavy On Atmosphere, Heavier On Brutality.

"The Hills Have Eyes" is personally one of my favorite horror films of the '70s era, I'd say this one is just below Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". I love the whole atmosphere the film gives off, and how brutal the film is. "The Hills Have Eyes" follows a normal American family on a camping trip who accidentally crash their station wagon and trailer in the middle of the California desert. The gang consists of Bob and Ethel, and their teenage children Bobby and Brenda, and their adult daughter Lynne and her husband and infant. Their father goes out for help, while the rest of them wait at the trailer, but they are unknowingly being watched by a family of cannibalistic mountain people that are hungry for flesh. As night falls, the clan of mountain-dwelling cannibals close in on the family, attacking their little safe-haven Airstream trailer, and begin to brutally slaughter each of them as they fight to save their lives.

One of the more memorable exploitation films from the 1970s, this gruesome little chiller is a nice addition to the list. Wes Craven, writer and director of this movie, does a great job at setting a mood, atmosphere, and having plenty of scary moments throughout. The desert in the film is eerie itself, it's such an empty and genuinely creepy landscape for a horror film to be set in. Along with this is the brutality factor - this is a harrowing little movie. The violence is shocking and strangely realistic, and it makes it more unsettling than it could have been. I can see why Mr. Craven has gone on to direct so many other successful horror films, such as "Scream" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street", because he's good at what he does.

The acting here isn't bad, we have Dee Wallace Stone ("E.T.", "Cujo"), but most of the other actors are unknowns, who give decent performances. Some of the acting was admittedly over the top and a little laughable at times, but what could you expect from a low-budget '70s horror flick? This film comes to a close in a rather odd way, fading out into a red screen. The ending was surely abrupt and I'm sure there were other, better ways to conclude the story. But, again, the rough abruptness is another addition to the movie's raw atmosphere and visceral quality. This isn't a pleasant movie, and I think anyone who has seen it can agree on that.

Bottom line - "The Hills Have Eyes" is one of the best horror/exploitation films to come from the '70s era. Not the best, but it is definitely close to it. It's brutal, raw, unsettling, and it made me uncomfortable. Any movie that has the power to do that must really have something going for it. Definitely worth a watch, it's a classic midnight-movie. One of my many personal favorites. If you like this, I'd also recommend Craven's debut picture, "Last House On The Left", which is also a visceral exploitation B-movie classic. 9/10.