The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization.

Director:

Alexandre Aja

Writers:

Alexandre Aja (screenplay), Grégory Levasseur (screenplay),

Stars:

Kathleen Quinlan, Emilie de Ravin, Dan Byrd

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aaron Stanford	...	Doug Bukowski
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Ethel Carter
Vinessa Shaw	...	Lynn Carter
Emilie de Ravin	...	Brenda Carter
Dan Byrd	...	Bobby Carter
Tom Bower	...	Gas Station Attendant
Billy Drago	...	Papa Jupiter
Robert Joy	...	Lizard
Ted Levine	...	Big Bob Carter
Desmond Askew	...	Big Brain
Ezra Buzzington	...	Goggle
Michael Bailey Smith	...	Pluto
Laura Ortiz	...	Ruby
Gregory Nicotero	...	Cyst (as Greg Nicotero)
Maisie Camilleri Preziosi	...	Baby Catherine

Storyline

Wes Craven produces this remake of his 1977 classic of the same name, about the Carters, an idyllic American family travelling through the great American southwest. But their trip takes a detour into an area closed off from the public, but more importantly from society. An area originally used by the U.S. Government for nuclear testing that was intended to be empty...or so they thought? When the Carter's car breaks down at the old site, they're stranded...or are they? As the Carters may soon realize that what seemed like a car casually breaking down, might actually be a trap. This trap might be perpetrated by the inhabitants of the site who aren't pulling a prank, but are out to set up a gruesome massacre.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | nuclear testing | pistol | sadism | death of loved one | 

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Taglines:

The lucky ones die first.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong gruesome violence and terror throughout, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [fr] Fox Searchlight [us]

Country:

USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Despertar del diablo

Filming Locations:

CLA Studios, Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$102,147 (Brazil) (28 July 2006)

Gross:

$102,147 (Brazil) (28 July 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Craven-Maddalena Films, Dune Entertainment, Major Studio Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 108 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The service station was called 'Gas Haven' which rhymes with Wes Craven.

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Goofs

When the grungy gas station man is looking through the stuff in the bag, he has his cigar in his mouth, but after he looks behind him there is no cigar.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gas Station Attendant: Ruby, is that you?

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Connections

References Twilight Zone (1959)

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Soundtracks

"One of a Kind"
Written by Moot Davis
Performed by Moot Davis
Courtesy of Little Dog Records

User Reviews

Bloodthirsty mutant cannibals in the American wasteland

The question most people ask when it comes to modern day remakes is "why remake a classic?", but the question I ask of this one is "why call it The Hills Have Eyes?" Many films have been made before and after Wes Craven's original shocker with similar ideas, so why not take the basic plot idea and give it a new title; thus making it a new film. Judged on its own merits, Alexandre Aja's exploitation horror flick is actually a good film, but it loses credibility unnecessarily just because it's a part of the remake crowd. After an explosive beginning which gives you an idea of what Aja intends to do with the remake; the pace relaxes a little as we get to know the doomed family at the centre of the piece. While this may not be very exciting, it pays dividends towards the end when the mutant cannibals start to get their own way. We follow a family who decide to take a holiday that involves driving through the desert. After fuelling their car, the helpful petrol station attendant tells them of a shortcut in the desert; but after they have a crash, it soon becomes apparent that they aren't the only ones amidst the nuclear hills.

Towards the start of the film, Aja packs the film with references to nuclear testing which leads us to believe that he wants to go deeper with the plot. However, by the end it all feels very half-arsed, as apart from a few references towards the mentality of America - these ideas never really bear any fruit. Ted Levine heads a capable cast in a role that is a world away from his turn as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs, and actually feels a lot like a Sid Haig impression. The rest of the cast have some impressive film and TV credits between them, but nobody is a particularly 'big' actor, which actually does this sort of film credit. The real stars of the show are the make-up department, who do a great job with the mutant cannibals. They all look very realistic, and it's easy to believe that the people in the film actually are mutants. The violence and gore is fairly heavy, although Aja is actually quite restrained in this respect, as it only occurs when needed and never goes too over the top. Aja also does well with the scare factor, as he continually creates a foreboding atmosphere by way of lots of scare tactics, including the backwater desert atmosphere, glimpses of the killers early on and my personal favourite

• the voices that come over the walkie talkies.

The main reason that this film works is not because of the violence, however, it's the way that Aja almost makes the audience a part of the central family. The characters are all well defined and realistically done; and this means that once we get to the horror of the piece, it really is horrific. Aja does go over the top with this towards the end, but in general the characters are very well defined, and I certainly cared a lot more about the family in this remake than I did in Wes Craven's original. It seems obvious that Alexandre Aja approached this film with care, and he definitely did have a lot to live up to after the surprise hit 'High Tension' the year before. The director certainly has talent, maybe even the potential to become one of the modern masters of horror; but I'm disappointed that this was his second film, as I really think that if he'd created something original, it could have been something really special. The fact that this film feels like an attempt for him to break into the American market is too obvious also. I do have faith that some day he'll top his debut film - but he hasn't done it with this. On its own merits, however, The Hills Have Eyes 2006 is a good film, and Aja can certainly be proud of himself for doing Craven's original justice.