The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1984)

A group of bikers, heading to a race, become stranded in the desert and find themselves fighting off a family of inbred cannibals who live off the land.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Wes Craven

Stars:

Robert Houston, David Nichols, Virginia Vincent

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Houston	...	Bobby
David Nichols	...	The Psychiatrist
Virginia Vincent	...	Ethel Carter (archive footage)
James Whitworth	...	Jupiter (archive footage)
Suze Lanier-Bramlett	...	Brenda (archive footage) (as Susan Lanier)
Tamara Stafford	...	Cass
Kevin Spirtas	...	Roy (as Kevin Blair)
John Laughlin	...	Hulk
Willard E. Pugh	...	Foster (as Willard Pugh)
Peter Frechette	...	Harry
Colleen Riley	...	Jane
Penny Johnson Jerald	...	Sue (as Penny Johnson)
Janus Blythe	...	Rachel / Ruby
Lance Gordon	...	Mars (archive footage)
Brenda Marinoff	...	Katy (archive footage)

Storyline

A group of bikers, which includes some of the survivors from the original film, embark on a journey by bus to a biker race near the desert of the infamous incidents. However, because of a mistake they are late and decide to take a shortcut through the desert. Halfway through the desert the bus breaks down. While trying to repair the bus, some of the group wander off, and wind up in the traps of the survivors of the mutant family of the first. Then the mutants go after the rest...

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Plot Keywords:

blood | grindhouse film | low budget film | murder | psycho murderer | 

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Taglines:

So you think you're lucky to be alive...

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hills Have Eyes Part 2

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

VTC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wes Craven claims that he did this film because he was in need of money and since then has disowned it.

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Goofs

At one point, we see a shadow of a building on the side of the bus, but in the next wide angle shot, there are no buildings around.

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Quotes

[his only line]
The Reaper: Reaper no dumb like Papa Jupe!

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Connections

Referenced in 42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street (2015)

User Reviews

I can't believe this was directed by the same guy.

(* out of *****) I think Craven must have put all of his energy and creativity into "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (released the same year), because this sequel to his own ‘77 classic is horrible. In fact, I would rate this one even below the director's other ‘80s stinkers "Shocker" and "The People Under the Stairs." The best scenes in this are the long flashbacks from the first movie (and there are several of them -- the damn dog even has one!) Unfortunately, in between the flashbacks, we also get the `new' story about a bunch of dirt bikers stranded in the desert when their bus runs out of gas. Once again, they are attacked and killed off by the two remaining members of the savage, cannibalistic clan from the first film (John Bloom as Reaper and Michael Berryman returning as the scary-looking but wimpy Pluto, who gets his ass kicked by dogs and chics throughout the movie). Robert Houston also returns as Bobby in a brief, opening cameo, and Janus Blythe returns as the newly reformed and now civilized Ruby (when she reveals to everyone that she was raised by a desert-dwelling family of killer cannibals, no one seems to care!) Absolutely nothing works this time around. The characterizations and motivations are dumb, there are gaping plot holes, there is no suspense, no blood, no guts -- in short, none of the hyper-realistic savagery, fear, and helplessness that made the first one so good. The blind heroine of this movie (Tamara Stafford) is so perceptive that she can hear things when no one else can and can sense when a person is afraid, but she doesn't even know when someone's smoking a cigarette right next to her! I heard that this movie underwent a lot of pre-release cutting before it came out, and that's why it turned out so badly -- personally, I think this is a load of bunk. Even movies that are cut up left and right before release should give some indication of whether they could be potentially good or not, and this one gives no such signs of any potential whatsoever.

Lowlight: The fiery demise of Reaper -- the hero concocts a ridiculous trap for him involving a gasoline tank, the school bus, a ring of fire, and a cable connected to a motor that will pull him between Reaper's legs and through the flames to safety. It's useless to try explaining it -- you have to see it to believe it (but I wouldn't advise it.)