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| About Review |
Reviewer
Bub
Review Date
9th June, 2004
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| Movie Credits |
Director
Wes Craven
Cast
Susan Lanier
Robert Houston
Martin Speer
Dee Wallace
Michael Berryman
Screenplay
Wes Craven
Tagline
"A nice American family. They didn't want to kill, but they didn't want to die."
Country
USA
Classification
R
Year
1977
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| Errors |
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| DVD Cover Art |
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| DVD Information |
Format
NTSC
Region Coding
1
Aspect Ratio
1.85:1
16x9 Enhanced
Yes
Running Time
89 minutes
Year Released
2003
Packaging
Keep Case
Extra Features
Audio Commentary
Documentary/Interviews
Wes Craven Featurette
Alternate Ending
TV Spots
Behind The Scenes Pics
Posters & Art
Storyboards
Wes Craven Bio
DVD-ROM Features
Theatrical Trailers
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The Hills Have Eyes
The Plot
The Carters are a normal American family heading to California. Their car breaks down in the desert, leaving them stranded. They are killed off and attacked by an inbred clan of cannibals, led by Jupiter with his son Pluto. The Carters must embrace their inner savagery to survive. Either that, or die.
The Movie
I recently saw this film (Wes Craven’s Second Feature) and I wished Scream had been more like this. Dark, brutal, unforgiving, gripping, and savage. It is a very different film than the movies Craven makes now (Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3) and that is unfortunate.
The cast give very believable performances. The cannibals were done well although James Whitworth (Jupiter) really hams it up. Michael Berryman plays a good, sadistic weasel and works well as Pluto, a sadly forgotten (at least to horror fans) horror character. Robert Houston came across as very believable to me and convinced me a lot more than others in the Carters family roles. Janus Blythe was also nice as the cannibal with a true heart.
I also liked Craven’s whole meaning behind the movie. I thought it was very well done and if you haven’t seen the movie, you’ll know what I mean by the end.
The location is great and very atmospheric. Lighting and photography is nice as well. Some dumb character decisions and some slow patches cram this, but it doesn’t stop this movie from succeeding where it’s supposed to, and that’s being a brutal, darkly humorous, ironic, and simple horror tale of kill or be killed.
The DVD
Nice. DVDs getting star treatment is picking up now and I hope more horror greats (like Pumpkinhead) get treatment like Hills has. First we get and audio commentary by Peter Locke and Mr. Craven. Disc Two are where the goodies are really at. We get a lot of trailers, TV Spots, Still Galleries, and a Wes Craven Bio. A kind of disappointing alternate ending is included as well. The Directors: The Films of Wes Craven is a great and very interesting documentary about Craven and his films. But the best thing here is Looking Back at The Hills Have Eyes. It is very interesting, funny, and all around great documentary on the cult phenomena that is The Hills Have Eyes. A Marvelous DVD.
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