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Film Review: The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
By Carey Van Dyke
Mar 8, 2006, 23:59

There’s a new master of horror in town. His name is Alexandre Aja, a fresh faced filmmaker from France. He reminds me of another wunderkind director who, at roughly the same age made a remarkable impression on the movie going public with a little film called “Jaws.” Of course, this new kid on the block has a slightly darker, more depraved, and altogether more twisted visual edge than the original box office mogul ever dreamed.

At first glance, “The Hills Have Eyes” looks like yet another remake of a classic seventies horror film that will no doubt go on to share the same success that the rest of its updated cousins have. But don’t roll your eyes so fast, loyal horror fans, because not only does this retelling improve upon the original, it is also one the best horror films of the last ten years. Just after the first victim feels something a little sharp poking through his skull(which happens a full thirty seconds into the movie) the narrative takes off at break neck speed and doesn’t stop until the end credits roll.

Aja and his writing partner Gregory Levasseur have fashioned a setup very similar to Wes Craven’s original story. The Carters are a lovingly dysfunctional family on a road trip through the desert, making their way to California. Big Bob(Ted Levine) and his wife Ethel(Kathleen Quinlan) are celebrating their wedding anniversary, and they’ve brought the entire family along. There’s the oldest daughter Lynn(Vinessa Shaw), her geeky but likeable husband Doug(Aaron Stanford), and their beautiful baby daughter. Then there’s Brenda(Emilie De Ravin), the teen beauty who’d much rather be in Cancun with her friends than on a boring vacation with the family. And the youngest of the siblings is Bobby(Dan Byrd), who doesn’t look a day past fifteen but is nevertheless handy with an automatic weapon. He’s like his dad. A man’s man. A tough guy. In fact, patriarch Bob is a retired detective, and it’s no wonder Doug can’t win the guy over. Bob scowls his way whenever he holds a cell phone to his ear, which is most of the time. I sense somebody’s going to have to learn to man up here before all is said and done.

Now we all know how these plots usually propel themselves forward. It starts with the weird guy at the gas station without a working phone. The detour that sends characters down utterly deserted roads. The vehicle that breaks down. And the clan of mutant freaks waiting in the wings for fresh victims they can torture, impale, disembowel, and cannibalize.

But wait a minute. Didn’t I say this was one of the best horror films I’ve seen in years? Well, yes. It is. And it’s because the filmmakers have taken these recycled story elements and molded them to fit their style. The producing team of Wes Craven, Marianne Maddalena, and Peter Locke must also be given their due credit. Ever the smart business people and well versed in the genre, they’ve ultimately set the bar extremely high. The possibility of upsetting fans who normally detest remakes(I don’t deny doing so myself) seems like an enormous financial risk. But in the hands of these pros, the pay off promises to be even bigger.

As for Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur, they simply love horror movies and it shows. They have respect for their chosen genre. They want to scare the hell out of you by any means necessary, and if you‘re left squirming in your seat in the process, so be it. But what sets them apart from many of their contemporary peers is that they don’t stop with their technical wizardry and call it a day. Yes, there’s enough blood and guts here for three movies, but it isn’t just the savvy visuals causing the revulsion and the shock and the horror. It’s the characters we’ve come to know and care about. This is a real family with their own unique quirks and interesting problems. We’re not getting impatient with corny dialogue while waiting for the real fun to begin . It’s the oldest and simplest lesson in horror filmmaking. Make us care. Spielberg took this tip to heart once, and it helped a movie like “Jaws” flourish for over thirty years. I realize, to compare any movie to “Jaws” is absurd, but the comparison is only to illustrate a point. In lesser hands, “The Hills Have Eyes” could’ve wound up a run of the mill slasher flick. The kind of movie I forget about before it’s even over. Fortunately, it didn’t end up that way. The filmmakers cared, and by extension, so did I.

Read our exclusive interview with director Alexandre Aja