The Hills Have Eyes

Name: The Hills Have Eyes
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Released: July 22, 1977
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Brenda Marinoff, Dee Wallace, Janus Blythe, John Steadman, Martin Speer

1977

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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The Hills Have Eyes

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Movie Details & Credits

Vanguard (I) | Release Date: July 22, 1977 | R

Starring: Brenda Marinoff, Dee Wallace, Janus Blythe, John Steadman, Martin Speer, Peter Locke, Robert Houston, Russ Grieve, Suze Lanier-Bramlett, Virginia Vincent

Summary: 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.

Director: Wes Craven

Genre(s): Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 89 min

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Critic Reviews

Staff (Not Credited)

Though not particularly bloody, The Hills Have Eyes is an extremely intense and disturbing film. As is the case with Sam Peckinpah's classic, Straw Dogs, it becomes oddly and distressingly exhilarating to watch the nice family become increasingly savage in their efforts to survive. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Parallel families, Lassie-style pet dogs who turn hunter-killers, savage Nature: exploitation themes are used to maximum effect, and despite occasional errors, the sense of pace never errs. A heady mix of ironic allegory and seat-edge tension. Read full review

Susan King

Taut, unsettling tale. One of the seminal horror films of the 1970s. [29 Oct 2003, p.E5]

Mark Rotter Rahner

Back from the time when Scream director Wes Craven still made real horror. A family on vacation with a trailer is irritating enough. But then their ride breaks down in the desert, and there's a clash of family values with a family of inbred cannibals. During the struggle for survival, it gets hard to tell who the real savages are. [27 Oct 2003, p.E1]

Rene Rodriguez

Despite some admittedly intense sequences and a lean, spare script, The Hills Have Eyes hasn't aged all that well, particularly the business with the cannibals, who are more likely to inspire laughter from modern viewers than anything else. [31 Oct 2003, p.22G]

Eric Henderson

The major saving grace of The Hills Have Eyes is that it’s better acted than probably any other film from Craven’s early period. Because of his emotionally bare nature, Robert Houston’s achingly implosive terror is more complex than your average male lead in a horror film. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Important, but it echoes a better film - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Read full review

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User Reviews

Cuesbas247

Apr 27, 2018

Me parece bastante entretenida, te mantiene en tensión constante y me encanta la trama. uno de los mejores clasicos de terror que nunca vi

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

robertoiglesias

Apr 26, 2018

Scary, disgusting, and amazing. The Hills Have Eyes is a wonderful classic that should have never been remade.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

TheQuietGamer

Oct 19, 2018

A woefully unprepared suburban family makes a quick detour in Nevada to visit their family's silver mine on their way to California. Unfortunate circumstances cause them to become stranded in the desert where they are then set upon by a group of deranged cannibals. There's a lot of buildupA woefully unprepared suburban family makes a quick detour in Nevada to visit their family's silver mine on their way to California. Unfortunate circumstances cause them to become stranded in the desert where they are then set upon by a group of deranged cannibals. There's a lot of buildup to the big assault which includes crucifixion, rape, and kidnapping. Until that happens it's mostly just watching the characters roam around in the dark. Something that is meant to build tension as you know the cannibals are watching from the top of the nearby hills, but I never found it to be really effective.

For me the movie didn't take off until the sun came back up and the remaining members off the Carters started fighting back with some good old-fashioned ingenuity, rage, and a pet dog truly deserving of the name "Beast." Even the rape victim doesn't waste any time curling up into a ball. A nice touch as usually these are the kinds of characters that have been written to shutdown and become burdens on the other survivors. Having Susan Lanier's "Brenda" keep going and giving her the mental fortitude to come up with the movie's best trap after what happened to her is a nice feministic touch.

One of the greatest strengths in this Wes Craven project is the setting. The arid desert scenery and backwater psychopaths make this feel like Mad Max meets The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It's got a great tone that's only slightly marred by the film's greatest weakness; goofy villains. Something I've noticed in a lot of older horror flicks with insane antagonists is that these unhinged individuals will do some really silly stuff like absurd changes in the manner of which they speak. Like going from low growls to baby talk. This might have been frightening back in the day, but it hasn't aged well. Coming off as more corny than frighteningly deranged. Whether or not this was intentional on Craven's part in an attempt to imbue the film with some dark comedy I can't say for sure. I just know that it pulled me out of the experience a bit.

While not one of the best in his catalog, The Hill Have Eyes is still a solid example of why Wes Craven is so iconic. An original idea that helped cement him as one of the greats of the genre. A good time for anyone who loves seeing victims strike back at their attackers and refusing to go down without a fight. You just have to make it through the slow first half, some annoying comedic moments with the cannibals, and be willing to accept an oddly abrupt ending.

6.5/10… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Broyax

Oct 26, 2018

Il y a eu un remake des décennies plus tard de ce vieux naveton qui a dépassé la date limite de consommation. Rien d'extraordinaire il me semble mais ce fut toujours mieux que l'original...

Parce qu'ici, ça pue le film à 2 balles il faut bien le reconnaître... On s'en aperçoit très viteIl y a eu un remake des décennies plus tard de ce vieux naveton qui a dépassé la date limite de consommation. Rien d'extraordinaire il me semble mais ce fut toujours mieux que l'original...

Parce qu'ici, ça pue le film à 2 balles il faut bien le reconnaître... On s'en aperçoit très vite d'autant que le scénario a de graves lacunes et qu'il ne se passe presque rien... et quand il se passe éventuellement quelque chose, on lève les yeux au plafond et on se met la main sur le front voire les 2 en même temps (double facepalm comme disent les jeunes d'aujourd'hui).

On peut en rigoler mais aussi apprécier les tenues vestimentaires de l'époque, plus sexy que les sacs à patates portés par les grognasses de nos jours mais je dis ça, c'est surtout histoire de meubler comme dans le film lorsqu'on n'a ni idées ni budget.

M'enfin, j'exagère, je crois que l'idée principale est -était- intéressante, c'est juste le développement et tout le reste qui n'a pas suivi. Presque tout donc !… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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