This film maintains a lot of the "rough around the edges" quality that Craven exhibited in his debut film LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but thankfully this film feels much more focused and has a lot less comedy in it. The characters feel a lot stronger to me but the real star of the show is the location.
THE HILLS HAVE EYES runs at a brisk pace and never falls into predictability, even having seen it several times. There are moments of pure acting brilliance, particularly the grandmother's reaction to her husband getting set on fire and some inspired lunacy on the part of the most colorful antagonists (Michael Berryman is a standout and easily gives the film an extra star).
That said, so much more could have been done with this film and its ending comes so abruptly that it's always left a rotten taste in my mouth. A major plot points rely on dumb character decisions and don't really make much sense (would that car trap really work after breaking an axle?) plus the attempt at exposition comes off as rather silly.
I've always wondered who those people are who live deep in the desert and what is going on in their mind and this film represents an extreme example, but they're made out to be so over-the-top that it misses what could have been a lot of interesting anthropological information like we got about backwoods folks in SOUTHERN COMFORT and THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK. Also the interesting angle on survival in the heat of the desert feels curiously missing from this film and would have given it a whole new element of "ticking clock" suspense. The military testing range element to the location adds a little creepiness at the start but never comes back into play later. My favorite bits come early with the characters exploring around the delightfully creepy near-deserted gas outpost, only glimpsing their watchers momentarily.
All in all, this film is a classic of the genre and very enjoyable to watch. It does miss many opportunities though which I hope they addressed in the remake. It could be one of those rare cases where the remake improves over the original, though it would never be able to replicate that 70's Grindhouse charm.
THE HILLS HAVE EYES runs at a brisk pace and never falls into predictability, even having seen it several times. There are moments of pure acting brilliance, particularly the grandmother's reaction to her husband getting set on fire and some inspired lunacy on the part of the most colorful antagonists (Michael Berryman is a standout and easily gives the film an extra star).
That said, so much more could have been done with this film and its ending comes so abruptly that it's always left a rotten taste in my mouth. A major plot points rely on dumb character decisions and don't really make much sense (would that car trap really work after breaking an axle?) plus the attempt at exposition comes off as rather silly.
I've always wondered who those people are who live deep in the desert and what is going on in their mind and this film represents an extreme example, but they're made out to be so over-the-top that it misses what could have been a lot of interesting anthropological information like we got about backwoods folks in SOUTHERN COMFORT and THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK. Also the interesting angle on survival in the heat of the desert feels curiously missing from this film and would have given it a whole new element of "ticking clock" suspense. The military testing range element to the location adds a little creepiness at the start but never comes back into play later. My favorite bits come early with the characters exploring around the delightfully creepy near-deserted gas outpost, only glimpsing their watchers momentarily.
All in all, this film is a classic of the genre and very enjoyable to watch. It does miss many opportunities though which I hope they addressed in the remake. It could be one of those rare cases where the remake improves over the original, though it would never be able to replicate that 70's Grindhouse charm.