Genres

Visitors Review

Lucien Lessard 2012-05-21 03:21:33

One of the strongest horror film since Alexandre Aja's own film "High Tension".

In New Mexico, at a deserted highway. A mysterious, seemingly normalGas Station attendant (Tom Bower) leads a middle class family (AaronStanford, Emilie de Ravin, Daniel Byrd, Kathleen Quinlan, Vinessa Shaw,Ted Levine and Maisie Camilleri Preziosi) to take a shirt cut bydriving through the desert. Since the family are on their way toCalifornia. This family gets stranded in the middle of nowhere and notthinking, they are near an old nuclear test site. An strange group ofBloodthirshy monsters are watching them from the hills and thesemonsters are planning their attack on this wholesome family.Directed by Alexandre Aja made an effective, strong brutal horrormovie. Which is based on a 1977 film, written and directed by WesCraven (The Last House on the Left, A Nightmare on Elm Street, ScreamTrilogy). Co-Screenwriter/Director:Aja and ArtDirector/Co-Screenwriter:Gregory Lavasseur (Who also co-wrote "HighTension") made this remake with more irony, emotional and violent thanCraven's take on his original movie. In this new remakes focuses on anuclear waste subplot, a different third act and making the villainsmore mysterious, creeper & open minded. The only thing i felt missingwatching this remake is Craven's (sometimes outrageous) dark sense ofhumour in the original. Oddly enough Aja and Lavasseur made thisvillains a bit more sympathetic. Because this remake, they made thesemonsters victims themselves by the nuclear test site. Which of course,the big differences between the original and the remake. In theoriginal, these attackers were inbred cannibals living near an oldnuclear test site. In the remake, they become monsters by beingdeformed by the test site turning into cannibals themselves and livingat a old test site.This remake is actually (only sightly) better than Craven's movie. Thisremake has top production values by having excellent cinematographywork by Maxime Alexandre, a surprisingly good cast (including:RobertJoy as Lizard, Micheal Bailey Smith as Pluto, Laura Ortiz as Ruby andBilly Drago as Papa Jupiter), great production designs by Joseph Nemicthe Third (Terminator 2:Judgment Day), convincing make-up effects workby Gregory Nicotero and Oscar-Winner:Howard Berger (The Chronicles ofNadia:the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Hostel, Land of the Dead)and sometimes brilliant music score by tomandandy (The Rules ofAttraction). Like Craven's original, this remake is also flawed inparts. Especially in some of its dramatic moments and towards theconclusion.The Unrated DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transferand an strong-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD has twoinformative commentary tracks. Commentary One is theCo-Screenwriter/Director:Aja, Art Director/Co-Screenwriter:Lavasseurand One of the film's producers:Marianne Maddalena (Cursed, Music ofthe Heart, Red Eye). The Second Commentary is by the producers:Cravenand Peter Locke (The original producer of the 1977 picture) is actuallya bit more entertaining and fun than the first commentary track. DVDalso has a terrific 50 minute documentary, production diaries and amusic video. Only two things missing are the excellent theatricaltrailer and deleted scenes (Which it was briefly seen in thedocumentary).The new "Hills" is one of the best horror remakes in a while. LikeCraven's original film, this remake will also have an cult following.Since this remake was a sleeper hit at the box office and did well onDVD. There's no doubt the producers:Craven, Maddalena and Locke areworking on the upcoming sequel. Let's hope the sequel will not be aremake of the absurd second "Hills" 1983 movie. Which Craven and Lockewere also involved in. Super 35. (****/*****).

conorhdoherty 2012-05-20 04:51:09

An AWFUL Movie That You Have To See

If you're looking to be legitimately scared by a great horror movie DONOT SEE THE HILLS HAVE EYES. If however you're looking for a good movieto see with some friends, with some cheap (and far fewer not so cheap)scares & have a good time this is the movie for you. This movie willscare you, it will make you jump and make your body tense up, but itwill also make you laugh out loud and wonder if it's trying to make funof itself or if it is supposed to be legit. By the end of the showing Iwent to opening weekend the entire audience was laughing at parts inthe film which were, for lack of a better word, pathetic. The film hada very strong start, but lost all it's shock/scare value and finishedsomewhere below "The Fog (2005)" Would I see it again if I was drunk?IN A HEARTBEAT.=======SPOILERS BELOW====== The first time I burst out laughing was when the row of spikes shown inthe preview which pops the tires on the SUV is pulled back by an unseenmystery man-mutant. And all we hear is some muffled grunting/laughternoise reminiscent of a troll from a children's cartoon. (Fortunatelyfor those of us seeking laughs this was not the last time the mutantsin this movie failed to use their linguistic skills and instead decideto use a cliché grunt while communicating with each other.) At no point in the "film" does any character make a choice that makesany sense whatsoever. (Why shoot a bad guy with one of the bullets fromyour fully loaded handgun when you could kill him by blowing up your RVwith everything you own inside it?) The movie is also riddled with inconsistencies which just obliteratethe little integrity it had coming up on the final scene, when a mutantchild, who's main deformity was her left eye, is all of a suddenmiraculously healed? As her eye makeup wasn't done for this scene andher face looked completely normal. The main message in this awesomely pathetic attempt at a motion pictureis that physical deformities are not just skin deep, they penetrate tothe soul; they make you a senseless killing machine who thirsts for theblood of humans. "GO BEAST!"

RobertF87 2012-05-15 19:23:48

Good Remake

The original "Hills Have Eyes" (1977) is often fondly remembered as agruesome and disturbing film, when it actually isn't really. It wasactually passed in Britain with comparatively few cuts for the time,and for a lot of British viewers was, for a long time, the only really'horrific' horror movie available, however Alexandre Aja's remake makesup for that by including all the buckets of blood that audiences mighthave missed form the original.Sticking closely to the original storyline of an all-American familystranded in the desert and being attacked by depraved cannibal mutants,created from nuclear bomb testing decades earlier, the filmnevertheless is far more intense than the original. Although it doessuffer from the glossy look common to most modern horror films, insteadof the bleak, rough low-budget appearance of the original.Another change is the added emphasis on the background of theattackers, which does add something of another dimension to the film,making them slightly more sympathetic.Worth watching for horror fans, and a must-see for fans of theoriginal. This is a decent horror film, but ultimately nothing special.Contians swearing and graphic violence.

nail-4 2012-05-15 07:39:22

Terrible movie and hilarious/Cannot be taken seriously.

With a full theater of people watching, I embarked on my journeythrough The Hills Have Eyes. Little did I know how much fun I wouldhave.The movie is awful. Just completely and totally awful. I didn't careabout the characters and even wanted the baby to die. The characters inthe movie are so stupid that a lot of your time will be spent cheeringwhen someone is killed or screaming at the screen, telling thecharacter how stupid they are.Every single person in the packed theater was laughing at the movie andmocking it repeatedly.During one point when the character brandishes a shotgun like I club, Ifelt compelled to yell out "There are bullets in the gun, asshole."Many people found this funny and even more people screamed somethingsimilar at the exact same moment.I really...really can't say anything else. The movie is a Must-Seebecause of how completely awful and terrible it is. If you watch itwith a bunch of people who also think its awful, you will have the timeof your life.Easily the most fun I've had in a movie theater.

wazza88 2012-05-10 19:14:35

Awful until the last 10 minutes

Let's get something straight from the off, this is not a horror moviewhere the scares come from the unknown, the film is based on gore andkillings. The fact the film got as high as a 3 was down to the last 10minutes, otherwise it would be languishing on 1.It's not in the slightest bit scary as their is no tension, and twistsas someone mentioned in the featured comment...where?! The directorincludes too many of the deformed characters too really feel scared byany one of them and he goes with the old mistake of making them almostinvincible.I haven't seen the first, but if this movie sticks closely to thestoryline I'm unsure of why anyone would want to do a remake of it.It's one saving grace is that it creates a few protagonists that reactin the same human way as anyone else would, making it easier for themto be related too or enjoyed.Overall, only a good movie if you like gore, in terms of suspense,thrills, twists and a decent antagonist/s (which all combine to makegood horror films) this film comes up WAY short.

rwilkerson-1 2012-05-10 11:47:27

Terrible

If you are friends with someone who said that they liked this movie,you should quit being friends with them. This movie isn't the worsthorror movie every, but it is certainly one of the most annoying. Theplot is full of holes, yet is still extremely predictable. Please spendyour money somewhere else....you could pay someone to hit you in theback with a rake, because that would be more satisfying than watchingthis movie. Hopefully, because of how bad this movie is, laws will bepassed that create jail time for people who are involved in creatingmovies such as this. The only reason I'm not physically abusing myselfright now is because I didn't actually pay to see this movie...I hadfree movie passes.

Josh Ramsey 2012-05-06 22:34:20

One of the better horror movies

I just watched this movie early to day and I think this is one of thebetter horror movies of the past few years. I didn't find the movie tooscary but it was suspenseful at times and very gruesome. It started outintense at the opening but then things calmed down as the characterbackground was being developed. As soon as the mutants ca.me out, theintensity picked up and although things were predictable at times,there was also a lot of suspenseful moments. I enjoyed this a lot morethan any other remakes. Dawn of the Dead was good but I think this wasmore original in the direction it took. I would recommend this to fansof a lot of blood and gore cause its not really scary but I don'treally know of any horror movies that are scary anymore. If you have aweak stomach, don't watch this but if your a fiend of gratuitousviolence, then check this one out

ThreeThumbsUp 2012-05-06 03:31:34

Sad...

Sad. It's truly sad that a movie like this had to be made again. Itwasn't enough the first time to see people raped, babies have gunspointed at their heads, dogs gutted and men burned at the stake? Iguess not. I am honestly offended by this "film." The scene in thetrailer where the woman is sexually assaulted is truly one of the mostoffensive depictions in a movie that I have ever seen. Shortly afterthat incident on screen, I turned the damn thing off. Please, do notwatch this movie. I don't mind a good slasher film and actually enjoy alittle graphic gore now and again just to see how far special effectshave come over the years, but The Hills Have Eyes goes way too far.

annadubois08 2012-05-05 18:24:05

Disgusting

The entire movie was perverted, disgusting and cold-hearted. I criedmultiple times and was bothered by many of the goings on. Watching yourfather burn to death is not "scary" it's disgusting. Watching yourmother and sister get shot is not "scary" it's disturbing. Hearing themother say "How's Lynny, is she sleeping?" and her daughter's husbandtelling her she is when she's actually dead, is heart-felt, and... manyaspects of this movie should not have been added, it was too familyinvolved. There was no need to watch any of the animals die, or even tosee the animals dead bodies after they were killed. SO many things arejust so disturbing. In my opinion, this movie should NEVER reach theshelves of movie stores, or rental places. Nobody needs to see thistype of stuff. I think they did a HORRIBLE job of it.

lanmwolf 2012-05-05 01:22:26

I am terrified for society: A repulsive and abhorrent movie

I am a huge fan of horror movies and watch everything that I can get myhands on (House of Wax, Halloween H20, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, WrongTurn, and many more). Gore has never been a problem for me before(others having told me that I was sick for not being bothered by somescenes in other movies), but this movie was abhorrent.I occasionally had to avert my eyes from the screen to avoid nausea,and was absolutely shocked that this movie was ever accepted intotheaters. Wanting to cry most of the time, and feeling defiled andunsettled after finishing this movie, I wish for the first time in mylife that I had never rented a movie.The viewers are assailed by images of blood, gore, and many disturbingimages; many of which could have been toned down or lost all together.Overall the only reason I can say that people would like this movie isif they are obsessed with blood and death.The acting was decent, and I did jump a few times; however, I wouldrecommend that you stay away from this movie. I am not naive about whatgoes on in the world, and even planning to enter the FBI's violentcrime unit, but for the first time in my life I am saying that a movielike this never should have been released, or even made for thatmatter. I have defended many horror movies, stating that they do not contributeto the descent of our society into violence, but I now think that Icannot keep that stance. This movie emotionally and physicallyunsettled me, and the fact that so many people loved or liked thismovie terrifies me because it makes me realize how far our society hassunk, and how fast values and morals are being degraded and lost.

Dewgle 2012-05-01 22:59:37

Almost as bad as 'Wolf Creek'

Lets cut to the chase.This film is awful with one exception, its graphic. Boy, oh boy is itgraphic! This element of the film is a perfect example of how horrormovies should be. None of the 'cutting the camera away just as the pickaxe is being implanted into the head of someone' antics that you see onso many films now, you see everything. This improved my rating of thisfilm from two to three out of ten.Everything else about this film is tragic.Spliting up the party in the hope of finding a way out of apredicament.....ridiculous! Seeing things that should not be there andnot telling anyone.....ridiculous! Finding dead animals that have beengutted, but not eaten by Cayotes.....ridiculous! I understand theinability of the human mind to handle extreme trauma, but all of thishappened before anyone knew they were in danger.The real pity is that they are making a sequel. Tragic.I will not waste no more of my time reviewing this film as I have to goand dig a hole for no apparent reason, and thats far more important.

Jakethemuss 2012-05-01 11:51:17

surprisingly graphic, surprisingly good!!

Before watching this, I was expecting another tame, filtered down"horror" yarn in the vein of recent day slasher flicks. I thought itwouldn't satisfy my thirst for on screen gore, or impress me as aremake of an old classic. I was wrong.For a mainstream, cinema released flick I was surprised with what theyshowed. I would liken it with Rob Zombie's 'The Devils Rejects' interms of how the violence is presented. Although not as disturbing asthat film, it is easily as gratuitous. I am no stranger to extremecinema, but this still managed to make me squirm in some parts.The film tells the story of an ill fated American family crossing thebarren deserts of New Mexico in an RV. Things take a turn for the worsehowever, when a tyre is punctured out in the middle of nowhere, leavingthe family stranded in the supposed empty desert. At the time they arenot aware of the danger that awaits them, whereas we are, which is whenthe tension starts to mount.It isn't long before the families unwanted guests pay a visit, and allhell ensues. Those who do go first, go out in hideous ways, leaving ahandful of survivors to fight for survival against not only thewilderness, but the less than hospitable creatures that call the hillshome. The film is directed in such a way, that you find yourself likingthe family, and almost being there with them as they face the troublestogether. Although it is a situation that none of us, or at least thevast majority of us, have ever been in, you could almost put yourselfin their shoes, its a fear that feels REAL.What intrigued my the most, was seeing the movie's hero, X-men starAaron Stanford, turning from normal day Dad to axe wielding avenger assoon as he realised he had to take action. Also good performances fromLost star Emilie De Ravin and Dan Byrd as her scared but helpfulyounger brother.I would recommend this to anyone who classes themselves as horror fans,as this does not fail to deliver the goods.

httpmom 2012-04-26 10:11:06

The Dog Really Rocks!!!!

OK...so I expect the characters to do absolutely idiotic things..it's ahorror movie...people are supposed to do idiotic things in horrormovies!!!! And half the characters are supposed to end up dead...ifthat doesn't float your boat then you should stop going to see horrormovies and quit giving bad reviews to movies you don't appreciate! It'ssimple really...don't vacation in Hawaii if you hate the beach! Here we have the usual good guys/ bad guys plot and our unsuspectinglittle middle class SUV camper family learns how to get a grip andsurvive quite well under some particularly unusual circumstances. Theplot is way stupid but the revenge is ever oh so sweet...especiallywhen you start out Democratic and anti- gun and you end up kicking assbetter than your red neck father-in-law! With a baseball bat noless...I was so happy the baby and the dog made it out...gotta lovethis family's dog! The makeup was slimy and blood clotty, the music fitting, even theacting was better than most horror flicks I really liked the openingscenes of actual nuclear experiments and the scenes with manikins allaround the abandon neighborhood...dolls and manikins are always creepy.There was also a good deal of humor in this movie...the American flagwas used rather symbolically...but what I love love love best aboutthis kind of movie is the wonderful audience participation...all thescreaming and laughing and for warnings...what a great time when theentire audience takes part with such abandon...at the end of the daythis is great family entertainment for weird ass families likemine...we took our teenage daughter and her boyfriend and everyone hada blast! Then we went out to a red and rare steak dinner! Now that's family entertainment!

Sam Cox 2012-04-25 17:39:01

Could have been brilliant but ends up as a slither- above-average horror

I watched the original Wes Craven film a couple of nights before thisremake and was overall disappointed. I won't go into a review but Ihave to say that it was clumsily but together and overall not scary orgory as it has been raved about so often.After several trailers, I was very much looking forward to this film,expecting plenty of frights and buckets of gore. The start of the filmis predictable, a couple of people getting killed to establish toestablish what the rest of the film is like. OK, so it's done well, andhas a sinister and gory effect...but what does it accomplish that theaudience doesn't already know? What would have been better is a properand decent introduction to the family travelling through the desert.The film's pace, as well as introduction is also questionable, it seemsto leap forwards at times but only to grind to an immediatehalt...whether this is to try and force feed us some character drivenmoments. The film only really picks up pace when it seems the directoris most comfortable, towards the climax.If you like your scares and gore, look no further. I can honestly saythe film does have its jumpy moments and is indeed full of gore andsome unpleasant moments...but these are far and few between. Betweenthe moments of horror and gore, you really want certain members of thefamily to just get on with it and die...which shouldn't happen if thedirector wants his / her audience to sympathise with the characters.In conclusion, the film was worth-while experience...and whereas itfails to identify itself as a leading horror film, it certainly keepsitself above the likes of; "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (2004) and"The Ring 2"....but if you want in my eyes what is the BETTER WesCraven re-make...then look to "Wrong Turn " (2003)...which althoughtechnically isn't a remake, serves as a better reminder of the earlierCraven work than this film does.

Camisado92 2012-04-24 13:47:53

Bloody, nasty, disgusting, and really good!

I recently viewed the unrated version of "The Hills Have Eyes" (2006)and thought that it was really good (I didn't see it in theaters, sothis is my first viewing). I didn't think that it was all that scary,maybe a little freaky, but not that scary, but it was very verydisturbing. Very bloody, very nasty, very disturbing. But as disturbingand nasty as it was, I expected it to be more disgusting.I liked the characters, and the dialogue was pretty good, thankfully itwasn't cliché like in most other horror movies. This movie is sortaemotional, it had me feeling for the characters, and cheering for themwhen they got away or "beat the bad guy". Unlike most horror movies(i.e. Friday The 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween), it didn'thave you cheering for the villain(s). This movie had me hating themutants and hoping that the protagonist(s) would get their vengeance.The plot was decent, it wasn't cliché or predictable, there was someplot holes though, and it left some things unanswered. I felt though,that this plot premise is overused, stranded in desert, characters findthey're not alone, etc (yes, I know this is a remake but it doesn'tmatter).Overall, I really enjoyed this movie, and highly recommend it to horrorfans, 9 out of 10 for "The Hills Have Eyes" (2006).

fereydoun hormozdiari 2012-04-24 03:59:53

Nerve Shattering, Disgusting

I am some sort fan of horror movies, but this can not even beconsidered as a horror movie. It is waste of time, money and worst of all makes you fill sick in yourstomach. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING WATCHING THIS MOVIE CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED. If you have 2 hours time, I would suggest you to stare at an off TV,than watching this nerve shattering movie.If I want to describe it in a nutshell, I would say "gross". Don't watch it!!!!!! Don't Watch it!!!!! Don't Watch it!!!!! Don'tWatch it!!!!! Don't Watch it!!!!

Jack Fletcher 2012-04-21 14:49:20

The Hills Have Eyes

Disturbing, tense and at times hard to watch.They didn't leave anythingto the imagination in this film, nothing was implied they showed youeverything.Deep in the New Mexican deserts, a small village of coal miners oncerefused to leave the area at the time the American government decidedto test nuclear weapons there, and now they still prowl the wasteland,assaulting travelers that dare to leave the main highways. The mutantsreally don't care whether the victims are females, elderly folks oreven newborn babies.The Carter family represent a normal family in a unmanageably badsituation.The father, the character who looks like he could be thesavior of the family ends up being killed off first which leaves therest of them to be very vulnerable.

daldrum 2012-04-20 23:57:14

What was the point?

OK, I learned the message in the opening credits, in the first 30minutes I learned there would not going to be any revelations, in theend I could see that one of the main characters learned to use andenjoy the gun. The stuff between was just violence. I am actually ahorror movie fan, but this movie made me sick and angry (not becausehow bad the world could be, or is), it made me think that the directoris a sick pervert. I almost wished sometimes that some scenes weresupposed be funny, but they were not. I believe that too much ofanything does not do any good. This movie is not telling us any newmessage, it is just a condensed can of violence. Exactly like Hostel.

psychopathic_records_cm 2012-04-17 12:31:54

everyone's a critic

does anyone like this move at all?It seems like everyone is a criticthese days.I think it rocked and lived up to the old one even down tocertain lines people said,"YOU GOTTA BE A MAN TO DO THAT". I think itwas well put together (as best as a movie can be come on people!) I'mfan of horror movies and always will be, i don't care how ridiculousthey get. I will go see Friday the 13th part 57 if they make one.Itsall about the BAD GUYS AND SENSELESS ACTS OF VIOLENCEforget the people!,they are sheep waiting to be slaughtered and that iswhy we go to see these movies which in my opinion are the best moviesever to grace the earth..........i have serious mental problemsI ENJOYED THIS FILM

austin_silver79 2012-04-16 23:55:53

Ever feel like you've been cheated?

Just like High Tension, in that everything that was ripped off thesource material was great. However that means every time Aja felt theneed to add something (it seemed only to avoid plagiarism) it justslowed the film to a crawl. The original is a tight examination of howthe "civilised" can be brutalized to base human instinct and vengeance.The new version is a sloppy statement of how much the French reallyhate Americans... As much as I usually agree, it feels forced, likehaving your teacher b**** at you over your older brothers behavior. Allin all wait for the "Unrated" DVD or do yourself a real favor and checkout Wes Craven's original... As for Aja, two movies down and not onesingle original idea of any importance. Weren't the French once mastersof Film??