( 2006 / USA )
( 2006 / USA )
Review by Paul Cooke
Director: Alexandre Aja Screenplay: Wes Craven , Alexandre Aja & Gregory Levasseur Starring: Aaron Stanford , Kathleen Quinlan , Vinessa Shaw , Emilie de Ravin , Dan Byrd , Ted Levine , Billy Drago , Michael Bailey Smith , Robert Joy , Laura Ortiz , Ezra Buzzington & Ivana Turchetto Source : 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Anamorphic / Wide Screen Ratio 2:35:1 / Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound / Audio Commentary Tracks / Production Diaries / Making Of Documentary / Music Video‘‘It’s breakfast time !’’
Wes Craven’s original terror tale of cannibalistic outcasts is thrust upon a new generation of movie goers , and any expectations of just another remake will leave them as startlingly unsettled as their unsuspecting Seventies counterparts. Director Alexandre Aja hasn’t just taken his pay cheque , by cashing in on the deservedly due amazing success of his earlier 2003 made ‘Haute Tension’ and served up another straight remake for the studio , but has gone all out and created his own stylish reinterpretation.
With close friend and fellow cohort Gregory Levasseur the two young film makers have breathed new life into a classic horror experience , and in so doing have unquestionably created a cult film all their own. The audience of today are the future generation who will relay their unnerving experience of the time they first watched Alexandre Aja’s ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ !.
The creativity of both Aja and Levasseur behind the camera and in the developmental stages of the film making process is clear to behold. Their enthusiasm and energy for film making is infectious and evidently brings out the very best in all those around them. The resultant end product is a visual platter for the eye to behold , and a cardio work out for the body to experience throughout the nerve jangling synaptic structure of the story telling. Both ‘Haute Tension’ and ‘The Hill’s Have Eyes’ will pin you back in your seat , where a centrifugal force of intensity will quaver the perspiration beading upon your brow , as the pervasiveness permeates outwardly from the screen. Tension so vivid you can almost reach out and feel your finger tips tingle at the charge being given off.
The involvement of Wes Craven as Producer is a welcome blessing as the collaboration can only have been beneficial for all concerned and most beneficially of all to us , the paying patrons !. Time , care and attention to detail are all evident here , and the fact that almost three years unraveled between Alexandre Aja first discussing the project , and finally completing it , clearly shows. The time was well spent , not in bureaucracy , but in writing and planning. Both Aja and Levasseur’s love of Craven’s original concept and completed film is another benefit to the audience , as they like you and I are Fans of ‘The Hill’s Have Eyes’. No one gets screwed over here folks , as fans of the original have not been taken for granted and the new generation of multiplex multitudes are treated with respect for their intelligence. The scare tactic cliché’s are pretty much redundant , reliant more on isolated tension and atmospheric music. The use of CGI is almost unnoticeable as it melds into the very framework of the film stock itself. Without question this is cause for celebration !. The unsettling unease throughout the movies well defined running time will leave most with a firm crease in their theatre seat upon leaving , as the butt clenching experience of undertaking ‘The Hill’s Have Eyes’ is one that will unequivocally involve you !
Ted Levine , himself no stranger to psychotic roles , is family patriarch Big Bob heading up his unit for the annual vacation. They are on the road with a big camper trailer with a very young baby and two Alsatian dogs , along with the core family members. Their journey takes them along the long and arduous desert highway , but whilst stopping off at a gas station they are offered an alternate shorter route , one that leads them on the road to hell !. Their vehicle and trailer crash off the road after crossing an intentionally laid trap and they are stranded , alone , in the desolate landscape. Big Bob and son in law Doug set off in opposite directions to seek help , but nightfall closes in on the remaining family members which now consist of Big Bob’s wife Ethel , played by Kathleen Quinlan , daughters Lynn and Brenda , teenage son bobby along with Lynn and Doug’s baby girl. They will not all survive to see the break of day !.
This modern version of Wes Craven’s grueling tale of hillside dwelling desert cannibals does not skimp on the savagery of its counterpart cousin , far from it !. Violence , rape , murder and barbaric retribution are all on the menu and as brutal , if not even more so , in the same intentionally unabated fashion as torn from the headlines of yesteryear and today’s news tabloids. Society more than ever has dark recessed pockets of non conforming reprobates beyond even our collective nightmarish imaginations. Here they come out to feed in the form of mutants who have survived , through a generation of in breeding , the diabolical effects of nuclear weapons testing. The make up and very well done digital enhancements for the disfigurements are extraordinary. When Doug goes in search for his abducted daughter later in the film , and comes across the dwelling house of the character Big Brain , the chilling , yet pathetically helpless situation of this apathetic thing is a jolting vision to behold. Michael Bailey Smith , who plays the giant marauding mass that is Pluto , is well cast as the singularly focused mutant family protector. A relentless maniacal killing machine that even after numerous bodily attacks does not die easily. Wielding a mighty built to last old styled mining axe he is like an attacking front line American footballer with a licence to maim and kill.
Billy Drago is the cannibal commune leader and his maniacal turn as Papa Jupiter is as consummate a role as he has ever played. Drago never needs any pointing out , just look into his eyes and follow in the wake of his destructive path. Robert Joy as Lizard is also very convincing in his portrayal of a would be baby eating carnivore , made up with a cleft lip that displays his rancid mouth ulcers and decayed teeth , looking like the runner up to play Gollum in ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ but genuinely too shocking at interview. These mutant miscreants manifest their intentions upon the stranded family with malicious intent beyond the boundaries of human suffering. The level of barbarism laid at them is often graphic and with a startling finality. The rape scene plays out as the two other women are assaulted in a bloody fashion , but not before dealing out a measure of gory retaliation in return. Even the caged budgies are attacked , with the familiar shock scene of one having its head bitten off and its blood trickled down the throat of Lizard. The blood and guts are a visceral sideshow as fingers are chopped off , throats ripped open and a very satisfying axe to the head moment splatter forth with great regularity.
If you had reservations about Hollywood cashing in once again on the popular remake front , don’t be here !. Alexandre Aja has intentionally followed and fulfilled the most essential of movie revisit rules , he has not remade ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ he has actually created his own reinterpretation !. What Aja has also done is faithfully followed the pivotal ingredients that made the original so successful , yet intricately invigorated life into its very fabric to modernise its classic individuality. Adding the background story of nuclear testing is inspired , and the way the movie opens with such ferocity sets the viewer up for a stay awake horror showcase to come. This is without a doubt a refreshing re-injection for the horror genre and one that sees a bright future for its makers , Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur. May the Hills be alive with the sound of their film making for many more successful movies to come.
The Un-rated DVD is a very welcome release from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Both picture quality and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track are very nice indeed. Play the DVD through an upscale and the vibrancy of the movie bleeds out of your screen via an HDMI connection. The circa fifty minute behind the scene making of feature is both entertaining and informative. There are two audio commentary tracks that amongst others feature Alexandre Aja , Gregory Levasseur and Wes Craven. Production diaries are also informative and the obligatory music video allows for a winding down distraction after a great nights viewing.
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© 2006 cinema-nocturna.com
