The Hills Have Eyes

THE HILLS HAVE EYES (18)

D: Wes Craven

Vanguard / Blood Relations Company (Peter Locke)

US 🇺🇸 1977

89 mins

Horror

W: Wes Craven

DP: Eric Saarinen

Ed: Wes Craven

Mus: Don Peake

Martin Speer (Doug Wood), Susan Lanier (Brenda Carter), Robert Houston (Bobby Carter), Dee Wallace (Lynne Wood), Janus Blythe (Ruby), Michael Berryman (Pluto), James Whitworth (Papa Jupiter)

Many consider this 1977 horror film to be Wes Craven’s finest work, even better than A Nightmare on Elm Street, which is the film that really made him a name. For me, The Hills Have Eyes Is a decent horror film, but also highly underwhelming.

Filmed on a low production budget, the story follows a family en route to California when their motor home breaks down in the Mojave desert, leaving them stranded without help as they are stalked by a group of cannibalistic savages who live in a cave in the nearby hills.

Only 89 minutes long and the tension and grotty atmosphere never relents, helped immensely by the low budget production values, grainy camerawork and the casting of Michael Berryman as one of the villains.  Unfortunately, the film ends with no real resolution, even if it does showcase Wes Craven’s skills as a great director of horror.

5/10