The most horrifying, rip roaring suspense/thriller in years!!

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 2006)

I am a HUGE Horror fan, have been for the last 10 years. So you must take that into consideration when reading what will be a glowing review. I had a feeling this remake of a classic Horror flick (which I have not seen) was gonna be good but imagine when I discovered how truly incredible this film is!! It's brutally gritty setting, it's excessive "R" Rated gore scenes, the apocalyptic "no one left on Earth" type atmosphere, the chilling and disturbing Nuclear mutated human beings, the controversial "rape scene", this may be the modern day version of what Texas Chainsaw or The Exorcist was to the film goers three decades ago.
Ted Levine is not the star but he's the head of the family, Big Bob Carter. Hauling his family across thousands of miles on his and his wife's 25th Wedding Anniversary. Ted doesn't last long sadly because he has a larger than life character who I thought would put up a bigger fight but I think it sets the tone for how brutal and vicious the killers are. Bob Carter is a former detective who is like Dirty Harry and doesn't take anybody's crap. Levine is good as the tough strong Bob. Dan Byrd gives an incredible performance as eldest son to Bob, Bobby Carter. Byrd goes through the usual range of emotions of any person trapped in a horror film but does it without being campy or off beat. He's strong but terrified, angry but saddened and determined to protect his family. This could really do something for Byrd's career. Oscar Nominated Kathleen Quinlan plays the mother, Ethel Carter in a fairly small but significant role. Much like Ted Levine she only shows a glimmer of what would be a vital character before she is stomped out but that too is meant to be. You're supposed to become as quickly attached to these characters so you really feel their deaths when it happens. Vinessa Shaw (who I thought bares a striking resemblance to Hilary Swank) plays eldest sister Lynne. Her motherly instinct, love for her family, and her sacrifice to try and save her family is definitive. Her performance fits right in with this terrific cast. The lovely Emilie de Ravin plays youngest sister Brenda and I immediately recognized her from one of my favorite TV series LOST. She is the scream queen of the film and probably one of the lesser performers in many ways. She's mostly the eye candy/time filler/ and screamer but for those purposes she does well. She spends probably 80% of the film literally screaming at the top of her lungs and trying to bury her heavy Austrailian accent which only works some of the time. And then we have the hero who starts out as the furthest thing from the hero, Aaron Stanford, who plays Doug, husband to the eldest Carter daughter and father to their infant daughter. Doug is made out to be shallow, rather annoying, unfeeling, always fighting with his father-in-law and maybe even a bit of a philanderer as he catches a glance at this young sister-in-law but in the thick of the film Doug is forced to become the Saviour of the entire family and he becomes this incredible hero who goes the distance and protects his daughter and his extended family. Stanford is unfamiliar to me but he does an incredible job in this role and easily carries the film. He has a definite seventies, hippie look to him which plays a part in the setting of the film which feels retro. He is the perfect guy for this role. Also honorable mention to Tom Bower who plays the disturbed but otherwise normal gas attendant who leads the victims to the killers. He definitely fits the profile of the weird, desolate gas station attendant and although the role is a little predictable he does it well.
One of the reasons The Hills Have Eyes is so great is it's unpredictability. How often can you say that about a hacker horror film. Never!! Rarely!! The Hills Have Eyes breaks the mold of who would normally die and how...who would survive...the story that is actually so well done and unfolds very subtly throughout the course of the film. Although some of the situations and characters are fairly run of the mill the plot and setting is very unique and I was so pleasantly surprised at the outcome of who survives...it's so unpredictable!! It's nice to know that not everyone will just get hacked to pieces. Fairly new director Alexandre Aja has hit a true home run with this film. He truly may have found a knack with this horror film. Wes Craven still produces this remake of his original film and I'm sure having the master of horror himself nearby helps a great deal. Still Aja's style was brilliant. He manages to make a wide open, completely empty desert seem like the most claustrophobic place on earth. Everything is shot so up close that everything looms at you and it's just terrifying. The entire film beginning to end takes place in that desert and yet it never gets boring or repetitive. The shock and horror comes from the brutal, gruesome, gory kills and the sheer sight of these horrible abominations that were once normal humans. I think one of the most horrifying scenes in film history is when Doug is attempting to save his daughter and the two grotesquely mutated little girls turn to him and say "Hey Mr., will you play with us." BRUTAL!! Better than REDRUM or anything from The Shining. The opening sequence set to soothing classical music that flashes scenes or deformed children will set the mood and your scares for the rest of the film. This film is exactly why we should embrace with open arms...remakes of great classic films!! 10/10