Worthy Remake

Rating: 7/10 (29 March 2006)

Having seen the original "Hills Have Eyes" and was bowled over by Alexander Aja's "Haute Tension," I anticipated his take on this recent remake of a well know horror film. I have to say that Aja stayed true to the original but then built upon that further and made some improvements that worked. The effects were impressive, most notably, the mutant make up effects and the acting was better especially with the characters of Bobby and the son-in-law. The infamous trailer attack scene is much more brutal and shocking than the original. The only problem I had with the film was that it dragged in places much like the original had and the characters are never really sympathetic but rather a bunch of boorish, whiny people (with the exception of the older daughter and the dogs). Having watched the original, I knew who was going to die and I think this took away from the intensity but Aja did a wonderful job at recreating and updating the film for today's audiences.