Excellent new take on a 70s classic!

Rating: 7/10 (13 November 2006)

Right after the worldwide success of the excellent violent horror film "Haute Tension", French director Alexandre Aja found himself under the spotlight as one of the new talents in the horror genre. Asked by director Wes Craven to rewrite his own 70s horror movie "The Hills Have Eyes", Aja accepted to write the remake but as the project got bigger, Aja finally accepted to direct the film himself. The remake of Craven's violently gory tale of a dark ruthless side of America remained mostly faithful to the original, although Aja certainly did add his own touch and aimed for a subtler (but still appropriate) social cometary this time. This new version of the old 70s classic really plays its chances and does what every remake should do: try to actually improve the previous film. And surprisingly, it succeeds.
As in the original, "The Hills Have Eyes" is the tale of the Carters, an all-American family on a trip through the American southwest as they head to California for a nice Vacation together. While crossing the most difficult part of New Mexico's desert, their vehicle's tires blow and soon they find themselves stuck in the middle of the desert. Apparently without any way to get help, the family members' own personal differences begin to arise, but their familiar difficulties will be the least of their troubles as they discover that their accident was in fact a trap, a trap set by another all-American family, that just happens to be a bit twisted.
Alexandre Aja and his regular collaborator Grégory Levasseur take Craven's original nightmarish plot about the violent meeting of two sides of America and flesh out the story giving some more details about the origin of the mutant family. As in his previous movie, "Haute Tension", suspense and tension play a role as big as the violence and the gore, and the long scenes of introduction of the characters are a key factor in this: Aja and Levasseur create believable and overall likable characters, so realistic that it's really easy to be identified with them and be terrified by the horrors they have to endure. While the film may not offer something truly original, I found that the way it develops the characters is really what makes it so effective.
As in his previous two films, Aja makes an excellent use of color and cinematography to create haunting atmospheres of isolation and hopelessness. The graphic violence displayed on the film is ruthless and without remorse (specially during the first attack), but what makes the film so powerful is the way Aja builds up the situation, making the actual violence seem even more disturbing than what's shown on screen. While the film still follows some of the conventions of modern horror (mainly the editing style), it somehow recaptures the spirit of the original's "grindhouse" way of film-making.
The acting in the film is remarkably realistic, as most of the cast does an excellent job, particularly Aaron Stanford and Vinessa Shaw, who are very effective. Stanford truly stole every of his scenes and ends up being an excellent lead actor. Ted Levine, Billy Drago, Tom Bower and Kathleen Quinlan are the experienced side of the cast, and without problem show their talent even when their roles are somewhat small (Sadly, Billy Drago's screen time is almost a cameo). Dan Byrd and Emilie De Ravin are the youngest and show a huge potential as their reactions to the horrors in the film are nothing short of believable.
As far as remakes go, it's safe to count Aja's take on "The Hills Have Eyes" as one of the best, not only in terms of being an excellent horror film, but also as a movie that shows respect for the original while adding some good new ideas (as well as better technology for the effects) to an already known plot. Probably my biggest complain would be that Aja's decision of taking the mutants out of the spotlight makes Craven's cometary too subtle to be noticed (they look less as a family, and more as a gang of monsters), however, I can understand his reasons, as the now enhanced mystery surrounding their actions truly adds to the suspense and tension that Aja was going for.
"The Hills Have Eyes" may not be a turning point in cinema, or a very original film (it's still a remake after all), but it certainly delivers what one looks in a horror film of this kind: captivating plot, enough suspense, and horrifying violence. All in all, it may not become a classic, but it's good enough to give it a chance. Alexandre Aja is showing a lot of talent, and one wonders what he'll show us in the future. 8/10