Beyond Contempt

Rating: 2/10 (30 January 2007)

First off, the original was no classic. It was a low-budget 70's exploitation flick (and a lousy one at that.) It was neither well-received by viewers nor lauded by critics. If it made any money at all, it was due to its minuscule budget, not an overwhelming demand for rentals. Those who refer to it as a classic were clearly born too late to remember it.
The passing of time seems to turn even the worst trash into gold in the minds of those who rate and review movies (eg "The Fog", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Friday the 13th", etc.) "Hills" is not even the most significant Wes Craven schlock-fest of its era, that distinction belongs to the yet to be remade "Last House on the Left." Certainly a gloss-coated, big budget remake of that one can't be far off. Here's hoping that Hollywood sinks into the Pacific first! Anyway, I saw the original decades ago on VHS (as well as the other "classics" mentioned above) and I didn't completely hate it. Of course, I was twelve and wanted to see anything that made grownups upset. I do recall that it seemed trashy even for Wes Craven (back then he was widely considered the worst hack horror director on the planet.) So now here is the inevitable remake of this stinker and it's even more despicable than the first. It plays like a snuff film with a little bit of Rambo thrown in towards the end.
Would be a 1 but for some nice desert photography. It isn't as if the director is incompetent this time around, just sadistic and heavy-handed. And French too, which explains the lame attempt to politicize this bloodbath. Just what sort of platform is this for political messages? The bloody-mutant-shooting-burning-raping-biting-the-heads-off-birds party for the liberation of... Oh who cares. Enough said about this nonsense.
How to explain the numerous fawning posts found here? Children.
And watch out for the inevitable sequel! Will it be a remake of the original sequel or will they take this story in a new and exciting direction? Certainly the kids will debate it endlessly in the discussion threads below. To quote a line from a better movie: I weep for the future.