An excellent entry in an almost lost genre.

Rating: 9/10 (23 March 2006)

Before I start I want to remind everyone that this is from the perspective of someone who has NOT seen the Craven original so I am reviewing the remake alone.
After such a disappointing year for horror I was certain that perhaps this genre had run its course. After being quite shocked at the chilling story of The Ring I figured that maybe it would lead to a jump in the genre. However, ever since the ring I have yet to see a horror film that was truly worth seeing{exception of Saw and Saw 2}. My worries are starting to get lifted after seeing The Hills Have Eyes. I wasn't expecting much from this movie because despite liking High Tension I thought this movie was just being over-hyped. However, I now realize that this movie is even more chilling than High Tension. This story is about a family that is on vacation through a desert when they stop at a gas station. The owner then tells them about a shortcut, but just like classic horror this shortcut leads them to nothing but disaster. I feel that I should remind you that this movie is not perfect. One thing that was disappointing was just how long it takes to get started. I realize that they can't just open the movie with the family getting chased through the desert but for pace sake they should have cut the beginning down at least a good 15 minutes. However, once it gets started it doesn't stop. This is one of the only horror movies I've seen lately that had me on the edge of my seat from the time it starts murdering to the time it is over. Some of the murder scenes in this movie are just disgusting, but that makes them fun as well. I found myself cheering for the family every time they succeeded in outwitting the mutants. The rock-esquire soundtrack is excellent. I hope more good horror movies come with this one. In summary this is {except for slow parts at the start} a chilling, edge-of-your-seat, disgustingly satisfying horror film. Now I just have to find something to do until the release of Silent Hill where I hope I am just as pleasantly surprised as I am here.