The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1984)

Jonathan Debin

Kevin Spirtas

Janus Blythe

Michael Berryman

***The Hills Have Eyes Part II*** is a 1984 American horror film written and directed by Wes Craven. The film stars Tamara Stafford, Kevin Spirtas and John Bloom, with Michael Berryman and Janus Blythe reprising their roles from the original film. *The Hills Have Eyes Part II* is the sequel to the 1977 film.

## Plot

The film begins with a man narrating then opens with Bobby Carter and his psychiatrist discussing the events of the first film, which took place eight years ago. Bobby is still traumatized by the events, but he and Rachel, (formerly known as Ruby) who now owns a biker team, have also invented a super fuel that can power bikes. The team is due to race in the same desert where the original massacre took place and Bobby's psychiatrist convinces him to go, but he declines and Rachel takes his place. The team consisting of the blind Cass, her boyfriend Roy, Harry, Hulk, Foster, Jane and Sue meets up at a bus and sets off. Along the way, they pick up Beast from a dog pound. Previously owned by the Carters, he now belongs to Rachel.

While going through the desert, they get lost and Harry suggests a shortcut through the bombing range. As they drive, the bus begins leaking fuel and they stop at an old mining ranch. As they explore the mine, Pluto, who apparently survived the earlier attack from Beast, attacks Rachel. She fights him off and he retreats, but no one believes her at first until Pluto returns and steals one of their bikes. Roy and Harry chase him down, but Harry falls behind, gets caught in a trap and is flattened by a massive rock. Roy catches Pluto, but is ambushed by a 7-foot cannibal called the Reaper, who knocks him unconscious. The Reaper is later revealed to be Papa Jupiter's older brother.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group stays at the mine until nightfall. They begin to worry about Roy and Harry, but Rachel and Hulk depart to look for them while the others stay behind. The Reaper begins to stalk the remaining teens. As Hulk and Rachel try to escape by motorcycle, the Reaper shoots Hulk through the chest with a spear bolt, leaving Rachel to run away in fear.

The Reaper returns to the mine, where he pulls Foster under the bus and kills him. Jane finds Foster's body just before the Reaper catches her and crushes her in his arms. Sue returns to the camp, only for the Reaper to throw her through a window and slit her throat with a machete. Rachel runs into Pluto, who pins her to the ground, but Beast surprises him and chases him away. Rachel tries to follow Beast, but runs into a trap set by the Reaper, which catapults Hulk's corpse against her. Slammed backwards, she trips and fatally hits the back of her head on a rock.

Meanwhile, Roy wakes up and runs into Pluto at the top of a cliff. Pluto gets ready to attack him, but Beast returns and knocks him off the cliff to his death. Cass runs from the Reaper and ends up in his mineshaft where he dumped the bodies, and comes across the corpses of all her friends. She throws a jar of acid at the Reaper's face and escapes up a rope with help from Roy. The Reaper follows them, but they trap him in a bus full of bike fuel, set it on fire and watch as it explodes. The Reaper escapes from the wreckage covered in flames and attempts to kill them one last time, but he stumbles into an open mineshaft, falling to his death after which Roy and Cass embrace. The film ends with Roy, Cass and Beast walking away from the mine at sunrise, into the vast desert as they follow the road home.

## Cast

* John Bloom as The Reaper
* Michael Berryman as Pluto
* Janus Blythe as Ruby
* Tamara Stafford as Cass
* Kevin Spirtas as Roy
* John Laughlin as Hulk
* Peter Frechette as Harry
* Willard E. Pugh as Foster
* Penny Johnson as Sue
* Colleen Riley as Jane
* Robert Houston as Bobby Carter

## Reception

The Hills Have Eyes Part II received severely negative reviews unanimously. Rotten Tomatoes has rated the film 0% on their website. According to interviews, many of the film's problems stemmed from time constraints and budget issues, starting from the fact that Wes Craven only made the film due to having money issues at the time. Even several of the film's cast and crew have claimed to dislike the film, such as Michael Berryman and Craven himself, who reportedly disowned the film after it was released.