![]() Alexandre Aja doesn’t abandon any of the sweltery terrors that sting like scorpion bites yet injects more of Leatherface’s shadowy, tight-corners territory chases through houses or Michael hiding behind drying laundry lines. It’s one of the original film’s undeniable contributions to horror - the stark reminder that danger lurks anywhere, at any time. The remake is an immeasurable upgrade in texture and tone without ditching the idea that nobody is safe in the daylight. Shades of 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are present in terms of adapting to more shark-smelling-blood horror structures, making Papa Jupiter’s ranks infinitely more intimidating predators. As 2000s horror trends go, The Hills Have Eyes leans into all the gruesome slasher tropes and hyper-adrenalized ferociousness that make for a more violent, in-your-face horror experience. Aja and Levasseur ditch the weirdly incestuous undertones between brother Bobby ( Dan Byrd) and sister Brenda ( Emilie de Ravin) while still allowing Bobby to make that inappropriate Freudian rattlesnake joke to his mother. The little tweaks stand out like Bob’s American flag fastened to his truck dragging a more contemporary Airstream or gnarlier cosmetic work on the faces of an uglier cannibal collective. Of course, Bob’s flock doesn’t know their accident is by nefarious means - but they will once Papa Jupiter’s ( Billy Drago) radioactive family starts hunting them for meals. After a shifty gas station attendant (played by Tom Bower) gives Bob fake shortcut instructions, they’re stranded between rocky mountain ranges after crashing thanks to Lizard’s ( Robert Joy) spike strip. Bob veers off course to soak in the scenic grandeur of New Mexico’s desert nothingness, where their sweaty-yet-idyllic vacation turns into a nightmare. Go big or go home, as the youths say (if they even say that anymore).īig Bob ( Ted Levine) and his wife Ethel ( Kathleen Quinlan) celebrate their silver wedding anniversary by driving from Cleveland to San Diego with their daughters, son-in-law, and granddaughter. Wes Craven contained his attack against an unfortunate road-trippin’ family to the crash site’s immediate area while Aja adventures into surrounding atomic suburbs and mineshafts. ![]() ![]() The family’s patriarch doubles down on his republican politics, ruthless villains are no longer just smudged with dirt to denote vagrancy, and America’s derelict treatment of bombing site fallouts haunts massive craters. Hordes consider Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes a sunbaked classic, and Aja rises to the challenge of ensuring that historical reverence isn’t sullied nor lazily recreated.Īlexandre Aja and co-writer Grégory Levasseur embellish every detail Craven could not and aim to expand their 2000s The Hills Have Eyes beyond prior-known boundaries. Aja understands remakes are an opportunity to build upon legacies and inject personal flourishes, ensuring that Craven’s namesake is honored yet never regurgitated without reason. Craven’s foundation is fundamental to Aja’s success, but it’s never a direct copycat. Backstories are juicier, the scares are scarier, and the gore is gorier with extreme extrapolation. It’s a wonderfully demented slice of horror history that I proudly own and rewatch, serving as a reminder that remakes aren’t enemies to their originals.Īlexandre Aja‘s 2006 revamp under Fox Searchlight Pictures takes what’s there and mutates pure evils with nuclear negligence. The bones are sturdy but licked cleaner of meatiness, while choppy editing or ’70s technological restraints limit what can be accomplished. ![]() Craven’s 1977 The Hills Have Eyes is a microcosmic take on roadside roving mongrels enacting extreme violence on innocent passersby, and also a prime example of works that could benefit from a remake. The sorely missed master of horror went on to hone his craft as a writer and director, tidying visions and coaxing stronger performances. Wes Craven‘s The Hills Have Eyesis a seminal “Sunny Scary” horror flick renowned for its cannibalistic hilltop clan, but it certainly presents as one of Craven’s earliest works.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |