The Hills Have Eyes Review

5 star 1970’s horror at it’s terrifying best.

The Hills Have Eyes was first released in 1977 and was written and directed by the late great Wes Craven (The People Under The Stairs, Scream). Along with his other cult classic The Last House on the Left it is one of the seminal films which redefined the horror genre in the 1970’s.

It is now brought to us by Arrow Video in a 4K restoration.

“The lucky ones died first…”

The whole Carter family are heading off on holiday in their camper van. They are heading for California, but Bob (Russ Grieve – Foxy Brown, Dogs), the head of the family has decided to take a detour to find a silver mine they have heard about in the desert. Stopping at the last gas station for two hundred kilometres, they are warned by the owner, Fred (John Steadman – The Longest Yard), to stay on the road and not stray into the desert.

In true horror style, the family know best and employ the age old motto “What’s the worst that could happen?”, as they happily trundle up a dirt track into the heart of the no go zone. After swerving of the road, the axle of the station wagon is broken, leaving the family stranded, with no means of communication, in the burning heat.

Bob’s daughter Lynne (Dee Wallace – Cujo, The Howling), her husband Doug (Martin Speer – Coma, Killer’s Delight) and their baby are along for the ride, so the men, Bob and Doug head off in opposite directions to find help, leaving the rest of the brood undefended.

The kids Bobby (Robert Houston – Growing Pains) and Brenda (Susan Lanier – No Solicitors) and their two dogs are left behind with Lynne, the baby and their mother Ethel (Virginia Vincent – Eight is Enough). They soon begin to realise that they are not alone, there is a family living in these hills who enjoy the taste of human flesh and they will be very lucky to make it out alive.

The Hills Have Eyes is a truly frightening film, for a number of reasons. Rather than relying on darkness to provide the scares, much of it takes place in broad daylight, but still manages to pack a punch and the special effects are disturbingly authentic. There is enough blood and guts to satisfy a die hard gore hound and lots of well built tension.

The acting performances are extremely good, especially the cannibals, Pluto (Michael Berryman – The Devil’s Rejects, Weird Science), Mars (Lance Gordon – Twice Dead) and Jupiter (James Whitworth – Planet of Dinosaurs).

This a great conversion with plenty of special features and a must own for any self respecting horror collector.

“Do you always try to stop trespassers by hanging yourself?”

The Hills Have Eyes is available to buy now on DVD and Blu-ray