The Hills Have Eyes
Prepare to soil your underwear with sequences directed with masterful suspense
The revenge of the remakes continues unabated with Wes Craven's 1977 low budget horror 'The Hills Have Eyes' - the latest lamb to the slaughter. The Carter family, characterised by stereotypical American superficiality and materialism, are making their way by caravan across former US government nuclear testing country and (wouldn't you know it?) encounter some zombies mutilated by the fallout. Unfortunately for the Carters, they make the villains in most other horror flicks look like the Brady Bunch. To begin with, it's average road movie fodder, but when the mutants come out to play, prepare to soil your underwear as sequences directed with masterful suspense by Alexandre Aja more than make up for the somewhat predictable plot. In addition to the stunning desert scenery, great acting and grotesque effects make for a very good movie that will please hardened horror fans. The curse of the remake has not dumbed down a classic. [Stuart Kelly]