The Hills Have Eyes
Directed by Wes Craven
- horror
The story
Taking an ill-advised detour en-route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their RV breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, they find themselves at the mercy of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills.
What it’s like
Sun-bleached and punishing, with the desert doing most of the work: wide, washed-out exteriors of cracked earth, scrub and bare rock under a flat white sky, shot in grainy 35mm that gives everything a dusty, sandpapery texture. The camera stays fairly rough and unsettled, drifting with handheld wobble and cutting to glimpses of things half-seen in the rocks, while the score is sparse and jittery, built on eerie strings and sudden stings rather than a steady theme. The mood is raw, hot and grimy, a sun-scorched unease that builds into exhausting dread. Brutal and graphic: the violence is frequent, sudden and bloody, including rape, murder, cannibalism, a dog's death and a fiery climax, with real gore and disturbing cruelty that land hard rather than being softened. Not for anyone wanting something gentle or low-stakes. Best suited to viewers who want a stripped-down, old-school survival horror with a gritty, exposed feel and don't mind an unrelenting, nasty tone.
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