The Hills Have Eyes grounds itself in mounds of blood, gore and mutant carnage. The last decade embellished in horror remakes, some absolutely abysmal that shan't be discussed whilst others were just rolling around in mediocrity like a pig in mud. Aja's remake of Craven's original mutant bash is surprisingly well-fitting despite some tendencies that cause characters to make impeccably stupid choices. Hills were present, and deformed eyes were glaring down at tourists with a palpable sense of blood-thirsty dread. Delicious. A family embarking on a road trip get lost in the middle of a New Mexico desert. With their car mysteriously damaged, they are unable to go anywhere.
Enter the irradiated miners to cause terror, steal babies and illicit some uncalled promiscuity in the form of rape. Most family members, notably the father, son and sister's boyfriend, have a suitable amount of personality that make their characters worth investing in. After all, this is a horror dealing with an ever-growing list of expendable cast members, so to inject some attachment to them made the obnoxious jump scares and ridiculously dumb character choices tolerable. Individuals splitting up doing their own thing without thinking is a precedent in this remake, allowing the mutants to prowl the hills and hunt them down. Speaking of murdering primitives, Aja intelligently shows us glimpses of them initially in order to crank up the tension. Unfortunately he does not maintain that for much longer. As soon as he shows them in the glorious moonlight, the mystery and suspense dissipates immediately with most of the mutants coming across as basic.
Let's be honest though, you came for the gore. And my word, you got it! Shotgun to the head, pickaxe to the eye and the heroic pet dog Beast ripping throats out like it's his day job. Exceptional work in the makeup department, no question. This is by far one of the better remakes from the naughties. Whilst I do take issue with some characters, directorial choices and the lethargic ending, these hills were a pleasant (if you can say that) re-visit.
