The Hills Have Eyes (DVD)

I can remember seeing the original The Hills have Eyes when I was younger, on its cinema release. Since then it has acquired a cult film status and has been a regular must see throughout the years in the horror section of Video Rental Stores. I was really curious to see what director Alexandre Aja would do with his remake. The net result is that he stays very close to the original in terms of plot but adds on more detail and background, to the point that the result seems more of a rebuild than a remake. I wonder if Wes Craven in his involvement in this remake actually had some input into the film itself. I say that because this film is so good that it could almost be the original director, revisiting his film and adding to it. However, don't let that observation detract from Aja's work as the director because believe me, he has made a superb horror film here.

As I have mentioned before, it stays very closely with the plot and sequences of the original film. The cast get well stuck into their roles, and some of them look eerily like the same characters in the original film too.
Aja gives the film a sun bleached look and brings the harshness of the desert environment to life superbly. At times the rocks themselves seem to emanate heat. The plight of the Carter family in this harsh environment is starkly realised, as is the terrifying nature of their assailants - the irradiated mutants.
The remake is even gorier than the original, and at times the pace of this film is breathtaking and relentless. Aja, however, gives us more detail than the original into the background of the mutants, and how they came to be the way that they are.
He also shows us that the horror genre can make serious social comment. The test dummies that are found throughout the houses of the mutants, can also be interpreted as the attitude of the then US Government towards its citizens at the time of nuclear testing....

The audience I saw the film with in the cinema were utterly engrossed in it from start to finish. For the most part they were completely silent, except when screaming and jumping at certain sequences. When leaving the cinema after the film had ended they were all talking among themselves about how good it was.
I was amazed at how good it was and the dvd will definitely be joining my collection.
If you have not yet seen this film then prepare to be chilled.