The Trailer Park: The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

If I admit to not remembering much of Wes Craven's original The Hills Have Eyes, will my official horror fan card be revoked? I hope not. It's true, I don't remember much of that film, and at this point I don't have any intentions of revisiting it until after I get to see this new version. I don't want to have my outlook colored by my reaction to the original.

That said, I love the trailers and commercials that have been released thus far. It has that grim and gritty look, reminiscent of the seventies films. It looks right for the material. On top of that, it looks like it is going to be truly creepy.

The movie was directed by Alexandre Aja, who was behind last year's (in the US anyway) High Tension. I saw that movie, and loved it until the end. It was dark and gruesome, and really felt like a throwback to the old school slasher films. It had a relentless killer, who liked to ply his craft in a variety of ways. There was the heroine who is pushed to the limits in her attempts to get away, but has a powerful reason to stay. Aja's style, as demonstrated in High Tension, seems to be perfectly suited to this remake. Hopefully, I won't be proven wrong.

The cast also looks pretty good, with a mix of recognizable faces and no big name stars. Included are Aaron Stanford (Pyro in X2, and upcoming X3), Emilie de Ravin (Claire on Lost), Kathleen Quinlan (Breakdown, Event Horizon), and Ted Levine (Monk, Memoirs of a Geisha).

Remakes are always a questionable exercise. Lately, there has been a deluge of remakes, particularly in the horror genre. I don't have anything against remakes, although a lot have proven to not be worth my time. Occasionally one sticks out of the crowd and brings an interesting new vision to the screen. What I have seen so far indicates that The Hills Have Eyes may be one of those few.

You can see the trailer at the official movie site, which also indicates we may be getting an HD version soon!

Here are some production stills from the film:


Categories: Trailers, Movies, Previews, Horror