The Hills Have Eyes (1977) 8 out of 100

Susan's History with this Film:

This film was passed onto “The Jimi” for a reason……I couldn’t stomach watching it again.

James "the Jimi" Hattar submitted the following Feminist Slasher Project Investigation and Review:

Play by Play:

The “The Hills Have Eyes” (1977), starring a young Dee Wallace (The Howling) and the creepy lookin’ Michael Berryman, is a brutal low budget horror film from director Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream). A decent remake of the film was directed by Alexandre Aja (High Tension) in 2006. More of a fight to survive than your typical Slasher flick, Craven created a tense, vicious film about cannibalism, rape, murder, child endangerment and the killing of animals; topics that are frowned upon compared to your typical Hollywood fare. I believe though that part of this film owes more to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” than anything. Here the story breakdown for y’all.

During a cross country trip to California, the extended Carter clan (the family includes – mother, father, two daughters, one son, a son-in-law, a baby and the two family dogs) takes a detour into the heart of the desert in the hopes of finding a silver mine that the mother and father had inherited years before. Against the advice of a curious old man that owns a run down gas station, the family heads down a deserted dirt road (the desert area is a military bombing range) searching for the silver mine, but the father (an ex-cop) drives off the road, breaking an axle on the car and stranding the family in the middle of nowhere.

While the Carters are far from civilization, they are not alone. With names like Jupiter, Pluto and Mars; a crazed, cannibalistic, mutant family (kinda looking more like dirty hillbillies than anything) are watching these trespassers from the surrounding rock falls and are planning their attack. The Carter family splits up, the father heading in one direction for help, while the son-in-law heads in the other direction, leaving the son to watch over the three women and baby. As the night grows, the cannibalistic family makes its move. The All-American Carter family’s lives are shattered in a brutal attack that ends with rape, murder and the kidnapping of the baby. Now faced with the sorrow of their losses and an escalading fear, the remaining Carter family must become like their hunters in order to survive. The film then becomes a war between the Carter family and the mutant family as the desert sun climbs to its height. The drama unfolds in an abrupt conclusion.

The performances are pretty good from the actors portraying the Carters. You feel for the Carter family and the horrors they go through. It’s the acting of the mutants though that’s over the top and cartoonish for me. Not the best film by Wes Craven (that would be “A Nightmare on Elm Street”), but it’s well made and brutal. The violence is cruel and quick but the film is not overly graphic. Craven’s film makes you think though. What would you do in a situation where your family is threatened? When we are pushed into a corner and our family is in danger, normal, non-violent people can become monsters if it means survival. A classic, early work from Wes Craven.

Feminist Slasher Project Research:

The Carter women were portrayed as scared and hysterical when it came to danger and were weak physically and emotionally as victims. The women of the mutant family were obedient and scared of the men of their household. The men of both families were the leaders and the women were followers. The men turned out to do most of the fighting, but with the help of the women. The Carter women did their best to defend themselves, especially while trying to stop the mutants from kidnapping the baby. One of the mutant girls even has a conscience and decides to assist the Carters later in the story. Though trying to survive, the women in this film were not as independent or as strong as some may like. I liked this movie, but I will have to give “The Hills Have Eyes” a red light for the Feminist Slasher Project.