The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

As you may have gathered from this site horror films are a guilty pleasure to me. A friend recently queried my response to horror films as a Christian, something that got me thinking, and to be hoinest I'm still not sure how I feel. To me certain horror films are enjoyable for the way they can engage you and provide a tense and exciting experience. Those films that seek to glorify violence or encourage it do not achieve this, the best horror films feature ordinary people surviving extraordinary situations. It is right in this category that The Hills Have Eyes falls, a remake of Wes Craven's low budget 1970s original the story concerns itself with the misfortunes of a family, who, whist travelling through the desert break down, only to find they aren't alone. Alexandre Aja first came to peoples attention with the brutal and decent (the ending aside) film High Tension (or Swichblade Romance as it was titled over here). Here he steps up a gear and once again proves that he has something that separates him from the generic horror pack at the moment. This is a tough and uncompromising film that benefits from his unflinching direction and steady hand. I haven't seen the original, so without comment to that I have to say that this is one of the more impressive horror outings I've seen in a while. What separates this film from the other more psychological horror films of late (the Gruge etc.) and similar slash flicks (the recent remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre aside) is the careful build up and well detailed characters. Too often in horror films the characters are ignored in favour of gore and suspense, but the most effecive way of drawing an audience into what's happening on screen in to have them care. The family in the film are far from the usual cardboard cutouts, they seem real. The arguments, the way they relate to each and chat. These characters are people, and as such it makes the film more engrossing and horrific when things kick off. I won't spoil much but the film is not afraid to push the boundaries, but in a tasteful way always focusing on story and characters. The tension is build effectively and builds to a wonderful, unrelenting climax. Unfortunately this happens with about 1/3 of the film to go. This is my main complaint with the film, that it reaches this wonderfully intense point, and then lets it go off the boil by skipping ahead to the following morning. By giving the audience this time to breath and recover it never quite manages to recover the same momentum and does leave some of the ending of the film dragging slightly. This and some horror cliches aside this is a very impressive film that looks stunning throughout thanks to the gorgeous Texas scenery and with unusually great performances from all the cast. If you're a horror fan than I would reccomend this film, if not and you feel you can handle it then this is a great ride and one that like the best horror films leaves you breathless and sticks with you long afterwards. A lean mean and brutal horror film that after a slow start goes straight for the jugular. With decent characters and an unflinching eye this stands out from the horror crowd, if you can stomach it.