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The Hills Have Eyes Movie Review

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Actors: Martin Speer, Robert Houston, Susan Lanier, Michael Berryman, James Whitworth, Dee Wallace-Stone

Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Hills Have Eyes

A family traveling through New Mexico on their way to California gets sent on a dead-end short cut through the desert by a gas station attendant.
The desert was a nuclear testing ground during the fourties and is now home to a race of genetic mutants that prey on the poor souls that happen to pass through.
The family's tires are blown out by spikes and they're stranded with their suburban and camper.
The dad, Bob, walks back to the gas station and his son-in-law, Doug, goes the opposite direction in search of help. Doug finds a dead end and returns to the camper, but Bob, back at the station is abducted by the mutants, tied to a tree near the camper and burned alive.
When Doug, another son, Bobby, and their mother went to help, two mutants storm the camper. They rape one of the daughters, Brenda, and when the other daughter tries to help they kill her and take her baby. When the mother returns to help she is also killed.
The following day, Bobby and Brenda remain at the camper and manage to kill one of the mutants while Doug goes after the ones that took his baby. He finds a village of mutants hidden in the hills. He fights with and kills two of the mutants and sees a girl run away with the baby. He catches her and she gives him the baby, but he's attacked by another mutant. He fights off the mutant and believes he's dead, but the mutant rises behind him.
The girl tackles the mutant and they tumble off a cliff.
Doug, battered and bloody returns to a relieved Bobby and Brenda who barely survived this terrible ordeal.
--Brandon Swenson, Resident Scholar

THE HILLS HAVE EYES is a movie written and directed by Wes Craven in 1977.

The Carter family is heading to California. They get lost in the middle of the desert and have a car accident. They soon discover that they are observed by a semi savage family living in the hills around them. While Bob Carter is trying to find a phone, the rest of the Carters are savagely attacked by Pluto, Jupiter and Fred.

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout.

--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar

Analysis of The Hills Have Eyes

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 50%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%

Time/Era of Movie: - 1960's-1970's
Wilderness adventure Yes
Plotlets: - hunted by inbred rednecks

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - blue collar worker
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Hair color? - brunette (Brown)
Hair style - short/standard straight (man)
Body type - average (man)
Events of movie makes character more... - aggressive
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Secondary Main Character
Identity: - Male
Hair color - blonde - brunette (Black)
Hair style - (man) short/standard straight
Body type - average build (man)
How much in movie? - 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male - an entire race
Age: - 40's-50's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - 40% - 80%
Hair color - brunette (Black)
Hair type - (man) short/standard curly
Body type - muscular (man)
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - West - Southwest
Desert? Yes

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - gory visuals of deaths - very gory visuals of deaths and torture
Movie makes you feel... - in awe - all mixed up
How many deaths in film? - 4-8 - 8 or more
Sex/nudity in movie? Yes
What kind of sex: - kissing - sex under blankets
Kind of violence: - hand to hand - guns - knives
Unusual forms of death - dropped from large heights - flamed - perforation--bullets - perforation--swords/knives
Any profanity? - Occasional swearing - Some foul language
Lot of special effects? Yes

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Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:

Daniel Staebler

SCHOLARS: Brandon Swenson

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