The Hills Have Eyes (2006 version)

THE HILLS HAVE EYES (2006 version)

A slick and polished remake, the 2006 version of The Hills Have Eyes follows the spine of the original 1977 movie quite closely (especially for the first half) with a few narrative detours here and there.  The violence is more graphic and the antagonists more gruesome.  The plot once again follows the Carters (an extended family that ends up stranded in the desert after a car crash).  In this version, the crash is not an accident but the result of a trap set by the savage mutants who dwell in the hills.  At the midpoint, the Carters find themselves under siege by some of the bad guys (who in this version exist due to nuclear weapon testing decades earlier).  Much carnage ensues, and the mutants kidnap a baby.  A good portion of the second half follows the efforts of Doug (the infant’s father) to recover his child.  Ultimately Doug and two other survivors gather with the rescued baby and a dog (a family pet).  The final image suggests that their ordeal may have only just begun.

The characters that make up the Carter family are (like in the original version) a bit bland and thinly-drawn while the fierce antagonists are far more interesting.  I’m partial to quirky and memorable characters, and the Carters don’t qualify.  Despite this shortcoming, I enjoyed the remake of The Hills Have Eyes and (perhaps to the horror of die-hard fans of the 1977 original) would recommend this version over the older iteration of the Carter family’s tale.  Fans of home video extras should be delighted with the Blu-ray, which includes two commentary tracks.  Check out The Hills Have Eyes remake this Halloween season for a story about ordinary people battling hideous mutants in the desert.  It’s an entertaining flick about primal survival.