Mania Grade: B+
Disc Grade: A
Reviewed Format: DVD
Rated: R
Stars: Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, Martin Speer, Dee Wallace, Russ Grieve, James Whitworth, Lance Gordon, Michael Berryman
Writer: Wes Craven
Director: Wes Craven
Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 1977
Retail Price: $29.98
Extras: two-disc set; anamorphic widescreen; DTS 6.1; Dolby Digital Surround EX 5.1 & 2.0; mono; commentary track; documentaries; alternate ending; trailers; TV spots; galleries; bio; DVD-ROM screenplay and screen savers

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THE HILLS HAVE EYES

In the late 17^th century, a psychotic young sociopath by the name of Sawney Bean and his girlfriend ran away from his Scottish village to live as a hermit, taking up residence in the extensive system of caves along the coast of Galloway. Having cut themselves off from society, the Beans found their livelihood limited, and fell upon the age old practice of cannibalism to survive, waylaying any unlucky travelers that came their way to fill their larder. Decades went by and the incestuous clan made up of children and grandchildren of Sawney Bean grew to about 45, all trained as skilled hunters of human prey. Discovery of this monstrous family was delayed by more than their remoteness and stealth, as the local lord was said to extend his power by blaming some of the Beans' crimes on his enemies. Their end finally came when one of their prey escaped and attracted the soldiers of King James, who captured and slaughtered them all. And so ended the gruesome tale of Sawney Bean, who may have not existed at all. The earliest recorded mention of Bean was in penny dreadful accounts printed in England in the 1800s, which seized upon the more sensational aspects of accounts of Scots driven to cannibalism during the famines of previous centuries to promote anti-Scot sentiment.

Whatever amount of truth there is in the legend of Sawney Bean, director Wes Craven seized upon the bloody material as the perfect inspiration for the follow-up to his horror hit LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. Of course, he wasn't the first Jack Hill brought us Ed Gein by way of the Addams Family in his black comedy SPIDER BABY, and Tobe Hooper brought the terror up to frenzy level in TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. But while the Merrie and Sawyer families were hidden predators, Craven's clan were totally removed from society, and considering themselves above it, saw themselves as perfectly justified in preying on their inferiors. And of course, it's remembered as one of the prime vacation-gone-awry horror films.

To celebrate their 25^th wedding anniversary, retired Cleveland cop Big Bob Carter (Russ Grieve) and his wife Ethel (Virginia Vincent) gather their family for a cross-country trip to California. On a side trip to look at a rumored silver mine in the Nevada desert, an accident strands them in the wilderness bordering an Air Force target range. Bob hikes back to the last chance garage they passed and learns the awful truth from the old coot (John Steadman) that lives there: the coot's son is some sort of evil mutant that's been living in the desert for decades, preying on stragglers and raising a brood of wild cannibals. The wild folks have little trouble separating the family long enough to pick off a few and kidnap the infant child of daughter Lynne (Dee Wallace), after which the survivors desperately try to defend themselves.

Craven does a terrific job of building tension throughout the first half when the father and son Bobby (Robert Houston) are aware that something is wrong. As night falls, even the baby looks watchful! However, once the cannibal clan is revealed, the film's horror potential dissipates, and it becomes more of a disturbingly raw action adventure in the same vein as though a notch lower than DELIVERANCE. The tribe's patriarch Jupiter (James Whitworth of TERMINAL ISLAND) is a real disappointment, more like a scarred lumberjack than the man-monster he's been sold as. It's no wonder that his son Pluto (Michael Berryman, the genre star whose affliction with hydrochotic-extodermaldysplasia and subsequent medical treatment created his unusual looks) became the movie's advertising icon, though it turns out he's not much of a threat. Since shots of the villains chowing on human flesh had to be cut for an R rating, and their appearance isn't any worse than people we see on the street most days, they come off as routinely nasty bad guys rather than man-eating beasts. But Craven's eagerness to give his audience unique shocks is what makes his film a favorite after all these years.

Houston is impressively intense as the young default hero, although the film's true hero turns out to be a dog. As Bob, his annoyingly hysterical sister (Susan Lanier), and other family members dig in to fight their savage enemies (echoing the vengeful suburbanites of LAST HOUSE, a factor Craven would return to for A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), a great deal of excitement is generated before the film comes to an abrupt end.

Craven and producer Peter Locke explain how some scenes were switched for that ending during their commentrak, but fail to make a case that the film is more effective this way. They're fine company for the most part, laughing at their own inexperience and holes in the plot, though they tend to get wrapped up in watching the movie and forget to say anything at times. Craven also reveals how, even while fully aware that it's a cheesy little 16mm exploitation picture, HILLS resonates greatly with audiences due to the fact that he put so much of his own family relationships and political views into the film's subtext.

Remarkably, Anchor Bay ekes quite a bit of depth out of the mono sound elements for their various Surround tracks. But then, as Craven says while watching, "I think I had every sound effect in the world in there." The image looks fine, with the digital transfer showing more depth than the colors have ever had before, and relatively few scratches and blotches showing up in the frame. A 4-minute comparison sequence on the second disc shows off the job Crest National did in cleaning up the available materials.

Disc 2 has the movie's final reel as it was originally edited in blurry fullscreen, and the action is more satisfyingly resolved, but Craven made the correct decision in removing a saccharine final shot of the heroes reunited. More extras include three generous galleries of behind-the-scenes photos, posters & ad art, and storyboards, the original screenplay via DVD-ROM, and a text bio of the director. The bulk of the disc is devoted to two hour-long documentary featurettes. "Looking Back at THE HILLS HAVE EYES," the first DVD extra I've ever seen with a spoiler warning, is a retrospective on the film told through interviews with Craven and most of the surviving principles, clips and stills. The other featurette is an episode of the fine cable series THE DIRECTORS devoted to Craven that covers his entire career in a similar fashion. Unlike some "Masters of Horror," Craven got typecast in the scare game with extreme reluctance, and it's his attempts to explore unusual things that interest him within the genre that set him apart from those that might tend toward more reverent homage than innovation.

Brian Thomas is the author of the massive new book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!