THE HILLS HAVE EYES II

"Help Me!"

On a routine training mission, a platoon of soon to be sent to Iraq National Guard troops are sent to re-supply a group of scientists in the New Mexican desert. Little do they know that they are entering the region where the US military tested the A-Bomb and Sector 16 has residents that don't take to strangers, in fact if you go there you will never leave.

Remaking 70s and 80s classic horror movies is a fascination for Hollywood at the moment and when they do well at the box office it is inevitable that a sequel will be made but can the sequel to the gore-fest 'The Hills Have Eyes' keep up the same standards?

Reimagining class and foreign horror movies is a habit that Hollywood studios and filmmakers are finding it hard to get over. They are looking for the next horror franchise after the success of the 'Nightmare on Elm Street', 'Friday 13th', 'Halloween' and more recently 'Saw' series of films but instead of creating new and original movies to kick off a new franchise they continue to return to the 70s and 80s for ideas. In 2006, Wes Craven's 'The Hills have Eyes' was remade with great success, greenlighting a sequel to be released almost a year later but the problem that its down keep up the gore filled momentum of the first film.

The first remake introduced us to the inhabitants of Sector 16, the area of the New Mexican desert where the US tested the A-Bomb in the 1950s. Some of the miners that made their living there refused to leave at the time and this resulted in them been exposed to radiation. Decades of exposure and inbreeding led to mutation, isolating them from the rest of the world but whenever anyone came into their region of the desert they never left. The Carter family were the last ones to drive through Sector 16 but they fought back and took some of the mutants with them but not all of them are dead.

The sequel is a new story and not a remake of the original second part of 'The Hills have Eyes' story but the problem is that is doesn't keep up the momentum of the first remake. The gore level was set extremely high in the first film and introduced the mutant community and how they treated trespassers on their land. The sequel is more of the same however, with a platoon of National Guard trainees heading for Sector 16. The problem is that all the hard work done by the first movie is completely undone by the sequel.

The excessive gore, the mutant community, the desolate desert wilderness and gruesome killings have all gone to be replaced by quick scares, a small mutant family and the mines of Sector 16. While a change of direction is all well and good and can be inventive for a sequel, unfortunately it just makes the sequel look like a cheap cash in on the original. The unknown cast don't help either and the lack of any recognisable mutant from the first film is also a real let down.

'The Hills have Eyes II' is simply just a cash-in on the success of the remake. With no story enhancement, less gore and uninteresting characters this sequel brings nothing new to the franchise except a sense of been extremely average. It is not awful but just don't expect anything much from these gruesome mutants.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the movie is presented well.

BONUS FEATURES

Mutant Attacks (9.47 mins)
Director Martin Weisz, writer/producer Wes Craven, writer Jonathan Craven, producer Marianne Maddalena, production designer Keith Wilson, special effects makeup supervisor Tami Lane, visual effects supervisor Jamison Goei, costume designer Janie Bryant and stars Michael McMillian, Jessica Stroup, Derek Mears, Daniella Alonso, Lee Thompson Young and David Reynolds talk about the next chapter in the 'Hills Have Eyes' franchise. They reveal the new mutant clan that we meet in the second movie, very different from the family of the first and how they evolved differently from those in the first film. The featurette also looks at the various different mutants in the movie. This is a decent but short featurette on the horrible creatures of the movie.

Birth of the Graphic Novel (12.40 mins)
Editor and Chief R. Eric Lieb, editor Heidi MacDonald, writer/editor Jimmy Palmiotti, writer Justin Gray, artist John Higgins and colourist Dennis Calero talk about prequel graphic novel that charts the history of the mutants and connects the first and second films together.

Fox Movie Channel Presents: Life after Film School with Wes Craven (10.20 mins)
College graduates Kelly Gardner (CalArts), Katie Lovejoy (USC) and Vladimir Cverkio (USC) ask the master of horror some questions about his career, the movie and if he has any advice for them.

Exploring the Hills: The Making of the Hills Have Eyes 2 (12.42 mins)
Director Martin Weisz, writer/producer Wes Craven, writer Jonathan Craven, producers Marianne Maddalena and Peter Locke, production designer Keith Wilson, special effects makeup supervisor Tami Lane, director of photography Sam McCurbly and stars Michael McMillian, Jessica Stroup, Derek Mears, Daniella Alonso, Lee Thompson Young and David Reynolds take you behind the scenes of the making of 'The Hills have Eyes 2'. The group talk about their favourite scenes, as the featurettes reveals the secrets to creating the new shocks and the preparations the cast had to go through for the film.

Gag Reel (3.38 mins)
Watch the amusing National Guard intros and the many mishaps that happened on set.

Deleted Scenes (3.14 mins)
Entitled 'Spitter's name', 'Crank wants out', 'Camo-smell' and 'Missy wakes up', these deleted scenes suffer from the lack of a commentary track or introduction.

Coming Soon
Previews of 'Sunshine', '28 Weeks Later', 'Pathfinder' and 'Die Hard 4.0'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'The Hills Have Eyes 2' is up to the usual standard you'd expect from a 20th Century Fox release. With a good collection of featurettes and extra scenes, the only thing missing is a commentary track. Fans of the film should be pleased.

DVD

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

---

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2007