There is a lot of content on this new Limited Edition 4K UHD release of The Hills Have Eyes from Arrow Video. An awful lot. But perhaps that’s a good thing as Wes Cravens 1977 exploitation ‘classic’ isn’t ageing all that well and you’ll likely spend more of your time with the features than the film itself.
Surely everyone knows the story by now? A largely unpleasant, all-American family are on a vacation trip to Los Angeles when against the advice of a local they take the backroads and fall foul of an equally unpleasant family of cannibals.
Much has been written about the political, social, and moral themes evident in The Hills Have Eyes. Craven has spoken on the film’s ‘rage against American culture’, it has been described as a rape and revenge film, and it could be read as having something to say on minority groups and ethnicity. It could also be just another nasty horror film.
Viewed now, you can make your own assumptions. There is no doubting the film’s significance and legacy in genre filmmaking, with the heavily influenced Wrong Turn franchise spawning another entry in the last 12 months, and Craven’s focus on the dysfunctional family unit a prevalent theme throughout cinema itself.
But is The Hills Have Eyes actually a good film? If your memory is a positive one; a tender, reverential view of a cult classic, then rewatching may cause you to question those opinions. Seen for what it is, this is a mean-spirited, somewhat grisly story which, while clearly having something to say, is questionable in how it says it.
The Hills Have Eyes 4K UHD is released on November 8th.
