''The Hills Have Eyes'' is a 2006
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by
Alexandre Aja and co-written by Aja and
Grégory Levasseur
Grégory Levasseur (born 1979 in Douarnenez, France) is a French screenwriter and film producer, best known for ''The Hills Have Eyes'' (2006), '' High Tension'' (2003), ''Maniac'' (2012) '' Piranha 3-D'' (2010), '' Mirrors'' (2008), '' P2'' (200 ...
, in their English-language debut. It is a remake of
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
's 1977
film of the same name. The film stars
Aaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford (born December 27, 1976) is an American actor best known for his roles as Pyro in '' X2'' and '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and Doug in the 2006 remake of '' The Hills Have Eyes''. From 2010 to 2013, he starred as Birkhoff in '' N ...
,
Kathleen Quinlan
Kathleen Denise Quinlan Abbott (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel '' I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,'' and her Golde ...
,
Vinessa Shaw
Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actor, and had her breakout role in Disney's 1993 Halloween comedy-fantasy film '' Hocus Pocus''. Shaw also appeared in '' Ladyb ...
,
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin (; born 27 December 1981) is an Australian actress. She starred as Tess Harding on '' Roswell'' (2000–2002), Claire Littleton on the ABC drama ''Lost'' (2004–2008, 2010), and as Belle on the ABC drama '' Once Upon a Tim ...
,
Dan Byrd
Daniel Byrd (born November 20, 1985) is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2004 film ''A Cinderella Story'', the 2006 remake of ''The Hills Have Eyes'', the 2010 films ''Easy A'' and '' Norman'', and the sitcoms ''Aliens in ...
,
Robert Joy
Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series ''CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films ''Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981), '' ...
, and
Ted Levine
Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Buffalo Bill in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009).
Le ...
and follows a family that is targeted by a group of cannibalistic mutants after their car breaks down in the desert.
The film was released theatrically in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
on March 10, 2006. It earned $15.5 million in its opening weekend in the U.S., where it was originally rated
NC-17
The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...
for strong gruesome violence, but was later edited down to an R-rating. An unrated DVD version was released on June 20, 2006.
Plot
Retired detective Bob Carter and his wife Ethel are travelling from
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
through the New Mexico desert for their silver wedding anniversary; with them are their three children, Lynn, Brenda, and Bobby, Lynn's husband Doug and their baby daughter Catherine, and their two
German Shepherd
The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
It was originally bred as a herding dog, for ...
s, Beauty and Beast. They stop at a gas station where the elderly attendant suggests a different route through the hills, claiming it will save them a few hours. Not long after, their tires are punctured by a hidden spike strip, causing the truck and trailer to crash.
Bob and Doug set off in opposite directions to find help while the rest of the family stay by the trailer. Beauty escapes and, when Bobby chases her into the hills, he finds her mutilated corpse. Horrified, he flees back to the trailer but falls off the hill on the way, knocking himself unconscious. A timid female mutant
Ruby
A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...
protects him from her brother
Goggle
Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...
. Meanwhile, Bob arrives back at the gas station. Upon searching the station, he finds newspaper clippings detailing various disappearances in the area after recent
nuclear testings at a
mining town by the US government that caused the mutants' deformities. He confronts the attendant who then commits suicide. Bob attempts to flee in an abandoned car but is attacked by the mutant leader
Papa Jupiter.
After Bobby is found by Brenda, Doug returns after heading towards the interstate and found a huge crater filled with numerous abandoned cars and other belongings. When being pursued by Papa Jupiter, Bobby confesses his story to Doug and Lynn, just as
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...
and
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
infiltrate the trailer. They attack and rape Brenda, who has stayed in the trailer with Catherine, while using a distraction of
immolating Bob to a tree to divert the others. When Lynn and Ethel return to the trailer, Lizard shoots both of them before abducting Catherine and escaping with Pluto. Doug and Bobby return to discover the carnage; Lynn and Ethel die shortly afterwards.
The next morning, Doug, along with Beast, set out to rescue Catherine. He comes across an abandoned nuclear testing village through the miner town's cave system but is knocked unconscious by
Big Mama
Big mama () is a Chinese language neologism for an Internet censor on web bulletin board systems in the People's Republic of China.
Big mamas are human censors and moderators on different online platforms who remove politically sensitive inform ...
. Awakening in an ice box, he escapes and encounters
Big Brain
Big Brain () is a South-Korean R&B ballad group that consist of four-members under the label World Show Market. They have been active since 2010 and officially debuted on October 22, 2015, with the album ''Billionaire Sound'' and their breakthro ...
who reveals the mutants' origins to him. Pluto appears and attacks Doug but he manages to gain the upper hand and kills Pluto with his own axe before killing another mutant,
Cyst
A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct envelope and division compared with the nearby tissue. Hence, it is a cluster of cells that have grouped together to form a sac (like the manner in which water molecules group together to form a bubble) ...
. After ordering Lizard to kill Catherine, Big Brain is mauled to death by Beast. Ruby manages to take the baby from Lizard and escapes through the hills.
Back at the trailer, Brenda and Bobby build an explosive trap, which they set off when Brenda is attacked by Jupiter. Meanwhile, Doug catches up with Ruby but Lizard attacks them before Ruby can hand Catherine over. A struggle ensues and Doug manages to defeat him with Cyst's shotgun. Ruby then gives Doug his daughter back. Lizard, still alive, aims the shotgun at Doug but Ruby tackles Lizard off a cliff, sending them both falling to their deaths.
Bobby and Brenda find Jupiter wounded from their trap and Brenda finishes him off with a pickaxe before the siblings are reunited with Doug, Catherine, and Beast. As the survivors of the Carter family embrace, an unknown mutant watches them from afar through binoculars.
Cast
*
Aaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford (born December 27, 1976) is an American actor best known for his roles as Pyro in '' X2'' and '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and Doug in the 2006 remake of '' The Hills Have Eyes''. From 2010 to 2013, he starred as Birkhoff in '' N ...
as Doug Bukowski
*
Kathleen Quinlan
Kathleen Denise Quinlan Abbott (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel '' I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,'' and her Golde ...
as Ethel Carter
*
Vinessa Shaw
Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actor, and had her breakout role in Disney's 1993 Halloween comedy-fantasy film '' Hocus Pocus''. Shaw also appeared in '' Ladyb ...
as Lynn Carter-Bukowski
*
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin (; born 27 December 1981) is an Australian actress. She starred as Tess Harding on '' Roswell'' (2000–2002), Claire Littleton on the ABC drama ''Lost'' (2004–2008, 2010), and as Belle on the ABC drama '' Once Upon a Tim ...
as Brenda Carter
*
Dan Byrd
Daniel Byrd (born November 20, 1985) is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2004 film ''A Cinderella Story'', the 2006 remake of ''The Hills Have Eyes'', the 2010 films ''Easy A'' and '' Norman'', and the sitcoms ''Aliens in ...
as Bobby Carter
*
Tom Bower
Thomas Michael Bower (born 28 September 1946) is a British writer and former BBC journalist and television producer. He is known for his investigative journalism and for his unauthorised biographies, often of business tycoons and newspaper pr ...
as Gas Station Attendant
*
Billy Drago
William Eugene Burrows (November 30, 1945 – June 24, 2019), known professionally by his stage name Billy Drago, was an American television and film actor. Drago's films, in which he was frequently cast as a villain, included Clint Eastwood's w ...
as Papa Jupiter
*
Robert Joy
Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series ''CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films ''Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981), '' ...
as Lizard
*
Ted Levine
Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Buffalo Bill in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009).
Le ...
as Big Bob Carter
*
Desmond Askew
Desmond Askew (born 17 December 1972) is an English actor of film and television. In 1983 he had the lead role of 'naughty schoolboy' in the promo video of the Wham! single " Bad Boys". He has appeared in the films '' Go'' (1999), ''Repli-Ka ...
as Big Brain
*
Ezra Buzzington
Ezra Buzzington is an American character actor in film and television. A figure in underground cinema, Buzzington is also the founder of the Seattle Fringe Festival and co-founder of the New York International Fringe Festival.
Career
With ov ...
as Goggle
*
Michael Bailey Smith
Michael Bailey Smith (born November 2, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his appearances on the television series ''Charmed'', where he played Belthazor, a Grimlock leader and Shax.
Early life
Smith was born in Alpena, Mich ...
as Pluto
* Laura Ortiz as Ruby
* Maisie Camilleri Preziosi as Catherine Bukowski
*
Gregory Nicotero as Cyst
* Ivana Turchetto as Big Mama
* Judith Jane Vallette as Venus
* Adam Perrell as Mercury
Production
An international co-production film between The United States, France and Morocco.
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
, director and writer of the original film, considered a remake after he saw the success of other horror remakes such as ''
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, ...
'' and ''
The Amityville Horror
''The Amityville Horror'' is a book by American author Jay Anson, published in September 1977. It is also the basis of a series of films released from 1979 onward. The book is based on the claims of paranormal experiences by the Lutz family, b ...
''. The search then began for filmmakers to helm the project. Marianne Maddalena, Craven's long-time producing partner, came across
Alexandre Aja and his art director/collaborator Grégory Levasseur who had previously made the French slasher film ''
High Tension
''High Tension'' (French: ''Haute Tension'', ; released in the United Kingdom as ''Switchblade Romance'') is a 2003 French slasher film directed by Alexandre Aja, co-written with Grégory Levasseur, and starring Cécile de France and Maïwenn, ...
''. After showing the film to Craven and the rest of the production crew, they were impressed with the pair. Craven commented that they "demonstrated a multi-faceted understanding of what is profoundly terrifying" and "After viewing the film and then meeting the film makers, I knew I wanted to work with them."
Aja and Levasseur then began to re-write the story in what was the pair's first American production. Initially the remake was setup at
Dimension Films as part of Craven's overall deal with
Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a leadi ...
,
Dimension then put the film into turnaround where it was acquired by Fox Searchlight.
Director Aja and art director Grégory Levasseur chose not to film in the original's filming location of
Victorville, California
Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810.
History
In 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a waystation called "Lane's Cr ...
, and instead scouted many locations for filming including
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The two settled on
Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate (; ar, ورزازات, Warzāzāt, ; ary, وارزازات, Wārzāzāt; shi, label=Berber, ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ, Warzazat), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Dr ...
in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, which was also known as "the gateway to the Sahara Desert".
The film is set in New Mexico, and strongly implies that a large number of atmospheric nuclear weapon tests were performed in that state. In fact, the only atmospheric nuclear detonation in New Mexico was the
Trinity test
Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert abo ...
, the first test of a nuclear device conducted on July 16, 1945. The United States carried out most of its atmospheric nuclear weapons tests at the
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site (N2S2 or NNSS), known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of th ...
and in the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...
at the lagoons of
Bikini
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coverin ...
and
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
, between 1946 and 1962. The theatrical poster shows Vinessa Shaw's character prone, with a mutant hand on her face.
During the opening sequence, flashes of deformed children are shown. These children are victims of
Agent Orange infamous for its use during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
Effects
Prior to filming, Aja and Levasseur had already conceived an idea for the mutants' appearance. "We based all our descriptions and directions on real documents, pictures and footage that we found on the effects of nuclear fallout in
Chernobyl
Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...
and
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
", explains Aja. ''The Hills Have Eyes'' utilized the K.N.B. EFX Group Inc. who had done previous work on films such as ''
The Chronicles of Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, tele ...
'' (for which they were nominated for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
) and ''
Sin City
''Sin City'' is a series of neo-noir comics by American comic book writer-artist Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in ''Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special'' (April 1991), and continued in ''Dark Horse Presents'' #51 ...
''.
K.N.B. spent over six months designing the mutants, first using 3D designer tools, such as
ZBrush, allowing them to use a computer to generate their sculptures. After prosthetics were made, they could be fitted to the actors before filming. Robert Joy, who plays the mutant Lizard, explained, "Every day, these amazing artists took more than three hours to transform me into something that could only be found in a nightmare."
K.N.B. artist
Gregory Nicotero was also made a cameo as Cyst, the mutant with the halo headgear.
Jamison Goei and his team, who had done previous work on ''
Hellraiser: Hellseeker'' and ''
Halloween: Resurrection'', had done over 130 visual effects for the film. A large part of that was digitally constructing the testing village, which in actuality was only one built street with others digitally added. The team also warped the mutant's faces slightly, which is shown mostly in the character of Ruby.
Papa Jupiter displays no deformities. However, as shown in "The Making Of", Papa Jupiter appears to have a large
parasitic twin
A parasitic twin, also known as an asymmetrical or unequal conjoined twin, is the result of the processes that also produce vanishing twins and conjoined twins, and may represent a continuum between the two. Parasitic twins occur when a twin embr ...
attached to his upper left torso. The young children of the film had their deformities added by CGI, with the exception of Ruby, who had a combination of CGI and makeup.
Casting
The casting process began with the selection of
''The Silence of the Lambs'''
Ted Levine
Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Buffalo Bill in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009).
Le ...
as the character Big Bob. Levine was also a fan of the film ''High Tension''. Afterward,
Kathleen Quinlan
Kathleen Denise Quinlan Abbott (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel '' I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,'' and her Golde ...
was cast as Ethel in her first role starring in a horror film (despite appearing in ''
Twilight Zone: The Movie'' and ''
Event Horizon
In astrophysics, an event horizon is a boundary beyond which events cannot affect an observer. Wolfgang Rindler coined the term in the 1950s.
In 1784, John Michell proposed that gravity can be strong enough in the vicinity of massive compact ob ...
''). Next,
Aaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford (born December 27, 1976) is an American actor best known for his roles as Pyro in '' X2'' and '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and Doug in the 2006 remake of '' The Hills Have Eyes''. From 2010 to 2013, he starred as Birkhoff in '' N ...
was cast as Doug Bukowski who "undergoes the most radical transformation of anyone in the Carter family".
Stanford even asked not to see any of the mutants in make-up before his character's battle in the testing village so, that way, he'd be truly frightened. When casting Lynn, Doug's wife, Aja wanted to cast
Vinessa Shaw
Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actor, and had her breakout role in Disney's 1993 Halloween comedy-fantasy film '' Hocus Pocus''. Shaw also appeared in '' Ladyb ...
who he had wanted to work with since seeing her in
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's 1999 film ''
Eyes Wide Shut
''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Traumnovelle'' (''Dream Story'') by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's set ...
''. Shaw was hesitant to play the role, but after watching ''High Tension'', she agreed, explaining: "There was such an odd combination of beauty and terror, it felt almost like an art film. So, after meeting with Alex and Greg, I decided to do it."
For the role of Brenda, the filmmakers sought a young actress who had relatively little exposure and found it in
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin (; born 27 December 1981) is an Australian actress. She starred as Tess Harding on '' Roswell'' (2000–2002), Claire Littleton on the ABC drama ''Lost'' (2004–2008, 2010), and as Belle on the ABC drama '' Once Upon a Tim ...
, who was beginning her rise in the television series ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
''. After de Ravin,
Dan Byrd
Daniel Byrd (born November 20, 1985) is an American actor. His most prominent roles include the 2004 film ''A Cinderella Story'', the 2006 remake of ''The Hills Have Eyes'', the 2010 films ''Easy A'' and '' Norman'', and the sitcoms ''Aliens in ...
was cast as Bobby. Byrd had previous genre experience starring in ''
Salem's Lot
''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (or 'Salem's Lot for short) in Maine, where he ...
''.
Aja then had the six actors arrive in the filming location of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
early to bond together.
When casting for the mutants, associate producer Cody Zwieg explained: "We needed to find actors who could not only perform the stunt work, handle the extensive makeup and perform in that makeup, but who truly could embody the fierce, primal nature of the mutants' way of life."
To play the role of Pluto, Aja looked to
Michael Bailey Smith
Michael Bailey Smith (born November 2, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his appearances on the television series ''Charmed'', where he played Belthazor, a Grimlock leader and Shax.
Early life
Smith was born in Alpena, Mich ...
, who had been in ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child''. For Lizard, the filmmakers cast
Robert Joy
Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series ''CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films ''Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981), '' ...
, who had made previous genre films such as ''
Amityville 3-D
''Amityville 3-D'' (also known as ''Amityville III: The Demon'') is a 1983 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Tony Roberts, Tess Harper, Robert Joy, Candy Clark, Lori Loughlin and Meg Ryan. It is the third fi ...
'' and
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...
's ''
Land of the Dead
''Land of the Dead'' (also known as ''George A. Romero's Land of the Dead'') is a 2005 post-apocalyptic horror film written and directed by George A. Romero; the fourth of Romero's six '' Living Dead'' movies, it is preceded by ''Night of the Li ...
''. Ezra Buzzington, impressed with the filmmakers, agreed to play the role of Goggle and even watched a documentary about human cultures engaging in
cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
. To play the mutant leader, Billy Drago was cast. Drago had previously had a role in
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...
's ''
The Untouchables
Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to:
American history
* Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness
* ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley
* ''The U ...
'' and other horror features. The most difficult mutant to cast was Ruby, who was a "touch of sweetness to the madness of the mutants."
Laura Ortiz was ultimately cast, making her film debut.
Release
Box office
''The Hills Have Eyes'' was a commercial success, playing in total 2,521 theaters and taking in its opening weekend $15,708,512.
The film grossed $41,778,863 in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
box office
and $70,000,000 worldwide,
surpassing its budget costs by over fourfold.
The film placed third at the box office during its opening week.
It dropped to fifth after its second week of release, and to eighth after its third week. It fell out of the top 10 into twelfth place after four weeks in release. After five weeks, it placed seventeenth at the box office, and it fell out of the top 20 into twenty-first place after its sixth week. It continued to fall in subsequent weeks.
''The Hills Have Eyes'' was in first release for a total of 105 days, or 15 weeks, with its final showing on June 22, 2006.
Critical reception
Reviews were mixed, with an average critic "Rotten" rating of 52% on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 142 reviews. The critical consensus stated "Faster paced for today's audiences, this 'Hills' remake ratchets up the gore for the hardcore horror fans, but will turn away casual audiences."
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' said: "this remake of the alleged 1977 Wes Craven classic has one very disturbing quality: It's too damned good."
Some have gone on to refer to the film as
torture porn
A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the h ...
.
Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...
, however, was scathing of those who referred to the movie's genre as such, saying "some may call it 'Torture porn'—these people are idiots".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
also gave a negative review, mentioning that the characters in the film are not familiar with horror movies, and went on to cite that the film should have focused more on the characters rather than the violence, saying "''The Hills Have Eyes'' finds an intriguing setting in 'typical' fake towns built by the government
..But its mutants are simply engines of destruction. There is a misshapen creature who coordinates attacks with a walkie-talkie; I would have liked to know more about him, but no luck."
Sequel
A sequel, ''The Hills Have Eyes 2'', was released in theaters March 23, 2007.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack score was composed by
tomandandy
Tomandandy is an American musical duo from New York City, consisting of members Thomas Hajdu and Andy Milburn. While they are best known for their work scoring films, their portfolio includes music for television commercials as well as televisi ...
. The record was released on March 7, 2006, via
Lakeshore Records label.
;Track listing
US edition
:Tracks 10 to 29 are all original music composed by tomandandy
# Leave the Broken Hearts –
The Finalist
# Blue Eyes Woman –
The Go
The Go is an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1996, the group released seven studio albums before their indefinite hiatus in 2013.
History
The Go was established in Detroit in 1996 by Bobby Harlow, John Krautner, and Ma ...
# Highway Kind – Moot Davis
# Summers Gonna Be My Girl –
The Go
The Go is an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1996, the group released seven studio albums before their indefinite hiatus in 2013.
History
The Go was established in Detroit in 1996 by Bobby Harlow, John Krautner, and Ma ...
# More and More –
Webb Pierce
Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American honky-tonk vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the ...
# The Walls – Vault
# In the Valley of the Sun –
Buddy Stuart
# Daisy –
Wires on Fire
#
California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 1 ...
–
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...
# Forbidden Zone
# Gas Haven
# Out House
# Praying
# Beauty
# Ravens
# Daddy Daddy
# Beast Finds Beauty
# Trailer
# Aftermath
# Ethel's Death
# Next Morning
# Mine
# Village Test
# Breakfast Time
# Play with Us
# The Quest I
# The Quest II
# Sacrifice
# It's Over?
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Interview with director Alexandre Ajaa
www.sci-fi-online.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hills Have Eyes (2006 Film), The
2006 films
2006 horror films
2000s horror thriller films
2000s monster movies
American horror thriller films
American monster movies
American slasher films
French horror films
French horror thriller films
French slasher films
Moroccan horror films
2000s English-language films
Films directed by Alexandre Aja
Adaptations of works by Wes Craven
Remakes of American films
Horror film remakes
Films set in ghost towns
Films set in New Mexico
Films shot in Morocco
Films scored by Tomandandy
Mannequins in films
Fox Searchlight Pictures films
American serial killer films
American rape and revenge films
Films about cannibalism
The Hills Have Eyes
Films about families
Films about vacationing
Films set in deserts
2000s American films