The Hills Have Eyes is a remake of Wes Craven's exploitation horror flick from 1977(the same year Star Wars was released if anyone cares). The original picture is held in high regard by many fans of the genre and while I've always liked parts of it, I've never found it to be the cult classic many proclaim it to be. Certainly, I've always applauded Wes Craven's ability to finish that picture with what was obviously a minuscule budget. Furthermore, the original "Hills" benefitted from a mostly amateur cast. It brought a sort of camp value to the proceedings.

In terms of plot structure (or lack thereof), this Hills Have Eyes is extremely faithful to the original save for an effectively manic opening and an added bit of mayhem (and bizarre social commentary) in the final act.

As The Hills Have Eyes opens, we're introduced to the Carter family. They're making the long trek to San Diego by means of a motor home. As is often the case in such movies, the unsuspecting family stop at a run down gas station in the middle of nowhere, and converse with the eccentric proprietor (the wonderful character actor Tom Bower) of the creepy looking location . The crazy old codger tells the quick -to -believe family that an off the map dirt road will serve as a speedy short cut to the highway. Without missing a beat, the Carters take the new route completely unaware of the nightmare that lay ahead.

The nightmare that awaits the Carters comes in the form of a pack of deformed cannibals who reside in the hills of the scorching desert, and these nasty individuals a rooster tail of dust coming their way means they know where their next meal is coming from.

The Hills Have Eyes is an often horrific and brutal beast of a thriller and it's clear that director Alexandre Aja is hellbent on making the audience as uncomfortable as humanly possible. Look no further than a twisted, perverse, gut wrenching scene in which a mutant rapes a young woman, then proceeds to point a loaded gun at the face of a crying infant. It's disgusting to be sure, but it's purpose it to set the tone of the entire movie. Any one of these innocent characters could be killed at any possible moment.

Unfortunately though, not much else in the movie maintains that same level of vicious visceraal intensity, because The Hills Have Eyes becomes more over-the-top as the film progresses. In this regard, it reminds me of a picture that the original Hills Have Eyes (as well as the brilliant Texas Chainsaw Massacre) inspired-- the goofy but compulsively watchable Wrong Turn. That silly but entertaining flick also featured deformed psychopaths looking to take out anyone who might cross their path.

This "Hills" cast is more seasoned than the cast of the '77 version. Ted Levine (Silence of the Lambs) is perfect as the head of the Carter clan. It would have been interesting if Aja would have cast him as one of the mutants instead, because he excels at playing weirdos. Kathleen Quinlan ("Breakdown"-go figure) is sweet as Levine's God fearing wife. Rounding out the human cast are Aaron Stanford (X-Men 2), Vinessa Shaw (Eyes Wide Shut), Emilie de Ravin (t.v.'s "Lost"-that's fitting), and Dan Byrd (A Cinderella Story).

Robert Joy (Land of the Dead), Bill Drago (The Untouchables), Ezra Buzzington (the upcoming Zodiac), and Michael Bailey Smith (Undisputed), and Desmond Askew play the mutants with demonic glee. Askew in particular has a few inspired moments as a wheel chair confined baddie with an abnormally large head.

As was the case in the recently released Eight Below, many of the actors in The Hills Have Eyes are upstaged by a dog. The gorgeous German Shepard in question engages in a couple of the more heroic moments in the movie.

Director Alexandre Aja is clearly in his element here, and he finds plenty of time to wink at the numerous film makers he obviously looks up to. There's a homage to the red hooded sweat shirt from Don't Look Now (Eli Roth paid tribute to the same film in Hostel), and there's a less obvious wink to Quentin Tarantino's True Romance (watch for a scene in which one of the Carters takes on an enormously large mutant-it's extremely reminiscent of a similar such scene in True Romance when a beaten down Patricia Arquette retaliates against a much larger James Gandolfini).

Ultimately though, Aja's take on Craven's film isn't half as gripping or atmospheric as his own terrifying Haute Tension. Yes, I'm first to admit that the ridiculous twist in that picture is inane beyond belief, but as a whole, it's a much more effective horror movie. If you haven't seen it, it's a must if you're a fan of the genre. The Hills Have Eyes is shot with the same sort of grainy texture as Haute Tension giving the movie a wonderfully gritty look that compliments it's grisly nature, but overall, I found this film surprisingly tepid and far too predictable. What's more, why the hell isn't Michael Berryman in this film? He was virtually the heart and soul of the original. It made him a horror icon. I can understand and respect that Aja wanted to re-envision Craven's picture, but he could have at least given Berryman a cameo.

As I already stated, the screenplay by Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur (based on a screenplay by Wes Craven) does stick pretty close to the1977 film. The altered final act finds one member of the Carter family stumbling across the mutants' ghost town home. This picture also dares to offer up a message of sorts. A bizarre bit of social commentary in which the victims of nuclear testing side effects claim that we are responsible for turniing them into what they are. I get it. They're us, and we're them. Such business might work in a Romero zombie film but it doesn't fair as well here. The screenwriters also find plenty of time to throw in right vs. left polemics. Yes, there is a surprising amount of political play at work in The Hills Have Eyes. It's rare to see such business in a horror film, but there's a quite a bit of it here. One character even dies by means of an American flag impaling. You don't get anymore American than that.

In the end, this Hills Have Eyes has more going for it than the 70's version, because Aja has more at his desposal (ironically, he has Wes Craven to thank for that - Mr. Craven actually served as this remake's producer) stronger cast, bigger budget, better make-up effects, etc. Mr. Aja didn't have it nearly as hard as Mr. Craven did in the 70's and perhaps that's part of the problem. The original's amateur, guerilla style sensibility ultimately added to it's sicko charm. What's more, you'd think that Aja would opt to ditch the many cliches that so often plague horror films. In his take on The Hills Have Eyes, you get a couple of big ones; In one scene, a key character comes face to face with one of the bad guys. Rather than firing at him (he clearly has the upper hand given he has a loaded gun) and ending the situation right there, he runs away like a friggin' idiot. As the mutant chases him, this dipshit fires behind his back as he's running, wasting several bullets in the process.

In another scene, one of our fearless heros convienently drops his gun next to the body of a mutant he's just shot. Seriously, haven't any of these characters seen a horror film before? The psycho never goes down that easy. Aja has stated in interviews that the MPAA forced cuts that hurt the continuity of the scene (the film will be uncut when it's released on DVD later this year). Had the sequence been left alone, it would have made more sense. I don't see how. The guy drops the gun right next to the body. It makes no sense whatsoever. Even if he believes this particular mutant is dead, isn't he aware that there might be more of them in the area? Such moments irk me because Aja is better than that.

And beware of the musical score from Tomandandy (The Mothman Prophecies). I was fine with the darker moments, but the swelling march that blares during the more heroic portions of the film is extremely cheesy, and in fact, I could hear several people in the audience giggling during these particular parts of the movie.

As for the gore (and scenes of brutality) in "Hills," it does push the envelope. In fact, the film makers have been quite vocal about their battle with the MPAA. It's been reported that Aja and crew were forced to cut quite a bit to obtain the R rating. Whenever I hear stories about this stuff, I get really upset. There shouldn't be a limit, because anyone who goes to see a film like this, knows what they're getting into. They really aren't in a position to bitch about it. Say what you will about the genre. The bottom line is, movies are a form of expression, and film makers shouldn't be forced to compromise their vision. Those of you who don't like to watch these movies, don't have to. It's that simple.

I'm certainly not going to judge The Hills Have Eyes on it's content. I'm going to judge it on it's overall effectiveness, and the truth is, I was a little let down. It certainly has it's moments (as did the original) but overall, it didn't disturb me like I thought it might. This has nothing to do with desensitization either. Eli Roth's Hostel shocked me, but I think that's because it's a stronger film. The villains in that picture are far more terrifying.

When I watch a movie like The Hills Have Eyes I either want to be scared or shocked. Unfortunately, the shocks and scares are not as plentiful as I hoped they'd be. This remake is far superior to the likes of the dismal When a Stranger Calls but it isn't as effective as Eli Roth's Hostel or the upcoming The Descent. Still, Aja is a promising talent, and I look forward to seeing what he does next.