The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Réalisateur:

Wes Craven

Scénariste:

Wes Craven (writer)

Release Date:

22 juillet 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Accroche:

The lucky ones died first...

Plot:

On the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.

Plot Keywords:

Good Versus Evil | Remade | Disturbing | Blood | Snake

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

The Eyes Have It!

Ensemble

Susan Lanier	...	Brenda Carter
Robert Houston	...	Bobby Carter
Martin Speer	...	Doug Wood
Dee Wallace	...	Lynne Wood
Russ Grieve	...	Big Bob Carter
John Steadman	...	Fred
James Whitworth	...	Jupiter
Virginia Vincent	...	Ethel Carter
Lance Gordon	...	Mars
Michael Berryman	...	Pluto
Janus Blythe	...	Ruby
Cordy Clark	...	Mama
Brenda Marinoff	...	Katy
Peter Locke	...	Mercury (as Arthur King)
Flora	...	Beauty, the Carters' Dog

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (USA) (LD title)
Colline a des yeux, La (France) [fr]
Visage de la peur, Le (Canada: French title) [fr]

Durée:

89 min | UK:86 min (cut version)

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

USA:R (MPAA rating) | USA:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (1996) | Sweden:15 | New Zealand:R18 | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Finland:(Banned) (1986) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:18 (uncut) (2008) | UK:18 (cut) (1987) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Victorville, California, USA

Company:

Blood Relations Co.

Anecdotes:

When originally submitted to the MPAA, the film was given an X-rating which would have relegated it to the porno circuit and severely hurt the box-office returns. Wes Craven cut the film enough to secure an R rating, and the original director's cut is thought to be no longer in existence.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Grandpa Fred rubs his fingers across a supposedly-fresh bloody hand print but it doesn't smear.

Guillemet:

Ethel Carter: That's not my Bob!

Connexions De Film:

Referenced in 30 Days in Hell: The Making of 'The Devil's Rejects' (2005) (V)

The Eyes Have It!

Wes Craven first directed a film back in 1972 called Last House on the Left. If you haven't seen it...do so...for it is quite an experience. It blends dementia, depravity, cruelty, and blood and guts with values and basic moral and philosophical questions(at a very base level). He next directed The Hills Have Eyes, which many feel might be his best work. It is a horror classic to be sure for a number of reasons. It has the struggle of an innocent typical American family with a gang of cannibalistic subhumans that live in the desert. This struggle is intense, and blurs the boundary between normal and abberant behaviour(just as Craven did in LHOTL). The basic story is one of survival, not just survival of life but a way of life. The cast does a fine job...some of the psychos are quite convincing, as are the "normal" characters rather good in their roles. The story builds rather slowly but crescendos after the first death and we are given one climactic event after another. The real stars of the film, however, are the dogs...which are integral to the plot, and the desert itself, which establishes a mood and atmosphere of bleekness, desolation, and futility. Craven did a fine job with his second feature, and I would have no problem saying it was one of his better films. I would even concede that technically it is vastly superior to Last House on the Left, however, for me at least, not as horrific or chilling. Just as with Last House, much of the subject matter of the film is decidedly outrageous, with an infant possibly being served up for Thanksgiving Dinner its high point(or low point if you prefer). Unlike Last House, Hills is not nearly as graphic in its action, leaving a bit more to the imagination.