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Overall Rating : 4.5/10
Directed By : Martin Weisz
Michael McMillian
Jessica Stroup (Prom Night (2008)
Daniella Alonso (Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror)
Jacob Vargas (Bobby Z)
Supplied By : Fox Home Video
Film Reviewed By : Rick Blalock
Date Reviewed : July. 3, 2007
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| PLOT National Guard soldiers stop at a New Mexican outpost only to find the isolated camp mysteriously deserted. Little do they know that these are the very hills that the ill-fated Carter family once visited, and that a tribe of cannibalistic mutants lies in wait. |
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| THE REVIEW In THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2, it is now 2 years after the events that occurred in the first film, and with suspicious actions still happening on the former Army nuclear testing zone known as "Sector 16". Military Scientists and personnel are installing a monitoring system to oversee the desolate land, but when a group a National Guard trainees arrive to deliver the equipment, they come across a grisly discovery. Their partners seem to have mysteriously vanished from the land, and many of their bodies eventually turn up and seemingly have been slaughtered by someone or something. Soon the trainees, as well as their Sergeant, find themselves battling off the vicious mutated human beings that lurk within the quiet hills. Last year when I reviewed the first THE HILLS HAVE EYES remake, despite not thinking i'd enjoy it, it turned out that I loved it! So, as you can imagine, in preparation for today's review, I took in another viewing of the said remake last night, and after this time, which was my fourth time seeing it, it was still as intense as ever. A film being still as effective as it was the first time after multiple viewings, is a true sign of a really great film - but I can't say that the sequel holds that same quality. Even though the original remake, was just that, a remake of Wes Craven's original 1977 film, it stood on it's own, having it's own originality, it was something new, and most of all it was something shocking, as it pushed the boundaries. While watching THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2, I felt none of that, instead of bringing something new to the table like it's predecessor did, I felt at times it tried to imitate the original remake's shocking manner and grittiness, it just didn't leave me with that same eerie feeling I had felt before. Although this film is decent enough, I feel it could've had a bit more development in the plot area. Released just about a year after the first. i'm guessing to quickly cash in on the hype the remake left behind, the sequel seems a bit rushed, and a little less planned than the original(not to mention that it is also nearly 20 minutes shorter as well.) With the first film, being co-written by it's own director, Alexandre Aja, I definitely think it helped with the film's overall vision and execution, because afterall, the person responsible for the script is more likely able to convey the story as they intended it to be shown/told. Here we have a different scenario; we have a new Director in, Martin Weisz, whom did not have a hand in writing the script this time around, these duties were given to original series creator Wes Craven and his son Jonathan. I can't speak on details but either the film was not written with as much care as the last, or again, the story wasn't conveyed as the writers intended.... I couldn't tell you. but it indeed feels rushed. Despite feeling like a low-quality version of the first, the one thing that did remain was the the special effects, by half of the KNB EFX group. As always, the effects were realistic and gory. What I didn't like this time around was the overall design of some of the mutants. Last time, the mutants, had a scary presence about them, as they tweened between humans and mutated freaks, they were definitely freaks, but still had humanity to them, making them far more scarier, in my opinion For the sequel they have made these mutants, more or less monsters than generally chemically altered human beings, this resulted in nothing more than a "shoot-em up" creature feature, since guns were involved. The acting was average, sometimes just ok - I found the key characters to be a bit stereotypical. We had the tough Sergeant played by Flex Alexander. Just about every Military based film has one of these types, so is it a surprise? No. Next, we have a character by the name of 'Crank' whom is brash and tough, and cocky towards his comrades, played by Jacob Vargas - I felt he did an ok job, but I prefer him in his usual comedic roles. We have the quiet, but brave character in 'Napoleon', played by Michael McMillan, whom does a great job, offering probably the strongest performance here. To even up the sides, there are also two female officers(and thank God for that). Missy is a tough, but somewhat vulnerable female, and to help with that, she is also a single mother. With her being a mother, it was probably intentional, as it would serve as a reason to care for the character. Daniella Alonso, does a decent job as Missy, but her character only seemed to be there to scream a little. The character that seemingly every man who've seen this are drawn to is Amber, played by the very beautiful Jessica Stroup. In just about every review of this that i've read, everyone has not failed to mention her beauty, and I completely agree with them all. But let's not forget why she's in the movie in the first place, her acting which was quite good. Her character slowly emerges as someone quiet and reserved to someone strong and secure, which is what every Horror movie needs, a strong character to root for. Well, since I enjoyed the first remake so much, maybe my expectations were a little too high, but since the first was so intense, they should be. Overall I feel they missed the mark while trying to imitate what made the remake so great. Although the story is decent, it just isn't as exciting or intriguing, and instead of being a hack and slash slasher film, it feels more like a military action adventure film instead, which is not what a THE HILLS HAVE EYES film should be. |
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| GORE
METER 4.5/10 Not as intense as the first...there is a severed hand, gouged eyes and various impalements. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 The sequel's score is definitely not as effective this time around, it keeps the same theme, but isn't as haunting. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2 is a lot less shocking and intense than the first, and feels just like any other gory Horror film to be honest. I think it has a lot to do with the film's direction by Weisz, whom just doesn't have the erratic fluidity that Alexandre Aja brought to THE HILLS HAVE EYES. This DVD will be available on July 17, 2007 |
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