On a road-trip through the New Mexico desert, a family stranded in the area finds that a group of inbred, cannibalistic hillbillies have targeted the group and are set on killing them for food, forcing the family into a desperate race to stop them and get away alive.

This here was quite the fun if slightly flawed effort. When this one works, it's mainly due to the fact that there's quite an effective atmosphere here of being out alone in the wilderness. The film does an incredible job in the first half of depicting the desert of this one as creepy and chilling which really makes it so that being trapped on an open road in the middle of nowhere is a pretty terrifying ordeal and forces the ultimate traveling nightmare. The darkness that surrounds the family is terrifying, as anyone or anything can hide in there, and this film provides that fear in spades as tons of times we see or hear all these sights and sounds that would terrify any sane person. That gets exemplified best in the one scene of the characters run down the highway in the dark as these crazy laughs were heard echoing alongside him, a pretty terrifying ordeal, and it only gets better from there. That comes from the rather impressive event that kick-starts the film into overdrive which is the main assault on the van as the family gets into attacking the trapped members during an insanely fun ploy here, as the mounting tension plays into the initial first trap before the charge into the van and all the battles to confront them attempting to escape as well as one of the most horrendous acts ever committed to screen, and the audacity to pull it off and make it as striking as it is a huge testament to do something like that. By subjecting us to this scene, it works to keep the audience on the edge because now we don't know what else will be thrown at us and become anxious as the waiting game begins. The best part is the events that follow as the film is all action featuring plenty of solid action as the brutal encounters offer a lot of great moments. Also great is the family has a creepy air around them that makes us all become scared of them, and along with their great behavior patterns are the best parts. It doesn't have too many flaws here as the main issue is the illogical manner of getting them on the shortcut which really makes no sense and features plenty of stupid character decisions to move them along. There's also the manner of the rather sloppier effects for the gore and kills which does take away a bit of their effectiveness. Otherwise, this is quite an enjoyable effort.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, attempted rape, violence-against-animals and children-in-jeopardy.

Usually, we think of Wes Craven's movies as really cool. "The Hills Have Eyes" would likely be the one that splits people. An absolutely disgusting story of an all-American family getting stranded in a desert inhabited by cannibals, the movie leaves nothing to the imagination. There may be points in the movie where you have to remind yourself that it's only a movie; some of the scenes they really could have done without.

Still, if we accept this as a cheap '70s exploitation flick, then it's not bad at all. But I must warn you, only watch it if you have a very strong stomach. And yes, that's Dee Wallace (aka ET's mom) as Lynne.

Unusually, this is one film that I ended up watching long after I've already seen the remake; I always try to see the original films first but this Wes Craven chiller slipped me by. Sadly, I was left feeling disappointed and let down once it was over, mainly because the remake is, surprisingly, superior in every way: the actors are better, the gore better, the direction better, and the music better. The remake also sticks VERY closely to the plot of this film, so all of the surprises and twists were well choreographed in advance and there was little to intrigue me here.

For a '70s horror film, it's not a bad effort: there are some good chills and the film makes a horror star out of Michael Berryman, the bald bad guy who traded on his appearance here for the rest of his career. The problem is that the low budget hurts the proceedings somewhat, with the rest of the cannibal family resembling hippies rather than mutants. Despite the savagery of their actions, they end up laughable instead of frightening. Another problem is Craven's direction – it feels insipid rather than inspired and in light of Alexandre Aja's excellent job on the remake, I can't help but feel it's lacking. Some of the cast don't help, with Susan Lanier standing out as one of the most irritating screamers in horror history (the dog's great, though). Back in the day, THE HILLS HAVE EYES was a shocking and depraved horror flick; today it's a dated intrigue that doesn't stand up alongside fellow '70s movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It's okay but I'd recommend the remake over this any day.