Oh, and there's one other key element to this process that is all but essential, and that's the Hollywood studios' insistence on relying on the same old storylines and familiar elements time and again in order to make a quick horror movie buck. In particular, name recognition is key and so it is that we are granted The Hills Have Eyes 2, the mostly in-name-only sequel to last year's remake of Wes Craven's original 1977 shocker -- which in turn is said to have been inspired by a Scottish legend.
(Craven, by the way, share's a co-scripting credit with his son, Jonathan, on this film in addition to his producer title, so he's as guilty as anyone else for the exercise in would-be horror that results.)
A gruesome opening segment depicts the birth of a mutant baby, and the unfortunate fate of the child's mother, in a scene that actually approaches stomach-churning proportions for even an old horror movie watching warhorse like this writer. That child and its mother are barely glimpsed again in the film, but the sequence effectively sets up the primary goal of the mutants: Make more mutants.
The film then gives us another prologue of murder and mayhem, after a title card that alludes to the events of the 2006 film. The military has moved into the desert area where the atomically-created mutants reside; the plan is to set up tracking sensors in order to keep an eye on the murderous half-men, and presumably hunt them down eventually. Of course, the mutants outwit the military and a fair share of blood and guts results.
After the above scene, we finally meet our core cast of doomed characters. A ragtag collection of National Guardsmen on a training mission, the would-be heroes and heroines fall into the usual rank and file assortment for a picture of this type: the crazy dude, the hard-ass drill sergeant, the touchy-feely soldier, the caring and nurturing chicks, and so on. It's not tough to figure out from the get-go who'll live and who'll die, so the viewer realizes they'll have to amuse themselves with the process of how the various characters will meet their ends.
And there are some fun moments of gory horror and killing for true fans to be found along the way, if those same fans are willing to overlook an exceptionally stupid script. Horror film characters are certainly not known for their smarts, but it's the situations this particular group are placed in by the Cravens that ring as absolutely ridiculous at times. Why, for instance, would a group of National Guard recruits be using live ammo during their training exercise -- including grenades capable of blowing them some 15-feet off their feet? How can their instructor (Flex Alexander, doing the high school drama class version of the stereotypical "Sarge" character) in good conscience take them on a rescue mission in the desert after he just failed them for their complete incompetence? And how the heck does Jessica Stroup wind up in the National Guard, looking the way she does? She ain't no Lynndie England, that much is certain.
Additionally, a graphic rape scene involving Daniella Alonso's character reeks of bad taste. The character is carefully set up as a mom who adores her four-year-old son back home, only to then fall prey to the Solomon Grundy-esque chief mutant's lust. The audience is led to believe at first that maybe Alonso's character will get away, but a few scenes later the actual rape is depicted -- at which point a tremor of unease seemed to vibrate through the audience. Yes, rape is old-hat in Craven's early cult films, but in a studio-produced, generally cartoonish effort like this there's something troubling about this scene as its depicted.
But really, the main fault of The Hills Have Eyes 2 is how much it has lowered the bar when compared to its predecessors. Craven's original, and even the remake to some degree, dealt with the theme of family in that it contrasted the all-American folks on vacation in the desert with the sub-human mutants who prey on them -- and have a family unit all their own. There was something more to the story than just rape and murder, and while this film makes a couple of halfhearted references to Afghanistan and "the war" (but never to Iraq), with one character comparing the "monsters who live in caves over there" to the "ones who live in caves here," the notion is never fully fleshed out.
And neither is the basic plot truly seen through to an end point. A key mutant character is abruptly dropped and not seen again in the final reel, and the last moments of the picture are shrug-inducing (if sequel-inviting). Even the monsters themselves are kind of lame and uninteresting when compared to those from the 2006 film or Craven's ultra-low budget original. Maybe it's just time to put an end to this mutant circle of life, or at least send it straight to DVD from now on.
A NOTE ABOUT UNRATED CONTENT: If you're the kind of viewer who looks forward to seeing a hideous mutant baby pushing graphically out of a mother's bloody vagina, or simply in the mood to make a rape scene rape-ier, you'll just LOVE the shamefully insubstantial Unrated content on this DVD. No good gore, no additional scenes -- just distasteful blood posing as a "bonus." Pathetic.
Score: 3 out of 10
(Film review by Scott Collura; unrated content reviewed by Christopher Monfette)
Video and Presentation
The horrors of this film are transferred to Blu-ray with excruciating clarity. Every drop of blood spilled and every detail you never wanted to see are brought to unprecedented attention. The color ranges, although inherently monotonous, are broadened by the high-definition transfer. The disc's menus are not particularly noteworthy, consisting of basic text items overlapping imagery and sound effects featured in the film.
Score: 8 out of 10
Languages and Audio
While the Blu-ray version of The Hills Have Eyes 2 improves on the 5.1 encoding of previous versions, the sound remains pretty dull. With exception of some noticeably directional gunfire and mutant grunting, the 5.1 is primarily underutilized.
Score: 6 out 10
Extras and Packaging
If there's anything positive to say about this Blu-ray release, it's that the extras are, at the very least, not complete and utter crap. The producers have obviously tried to add a few interesting elements to the overall presentation -- only a small handful of which prove to be all that worthwhile -- but in a Blu-ray so absent of quality, the modicum of effort goes quite a long way.
Extra content includes:
- Deleted Scenes
- Making of The Hills Have Eyes 2 Featurette
- Mutants Featurette
- The Making of a Graphic Novel Featurette
- Fox Movie Channel Presents: Life After Film School with Wes Craven featurette
- Gag Reel
Rumors abounded that the film's director, Martin Weisz, clashed with cast and crew during the film's production and so it's little surprise that he is virtually absent here -- so much so, in fact, that the disc lacks even the most standard of commentary tracks. (Honestly, this is a welcome exclusion, as commentaries have become an unnecessary staple, rarely of such quality as to bring anything of substance to the disc.)
The production featurettes -- both of which delve into the film's design and special effects -- are ultimately worth the half-hour it takes to watch them. While not necessarily better-produced than similar behind-the-scenes, EPK-type featurettes, the content itself -- by nature of its genre -- is fairly interesting stuff. The few minutes spent on the immense detail poured into the mutant character of "Chameleon" demonstrates the impressive amount of FX work that went into making such an unimpressive film. While watching, one feels the vague need to reach out toward the screen and utter something by way of a sympathetic apology to the people who poured blood, sweet and tears into this monstrosity. And the gag reel, ladies and gentlemen, is likely to make you actually gag. 'Nuff said.
The "film school" featurette is an assemblage of three nameless film students tossing softball questions while sitting three feet away from producer Wes Craven. One really can't blame the slack-jawed, star-struck students for padding their questions; they each, after all, eventually want to be sitting across from where they're currently sitting and you don't generally get to make the switch by pissing off your mentors on a Blu-ray. That said, Craven does a great job of answering each question in the honest, screw-the-studio manner in which he replies to most inquiries. Brief, but worth a look for Craven alone -- though all the more challenging as one watches, emotionally torn, wanting to celebrate the man but enraged that he actually wrote this flop of a film.
Finally, the hands-down best piece of content is the engaging, dynamically-produced look at the making of the Hills Have Eyes 2 which, not shockingly, has nothing to do with the film itself. Featuring interviews with the creators of the film's comic book prequel and some captivating glimpses at the creation of a graphic novel, this feature illustrates how the writers have taken the basic premise and built out 60 years of prequel history that the viewer actually finds themselves wanting to read.
Score: 7 out of 10
The Bottom Line
If a medium existed that could save this film from its pointlessly grotesque plot, it would be Blu-ray. In this format viewers can, at the very least, appreciate the detail that went into The Hills Have Eyes 2. Watching the film is ill advised, but if you have to, watch it in Blu-ray.
(Blu-ray review by Scott Lowe and Christopher Monfette)