The Hills Have Eyes remake...

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Remo D
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Post by Remo D »

Well.... you just might want to check out Peter Hartlaub's review at the San Francisco Chronicle--he says it goes from good to "great" at the one-hour mark and basically sings its praises throughout without apologizing for a second for the graphic violence (unlike one Chronicle critic I could mention).

And they say that some of the gore was CUT? Blowed if I could tell!

My verdict... it's a REMAKE! It stays a hell of a lot closer to its source material than TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (not to mention HOUSE OF WAX) or most "remakes" in recent memory--the result, of course, was that I knew what was coming virtually every step of the way. Of course, those who walk into this one COLD (and that's the target audience, let's be fair) are in for one hell of a rough ride--the new HILLS commendably plays for keeps even as it invokes what our buddy Roger has dubbed "The Idiot Plot."

The new trappings are all right but they're the least interesting part of the movie--the emphasis on nuclear testing is illustrated with plenty of graphic real-life photographs (although a bunch of them apparently actually come from an Agent Orange study), and the makeups are as convincing as all hell. But the political themes always stay in the backseat (even when one character aggressively attempts to literally spell them out, as if we hadn't already gotten the message), and there's a super-weird emphasis on patriotic anthems and American flags (sorry, but this is a plain and simple story of savagery breeding savagery and the reasons just don't matter).

Did I glimpse Michael Berryman in the opening credits?

Excellent substitute for Pluto, and between this and LAND OF THE DEAD, Robert Joy's going to get the "facially-disfigured-horror-signature-character" thing sewed up soon (don't forget he got half his face burned off in AMITYVILLE 3-D, too). Too little Billy Drago too late (strange holdoff on bringing the Papa Jupiter character into play).

But it's vicious, it's gore-drenched, and it's guaranteed to hold attention. No points for originality, but that was never the intent, after all...
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Post by dr coathanger »

[quote="Angelica"]Just read some reviews that basically crapped on the movie. They also werent so polite as to not give away the one big scene]

I assume that thing you can't handle seeing in movies is the same thing I have a very low tolerance for as well. The original had it, though brief and not very graphic. I hope the remake follows suit.
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Post by Angelica »

dr coathanger wrote:I assume that thing you can't handle seeing in movies is the same thing I have a very low tolerance for as well. The original had it, though brief and not very graphic. I hope the remake follows suit.

Good to know it's not just me.
Not from what Ive read, it's longer, more graphic and twice as bad.
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Post by Chris Slack »

Awesome flick, one of the few remakes that is better than the original.
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Post by dr coathanger »

Angelica wrote:Good to know it's not just me.
Not from what Ive read, it's longer, more graphic and twice as bad.
Yikes!! I'm on my way out to it; might be the first movie to make me queasy in a long while.
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Post by hodgy »

I tried to see this movie TWICE today. Things got fucked. Twice.
The Hills do not want me in the theatre...
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Post by MaggotExistence »

Latte Thunder wrote:I really hate to give my money to remakes, but this is directed by Alexander Aja and I really liked High Tension. I also love the original.
High Tension was pretty good, it felt a little weak in some parts though. All in all worth seeing though. I curious to check out "the hills", it looks like it has potential.
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dr coathanger
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I bet Rob Zombie wished he made this.

Post by dr coathanger »

Great movie, probably the best mainstream horror offering I've seen in years.
It was very refreshing and almost surreal to see an actual, straight up, no foolin' REMAKE! This is not a new version of an old story, this is about as close to a shot-for-shot remake as you're gonna get. If you loved the original, as I did, you will love this movie. I'd have to see it again, but I think I might agree with Chris that it is better than the original. At the very least it is on par.
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Post by Angelica »

Tons of fun! I wasn't feeling too good last night and the theater was WAY too warm (don't they usually keep horror theaters cold? They should) but I still very much enjoyed myself. I think I may even have to go again when I am feeling a little more up to par.
True to the genre, true to the fans; one of the best horror flicks Ive seen in a long while.

edit: *kind of a spoiler*
the only thing that bugged me is that one of the major mutants (Lizard) is played by the same guy that played the sweet, kind of retarded brother in Land of the Dead. It just through me off, all I saw was the actor through the make up and his kind eyes... maybe I was the only one that noticed and it was a fairly minor issue but I think it would have been better for me if he wasn't so recognizable.
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Hell yeah...

Post by ZXRO »

I started this motherfuckin' thread, and now I can comment with my opinions on it.

What a brutal, mean spirited flick this was. This was the most tense I have felt in a theater since Requiem for a Dream. Hell, after the first 5 minutes I knew I was in for an intense ride. I don't think they pulled any punches with this one, and I can't imagine how bad an unrated DVD release would be. It seems to me that R rated movies are getting away with a hell of a lot more lately. Viva la Hollywood (ignore my "bomb Hollywood" ideals in another post. Don't bomb Hollywood, just bomb Michael Bay's house).

What was up with the Rubber Johnny mutant? Anyone that follows Chris Cunningham's work knows what I am talking about.

Fuck, I am gonna go buy an axe with a pointy end on it now, just in case. I just KNOW that I am gonna have nightmares about killer desert mutants now.

And how about seeing the trailer for Silent Hill on the big screen? Can't wait for that fucker. Between that and Stay Alive, I got a few reasons to go to the theater in the next couple months.

P.S. I know Stay Alive will probably be stupid, but come on. A movie about a video game about Bathory that actually kills people. I liked Brainscan, I will probably dig this.

And if you aren't looking forward to Silent Hill, you either never played the games (which are awesome), or didn't like Le Pacte des Loups (which is also awesome). Silent Hill is gonna rock!

P.P.S. I now have a renewed faith in Wes Craven, as a producer at least. He has 3 more movies he produced coming out, none of which I have seen trailers for. Hopefully this is a sign of him picking winners. I know producing the remake of his original is a no brainer, hopefully there is still life in the old boy after all. Now if only Sean S. Cunningham would get a fucking clue. Remember how cool House 2 was? That was like 20 years ago.

P.P.P.S. Can you tell that I have been drinking? ;)
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Post by dr coathanger »

Shit yeah! The Silent Hill trailer looks fucking amazing. This could very well be the first movie by way of video game to appeal to more than just 13 year old boys in a long time. Can't fucking wait!
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Fuck yeah...

Post by ZXRO »

dr coathanger wrote:Shit yeah! The Silent Hill trailer looks fucking amazing. This could very well be the first movie by way of video game to appeal to more than just 13 year old boys in a long time. Can't fucking wait!
You two should come up to Seattle so we can all see it together. We can sneak a bottle of the good stuff in. It will be great!
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Post by dr coathanger »

ZXRO wrote:You two should come up to Seattle so we can all see it together. We can sneak a bottle of the good stuff in. It will be great!
Sounds like a plan, Stan!:cheers:

p.s. tagged your other thread, dawg!
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ZXRO
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Hah...

Post by ZXRO »

dr coathanger wrote:Sounds like a plan, Stan!:cheers:

p.s. tagged your other thread, dawg!
You internet dork. Get a life, loser! ;)
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Post by dr coathanger »

Et tu, Zxro?
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ZXRO
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Anyway...

Post by ZXRO »

Back to the topic at hand...

...how about that hot ass blonde girl from Lost? Anyone else as surprised as me to see her without an Austrailian accent?
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Post by Kimberly »

ZXRO wrote: What was up with the Rubber Johnny mutant? Anyone that follows Chris Cunningham's work knows what I am talking about.
Rubber Johnny is some freaky ass shit!! Love it!!
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Post by DylanDog »

Wow, reviews seem pretty overwhelmingly positive. I wasn't particularly thrilled about this at first since I'm not a huge fan of the original (or of Haute Tension), but I suppose I'll have to check it out, perhaps next weekend.
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Post by Clark Chaos »

Well, saw it last night and I have to say that they did a pretty good job with the movie and since I havent watch the original for some time now, it was worth the money.

Great gore...........
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