John's Horror Banana-nanza Episode Fifty : The Hills Have Eyes

"The Hills Have Eyes" remake is the best revenge movie ever made, and by a wide margin. The original,made by Wes Craven in 1977, is better than I first led on in my "Remakes" review. I guess it takes a few repeated viewings. The original spent a little more time exploring the mutant family in their habitat. They communicated, had a hierchey, and carefully planned out their plots. The suburban family, in all honesty, is sort of bland. And you never really pull for them. Not to mention, the ending is lackluster at best. It's not quite as shocking as people lead on.

Now the remake, it's a completely different breed of movie. The Carter family is pretty likeable, even Big Bob. And when the mutants attack and kill Bob, Ethel and Lynn, the sadness of those losses radiates to the viewer. You're fully on the side of the remaining characters, especially Doug, who goes into the nuclear town to find his baby.

The difference between this movie and the original is that at times, Doug seems to be at the end. In a scene where he fights Pluto, he is on his knees, blood pouring, and manages to whisper "Please", to which Pluto laughs. And Doug then sticks him with a screwdriver and kills him. The dog gets involved to, as Beast avenges the death of his companion Beauty, killing two of the mutants.

What I find strange is that both the original and remake have sequels, and neither of those sequels have anything to do with either the originals or each other. The first sequel is about cannibals attacking motercycle riding teenagers. The remake's sequel is about the cannibals trying to breed with military folk.

So, I guess you could call this whole thing a franchise. But if you want my opinion, take the ending of the remake out, and it's the best film of all four. Watch it if you only watch one. Watch the orignal if you want to compare them. But avoid both sequels, under any circumstance.