Post by frankenjohn on Jan 18, 2006 6:49:18 GMT -5
January 16: First Fango review of HILLS HAVE EYES
The HILLS not only have eyes, they’ve got teeth as well! Fango was recently granted an early look at Fox Searchlight’s THE HILLS HAVE EYES redux, directed and co-written by Alexandre (HIGH TENSION) Aja, with longtime partner Grégory Levasseur also on adaptation duties. And here’s the real kicker: Fango was presented with Aja’s NC-17-rated cut. According to one studio rep, the director is currently busy excising up to five minutes’ worth (!) of footage to appease the MPAA and meet the film’s March 10 release date.
To be respectful, plot details will be kept to a minimum in this report. What was witnessed—albeit in unfinished form—came complete with a temp score (riddled with choice cuts from Ennio Morricone’s THE THING and James Horner’s ALIENS; Tomandandy, who have contributed to THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES and Roger Avary’s KILLING ZOE and RULES OF ATTRACTION, will ultimately provide the true score), but that did nothing to deter this writer from being swallowed whole by HILLS’ outlandish and truly shocking impact.
Aja has made a pull-no-punches, balls-to-the-wall remake for fans to rally behind. It dabbles in the old material first put forth by remake co-producers Wes Craven and Peter Locke back in ’77, and brings something fresh to the party. (It actually may be beneficial that the film hits theaters when it does—at a distance from the recent mining tragedy in West Virginia—due to the new elements injected into HILLS’ plot.) But more importantly, Aja has made a truly scary film. It portrays a realistic and amiable family unit—from Ted Levine to Emilie de Ravin to a barely recognizable Aaron (X2) Stanford (pictured)—who are forced into animalistic and violent means to protect themselves. It’s a flurry of bullets, blood, pickaxes, brain matter and so much more.
Aja knows where to throw his blows and makes every single sickening one count. He raises the ante in every scene, keeps the story simple and leaves the rest to the business of frightening. HILLS brings HOSTEL to its knees and, depending on what’s left of the film in its final cut, one will likely be scouring the sticky theater floor looking for their jaw—it will most certainly drop the minute Aja’s updated mutated desert clan attack the Carter family’s mobile home. Craven himself said he was floored by the atrocities that unfolded in this scene, and man, he ain’t kiddin’.
And it doesn’t let up from there when the muties, lovingly crafted by KNB EFX (this is some of their finest work), come out to play. Where the original film spends time in the daylight with these creeps, Aja imbues them with some mystery—as if their terrible looks were not enough to get freaked out about (wait till ya get a peek at “Big Brain”; he’s a charmer…and patriotic too).
All bets are off with this one. Aja reveals himself a maniac at the typewriter and behind the camera. You want a movie that captures the staggering visceral nastiness of the ’70s? You got it. Horror fans, get ready for the true U.S. debut of Alexandre Aja. Even Fango editor Tony Timpone, who attended at the same LA screening, says, “This remake blows all the other recent reduxes away. It’s brutal, intense and scary to the max. Plus, Aja’s film even surpasses the original.” Look for Fango’s exclusive on-set HILLS coverage in #250, on sale now, and #251, on sale February 21. —Ryan Rotten
The HILLS not only have eyes, they’ve got teeth as well! Fango was recently granted an early look at Fox Searchlight’s THE HILLS HAVE EYES redux, directed and co-written by Alexandre (HIGH TENSION) Aja, with longtime partner Grégory Levasseur also on adaptation duties. And here’s the real kicker: Fango was presented with Aja’s NC-17-rated cut. According to one studio rep, the director is currently busy excising up to five minutes’ worth (!) of footage to appease the MPAA and meet the film’s March 10 release date.
To be respectful, plot details will be kept to a minimum in this report. What was witnessed—albeit in unfinished form—came complete with a temp score (riddled with choice cuts from Ennio Morricone’s THE THING and James Horner’s ALIENS; Tomandandy, who have contributed to THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES and Roger Avary’s KILLING ZOE and RULES OF ATTRACTION, will ultimately provide the true score), but that did nothing to deter this writer from being swallowed whole by HILLS’ outlandish and truly shocking impact.
Aja has made a pull-no-punches, balls-to-the-wall remake for fans to rally behind. It dabbles in the old material first put forth by remake co-producers Wes Craven and Peter Locke back in ’77, and brings something fresh to the party. (It actually may be beneficial that the film hits theaters when it does—at a distance from the recent mining tragedy in West Virginia—due to the new elements injected into HILLS’ plot.) But more importantly, Aja has made a truly scary film. It portrays a realistic and amiable family unit—from Ted Levine to Emilie de Ravin to a barely recognizable Aaron (X2) Stanford (pictured)—who are forced into animalistic and violent means to protect themselves. It’s a flurry of bullets, blood, pickaxes, brain matter and so much more.
Aja knows where to throw his blows and makes every single sickening one count. He raises the ante in every scene, keeps the story simple and leaves the rest to the business of frightening. HILLS brings HOSTEL to its knees and, depending on what’s left of the film in its final cut, one will likely be scouring the sticky theater floor looking for their jaw—it will most certainly drop the minute Aja’s updated mutated desert clan attack the Carter family’s mobile home. Craven himself said he was floored by the atrocities that unfolded in this scene, and man, he ain’t kiddin’.
And it doesn’t let up from there when the muties, lovingly crafted by KNB EFX (this is some of their finest work), come out to play. Where the original film spends time in the daylight with these creeps, Aja imbues them with some mystery—as if their terrible looks were not enough to get freaked out about (wait till ya get a peek at “Big Brain”; he’s a charmer…and patriotic too).
All bets are off with this one. Aja reveals himself a maniac at the typewriter and behind the camera. You want a movie that captures the staggering visceral nastiness of the ’70s? You got it. Horror fans, get ready for the true U.S. debut of Alexandre Aja. Even Fango editor Tony Timpone, who attended at the same LA screening, says, “This remake blows all the other recent reduxes away. It’s brutal, intense and scary to the max. Plus, Aja’s film even surpasses the original.” Look for Fango’s exclusive on-set HILLS coverage in #250, on sale now, and #251, on sale February 21. —Ryan Rotten
