The Hills Have Eyes

Directed by Alexandre Aja (2006)

A retelling of Wes Craven's 1977 film, The Hills Have Eyes is engaging, thrilling, and horrifying. It's one of those movies I never want to watch again (others in this genre are Deliverance and Joker), despite actually having a good time watching it. The movie is the type where you want to yell at the screen and talk with your friends you're watching with about how fucked up what is happening on screen is, and thus I don't think watching alone would be quite so fun. Like I said earlier though, this movie is horrifying; I looked away multiple times and many scenes left me feeling completely gross. That being said, I do plan on watching the original.

However you feel about the grotesque action in this movie, I think a more serious critique is the monstrification of facial deformities. All of the "monsters" have deformed facial features, with varying degrees of severity. But no matter the disorder, imagine someone with a slight facial deformity watching this, and how they may feel. Filmmakers should do a better job of creating monsters that don't alienate a person by how they look. I'm sure this movie wouldn't get made in 2021, but it's still something to think about. (01/24/21)