The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

(In French, On TV, March 2019) The 1970s were a turning point for low-budget gritty horror grindhouse movies, and it’s hard to get trashier than The Hills Have Eyes, which often feels shot by high school students on a summer break. As with other landmark horror movies of the era (I’m thinking Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but especially Last House on the Left, which was The Hills Have Eyes’s director Wes Craven’s first feature film), there’s no gloss, no spectacle, just matter-of-fact horror in the middle of nowhere featuring desert hellbillies. The topic matter is just as dead simple, with a suburban family being targeted by cannibal mutant psychos. It’s really not a likable film, but it’s somewhat effective … if you like that stuff. Unsurprisingly far less slick than its 2010 remake (although not quite as humourless), but somewhat dull once you get past the rawness of the production. Of course, films like The Hills Have Eyes are made for a specific kind of viewer—those who shy away from grotesque and decadent horror may choose not to apply.