The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

Summary: Bob and Ethel are traveling through the New Mexico desert in a with their three children Lynn, Brenda and Bobby, as well as Lynn’s husband Doug and their young baby. A gas station attendant directs them to a shortcut – but several miles along the road, they drive over a spiked trap, which pierces their tires and causes them to crash. As Bob and Doug start walking to find help, the others find themselves prey to a group of wild people living in the hills. They abduct the baby and set Bob’s body afire. As the attack erupts into a battle for survival, the family find that these “people” are the mutated survivors of miners who refused to leave the area during the atomic tests of the 1950s.           Overall: I think even in the version that got released to theatres, the whole point of the movie was to scare, gross out and be utterly offensive. And once you notice what got cut out, that just furthers confirms those ideas. The plot is so-so especially since I had problems buying that some cheesy cell-phone salesman just happens to avoid capture and serious injury despite the constant fights he gets into with the mutants. He’s not “Mad Max” but does a better job of survival than Max could have done. Amusing film that although entertaining still left a lot to be desired. And a sequel is upcoming so I can totally see a nice box set in say 2008 with tons of additional footage for both films!           Comparison: original film meets Hostel

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