The Hills Have Eyes 2 was
Written by Wes Craven and Son.
The Hills Have Eyes 2 had
excellent FX and I liked it alright - but not nearly as much as I had
hoped I would.
Written By Michael Saunier March
24, 2007
Release:
March 23, 2007 Directed by: Martin Weisz Written by: Jonathan Craven and Wes Craven
Starring:
Michael McMillian as PFC “Napoleon” Napoli Jessica Stroup as PFC Amber Johnson Jacob Vargas as PFC Crank Michael Bailey Smith as Hades David Reynolds as Hansel Derek Mears as Chameleon
Like father like son. It looks like Jonathan, son of
legendary writer/director Wes Craven, is stepping up from the prop
department and taking a seat behind a writers keyboard with dear old
Dad. The results are average. Let me break down this sequel to The
Hills Have Eyes for you.
The Hills Have Eyes 2 takes place in the Yuca
Mountains, New Mexico, in Sector 16 of a classified U.S. Army base that
has been decommissioned after A-Bomb and nuclear tests of the
50’s and 60’s. The only problem is the mines and
mountains of the area are home to merciless mutants who have been
disfigured and warped beyond repair due to radiation poisoning and
decades of isolation.
A
group of National Guard trainees are sent to deliver supplies to the
base, which should be a cakewalk…I said should. There is
already a group of scientists and Army personnel at the decommissioned
base installing surveillance and monitoring devices for
“undisclosed reasons”, which obviously is code for
“the U.S. Army knows there is a problem and would like very
much to neutralize the threat before anyone else finds out about
it”.
The National Guard recruits are a sorry bunch. They are inexperienced,
unprepared, and simply dimwitted. Upon their arrival at the base they
find the camp devoid of life and disheveled and they began to
investigate a signal from a mirror in the mountains above them. Of
course havoc ensues. Some people are injured, others go off wandering
well after they know of the danger that surrounds them, and lesser
characters are picked off leaving the survivors lacking any kind of
direction or leadership.
Oh, and if you have seen the 2006 remake of the classic The
Hills Have Eyes then you should have no problem recollecting
the rape scene in the Winnebago. Unfortunately, The Hills
Have Eyes 2 has one of those too. This more recent rape scene
is more unsettling than the last one was, so please be warned. I did
not like the rape scene in the remake, and I like this one even less.
It’s not a deal breaker for me, but I know that some people
will be repulsed.
The Hills Have Eyes 2 is not as good as the remake
of the 1977 classic that came out in 2006.
The only character development that takes place in this film is the
transformation of Private Napoleon from a wimpy, pushover to a
commanding and assertive soldier. The rest of the characters fit into
boring stereotypes: the hotheaded Hispanic, the mother at home that
misses her child, the All-American guy who is in a relationship with
another recruit, and the more experienced soldier who leads the group
after their commanding officer’s untimely death.
The only actor in The Hills Have Eyes 2 that shows
any genuine promise is Michael McMillian as PFC Napoleon – he
did a great job. The rest of the cast could have been any number of
random actors and actresses picked out of an open casting call in
Hollywood and the result would have been the same.
I had a problem with the music and sound effects in The Hills
Have Eyes 2 - they left me cold and didn’t add
substantially to my enjoyment of the film. All of the acting, dialog,
music and sound effect pitfalls are made up for, however, by the
special effects and monsters, which were intense and gory.
Don’t
get me wrong; I liked The Hills Have Eyes 2
OK, just not as much as I had originally hoped I would. The
Hills Have Eyes 2 is a good first step for Jonathan Craven as
a writer, but to be a respected pillar in the horror genre like his
father he is going to have to step it up a notch. Questions
or comments about The Hills Have Eyes 2? Contact us!
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The National Guard recruits are a sorry bunch. They are inexperienced,
unprepared, and simply dimwitted. Upon their arrival at the base they
find the camp devoid of life and disheveled and they began to
investigate a signal from a mirror in the mountains above them. Of
course havoc ensues. Some people are injured, others go off wandering
well after they know of the danger that surrounds them, and lesser
characters are picked off leaving the survivors lacking any kind of
direction or leadership.
The only character development that takes place in this film is the
transformation of Private Napoleon from a wimpy, pushover to a
commanding and assertive soldier. The rest of the characters fit into
boring stereotypes: the hotheaded Hispanic, the mother at home that
misses her child, the All-American guy who is in a relationship with
another recruit, and the more experienced soldier who leads the group
after their commanding officer’s untimely death.
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