The Hills Have Eyes 2 was Written by Wes Craven and Son.
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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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