"Looking Back at the Hills Have Eyes" is a solid interview based retrospective look back at Wes Craven's "The Hills Have Eyes". Anchor Bay put it together as part of the Divimax Special Edition DVD package released in 2003. All those interviewed have fun antidotes and stories from the filming: from their working out in the middle of a scorching desert to the dangers of 6-foot rattlers. Their fond recollections are infectious and cause you to take a different look at the final product. Not as in-depth as I would like but Wes Craven is always interesting to see interviews. He's a smart guy with a passion for what he does. Many of his films confirm that.
4 Reviews
Forget about the mediocre sequels and remakes, stick with the original film, and then skip ahead to this documentary.
Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki9 June 2017
Amusing doc about the making of Wes Craven's 1977 horror, The Hills Have Eyes, with newly filmed interviews with the original cast and crew. Stories of how the production first began, casting, and filming some of the more dangerous scenes are connected by the scenes themselves. We also get behind the scenes photographs, and toward the end, we are taken back to the filming locations in the then-present day ( 2003 )
I wish they would have talked more about the footage which had to be cut from the film to avoid an X-rating, or better yet, shown it.
I wish they would have talked more about the footage which had to be cut from the film to avoid an X-rating, or better yet, shown it.
Great Look at the Craven Classic
Michael_Elliott16 December 2011
Looking Back at 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2003)
**** (out of 4)
Excellent 50-minute documentary about the making of THE HILLS HAVE EYES features Wes Craven, Peter Locke, Dee Wallace, Suze Lanier, Janus Blythe, Robert Houston, Eric Saarinen and Michael Berryman. If you're a fan of the film then you're certainly going to enjoy this documentary, which starts off with Craven talking about what he was doing around this time in his life and how being broke was the main influence to make this movie.
From here we learn about the pre-production including trying to find all the locations to shoot on. There are some pretty funny stories about the cast trying to deal with the heat. From here we learn about the casting and then of course the actual shooting of the movie. Everything tells some extremely good stories and especially Wallace who shares a story of how she finally cracked one day and screamed at the crew. Another great story deals with a rattlesnake that broke free during lunch one day. There's also some talk about its run-in with the MPAA, which hit it with a X-rating, although sadly there's no talk about exactly what was cut. Either way, fans of the film are certainly going to want to watch this film as it's a fun look back at a now classic.
**** (out of 4)
Excellent 50-minute documentary about the making of THE HILLS HAVE EYES features Wes Craven, Peter Locke, Dee Wallace, Suze Lanier, Janus Blythe, Robert Houston, Eric Saarinen and Michael Berryman. If you're a fan of the film then you're certainly going to enjoy this documentary, which starts off with Craven talking about what he was doing around this time in his life and how being broke was the main influence to make this movie.
From here we learn about the pre-production including trying to find all the locations to shoot on. There are some pretty funny stories about the cast trying to deal with the heat. From here we learn about the casting and then of course the actual shooting of the movie. Everything tells some extremely good stories and especially Wallace who shares a story of how she finally cracked one day and screamed at the crew. Another great story deals with a rattlesnake that broke free during lunch one day. There's also some talk about its run-in with the MPAA, which hit it with a X-rating, although sadly there's no talk about exactly what was cut. Either way, fans of the film are certainly going to want to watch this film as it's a fun look back at a now classic.
"My whole career I've made films your parents warned you against." Average documentary.
poolandrews15 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Looking Back at 'The Hills Have Eyes' is a 55 minute long documentary produced by Anchor Bay Entertainment for their special edition DVD & features The Hills Have Eyes writer & director Wes Craven talking about how he became involved in film-making & how producer Peter Locke convinced him to make The Hills Have Eyes in Apple Valley in the Californian desert, basically because Locke's wife was in Las Vegas at the time. Wes talks about the ideas behind the film & going to the New York public library & reading about Sawney Beane & his feral family who preyed on unwary travellers whom the family in The Hills Have Eyes are obviously based on. Wes also talks about wanting to make the civilised seem uncivilised by the end of the film. The documentary also features director of photography Eric Saarinen who doesn't say anything no one else says except that low budget film making is like a triangle, there's fast, cheap & good at each point & he says that you can achieve two of these but never all three... The rest of the interviewees consist of cast members Dee Wallace, Janus Blythe, Michael Berryman, Robert Houston & Susan Lainer whom ramble on about the heat during the day & the cold during the night & the casting, yawn. As a whole Looking Back at 'The Hills Have Eyes' is an OK watch & is quite informative but it really doesn't go into much depth, particularly the struggle with the MPAA over an 'R' rating as it's mentioned but not expanded upon & I for one would have liked to know what sort of footage had to be cut to avoid an 'X'. There are a few anecdotes but nothing that really sticks in the mind, a loose rattle snake scaring the crew, the crew threatening to leave the production if Wes killed the baby & that the camera equipment used was hired from a 'big name' porn producer & that they got a good deal. There is also far too much back patting & self appreciation, I'm sorry but these people are talking about The Hills Have Eyes not Citizen Kane (1941)! There are various clips form the film & a few behind-the-scenes black and white photo's, there are also a couple of clips showing how the location looks now, well back in 2003 when this was produced anyway. Finally, Wes originally called the film Blood Relations which producer Locke hated & one of his friends came up with The Hills Have Eyes, I wonder if this friend could claim some sort of royalty... Overall it's not a bad way to pass an hour or so if your a fan of the film or Wes Craven but don't expect any startling revelations.
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