Review : The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)

Brutal, bloody and horrific!!

National Guards Trainess are on their last day of training when they are sent to a New Mexico nuclear testing site to deliver things to the scientists working there. But what they find is dangerous mutants from whom its impossible to escape........


Another scary ride this. After Paranormal Activity, I was searching for my next favourite movie to watch and enjoy and get scared. And there it was. The Hills Have Eyes 2. Sequel of the remake of the original Hills Have Eyes movie, this was not well received and got much brickbats. But I found it to be a great successor of the brilliant remake. Also that it doesn't waste anytime behind exposition and we are in the middle of the action pretty soon. The viciousness starts from the brutal birth scene and continues till the very last as the short length and nice fast screenplay keep it going pretty well. As expected its bloody. Maybe not as much as the first but it has a couple of gory innovation that makes us dread it as well as smile. For example one of the mutants stuffs a man down the commode, and he dies cos of the poo pathogens infection. Yucky and amazing right? Plus a whole team of trainess means a lot of kill. For gorehounds its an absolute delight. Plus its tense most of the time and we genuinely get caught up in their lives so its pretty enjoyable to see if and how they can escape from that goddamned place. Just give the other reviews a miss and catch this underrated stuff. Pretty nice!! Also please don't read too much between the lines. No point disliking it cos of that.


Directed by the German Martin Weisz, who has more than 350 music videos to his credit. So the movie isn't a directorial masterpiece but he does get most of the things right. On treacherous terrains of Morocco where it was shot some great scenes and tense situations are created. The creepy mines, rocks falling off the cliff, some nice overhead shots of the god forsaken terrain and effects. Well done. And to thank for it is also the writers Wes and Jonathan Craven. Wes knows the characters inside out and wanted to better the 1984 debacle of the same name. With horror remakes and sequels doing well he took a chance which didn't go off well. But this is nice. The screenplay is fast and not much time is wasted after the initial character introduction. Many people die and they die very quickly. And sometimes innovatively.   So nothing much to complain about. Nice work gentlemen........

She's fucked isn't she?

Acting can make or break a movie. And horror has always been tagged with bad acting. Especially the one's which are meant for limited release or VOD. Thankfully this isn't one of them. Most of the characters get bumped off pretty quickly with not much screen time. But the real ones who last thankfully act well and make all the things more harder to watch. Mainly the peace loving cadet Michael Macmillan(Napoleon) and a kick ass mom Daniella Alonso(Missy). Also the beauty of the group who refuses to give up Jessica Stroup(Amber). Plus they are supported well by the Sargent played by Flex Alexander and the other more experienced cadet Delmar played by Lee Young. So its a not so known starcast but in the end they try and pull it off perfectly to make this a real nice horror that can disgust you and is also enjoyable.

Beauty and the beast 2?

Camerawork is pretty decent and some nice shots and creepy atmosphere is created. Thanks to the nice location which compounds my fear of the desert and treacherous terrains. Production design is well done. Plus the mutants created by Aja and Levvaseur for the remake were different from the Wes Craven one's and more dangerous. This movie too continues on that and gives us some scary as shit mutants. So the effects are top notch. With decent editing and a great score this surely ranks as one of my fav horror movies ever......



HighTension Verdict:If violent mutant movies are your cup of tea, shoot the reviews and give it a watch asap. Don't read too much between the lines and just enjoy the hell outta it. For those with weak stomachs keep a vomit basin nearby.......



HighTension Meter: 8.5/10.


BEST Quote:

Sarge: [after Napoleon complains that the president has lied] All presidents lie, asshole! That's their fucking job. No president has told the truth since Truman. And do you know what he said?
Napoleon: No, Sarge.
Sarge: He said that the buck stops here.