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(aka "Blood Relations - The Sun Wars" )
directed by Wes Craven
USA 1977
The Carter family are driving through the desert in a station wagon and Winnebego in search of a silver mine. Fred (John Steadman, FADE TO BLACK), the old-timer that runs the gas station, cryptically tries to warn them off venturing further into the desert, but they proceed and wind up stranded in the middle of nowhere. Their first indication that they might not be alone comes when son Bobby (Robert Houston, 1941) searches for one of their runaway dogs in the hills and finds it mutilated. Meanwhile, the father Big Bob (Russ Grieve, FOXY BROWN) has walked back to the gas station and learns from Fred that the "devil child" Jupiter (James Whitworth, THE CANDY SNATCHERS) who Fred abandoned in the desert years ago has spawned a cannibal family living up in the hills. Fred is attacked and killed by one of the clan and Bob tries to get back to his family but is ambushed in the dark. The cannibals crucify Bob and set him on fire as a distraction for Bobby, his mother Ethel (Virginia Vincent, THE BABY), older sister Lynn (Dee Wallace, THE HOWLING), and her husband Doug (Martin Speer, KILLER'S DELIGHT.) With them out of the way, Pluto (Michael Berryman, CUT AND RUN) and Mars (Lance Gordon, TWICE DEAD) invade the Winnebago, rape younger sister Brenda (Susan Lanier), and decide to take Lynn and Doug's baby for food. Lynn is killed trying to save her child and Ethel is shot. When daylight comes, Doug heads up into the hills to rescue his infant daughter. Bobby and a traumatized Brenda hold up in the camper, but are soon forced to fight and attempt to outwit another attack. Their other dog Beast (who has also lost his partner Beauty to the cannibals) also has vengeance in mind. Another member of the cannibal family, Ruby (Janus Blythe, EATEN ALIVE) may betray her own to save the baby's life. While intense and brutal, Wes Craven's THE HILLS HAVE EYES looks like a typical grindhouse movie compared to his previous film LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT - and its associated notoriety. Its worn-out crew recycled from Charles Griffith's EAT MY DUST (including D.P. Eric Saarinen), Robert Burns' props from TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, 120 degree heat, special effects injuries, and near cast/crew walk-outs seat it more comfortably along side THE EVIL DEAD, another drive-in horror hit with a celebrated grueling production history, indebtedness to TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (including the art direction) - although the Sam Raimi film is splashier with the blood and entrails - and even a visual reference to Craven's film. Berryman went on to appear in a showy red herring role in Craven's more polished - although studio-tampered - DEADLY BLESSING, and the booby trap set up by Bobby and Brenda anticipates the more elaborate traps that Nancy Thompson prepares for Freddy Krueger in Craven's mainstream hit A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Producer Peter Locke - who also plays Mercury, another member of the cannibal clan - produced Craven's sequel as well as the 2006 remake and its sequel. Houston and Blythe reunited also reunited with Craven and Locke in the sequel (although they had already appeared together in CHEERLEADERS WILD WEEKEND). Composer Don Peake (THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS) would reunite with Craven in his studio days to score THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS. Art director Robert Burns went on to work with HILLS effects make-up artists on the TCM-influenced TOURIST TRAP the following year. Alexandre Aja's remake was not well-acted, but substituted run-of-the-mill disfigured and murderous nuclear testing mutants for the more menacing cannibal clan of the original. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: June 15th, 1977
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD | |
Runtime | Original: 1:30:00.228 / Alternate Ending Cut: 1:31:19.223 | |
Video |
Original: 1.78:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 92,254,368,556 bytesFeature: 70,149,276,480 bytes Video Bitrate: 94.92 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video |
Alternate Ending Cut: 1.78:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 92,254,368,556 bytesFeature: 70,800,811,008 bytes Video Bitrate: 94.86 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Original: 4K Ultra HD: |
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Bitrate Alternate Ending Cut: 4K Ultra HD: |
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Audio |
DTS-HD Master
Audio English 904 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 904 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48
kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital
Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -30dB |
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Subtitles | English (SDH), None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Arrow
Original: 1.78:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 92,254,368,556 bytesFeature: 70,149,276,480 bytes Video Bitrate: 94.92 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video
Alternate Ending Cut: 1.78:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 92,254,368,556 bytesFeature: 70,800,811,008 bytes Video Bitrate: 94.86 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video
Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc • Audio
commentary with Wes Craven and Peter Locke • 6 x
postcards
Black 4K Ultra HD Case inside custom case (see below) Chapters 12 / 12 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
and
4K UHD
captures were taken directly from the respective
discs.
It is likely that the monitor
you are seeing this review is not an
HDR-compatible
display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider
and notably granular range of color and light. Our
capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard
monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more
4K UHD titles in the
future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our
captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of
skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the
4K system at your home. But the
framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by
this simulation representation.
NOTE:
We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR), Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR), Django (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc), Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR), Chernobyl (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR), Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR), Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot (software uniformly simulated HDR),, Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR), 2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).On their 4K UHD, Arrow offer a 24-bit DTS-HD Master mono track, 2,0 channel option or a 7.1 surround bump - all in the original English language. I'm usually not a fan of surround 'bumps' but this did add some impressive impact to the film experience - certainly some bass. Purists will appreciate the lossless mono. There is a score by Done Peake (The People Under the Stairs). Arrow add optional English (SDH) subtitle options on the Region FREE 4K UHD disc. There are plentiful extras on the 4K UHD disc - all from the previous Blu-ray. NOTE: Similar to Arrow's recent 4K UHD's of Argento's The Cat O' Nine Tails and The Bird With the Crystal Plumage - they didn't have new supplements either but ported over the ones from the previous Arrow Blu-rays, NOTE: Deep Red 4K UHD offered a new Troy Howarth / Nathaniel Thompson commentary.
Arrow include
the same three past commentaries; the
original one with Wes Craven and Peter Locke as found on
the 2003 DVD and Image's 2011
Blu-ray. There are two more -
one with the cast - a little scattered - and one with Mikel
J. Koven, Senior Lecturer & Course Leader, Film Studies,
author of
Blaxploitation Film (2010),
Film, Folklore & Urban Legends (2008)
and
La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo
Film (2006); he co-edited
Folklore/Cinema: Popular Film as Vernacular
Entertainment (2007).
His insights will be much appreciated but
it is more formal, professional and well-researched.
Looking Back on The Hills Have Eyes is the same
55-minute making-of documentary featuring interviews
with Craven, Locke, actors Michael Berryman, Dee
Wallace, Janus Blythe, Robert Houston, Susan Lanier and
director of photography Eric Saarinen. There is the
previous
16-minute interview with actor Martin Speer conducted in
June 2016 and The Desert Sessions - another interview - this time with composer Don Peake
running exactly 11-minutes. It was conducted on May 2016.
We can see the 20-minutes of outtakes, trailers (US - 2:43,
German - 2:46) and TV Spots (1:54.) The Arrow
4K UHD
package has a reversible fold-out poster, plus the limited edition 40-page
booklet featuring writing on the film by critic Brad Stevens and a
consideration of the Hills franchise by Arrow producer Ewan Cant,
illustrated with original archive stills and posters. |
Menus / Extras
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY and 4K UHD CAPTURE TO SEE IN FULL RESOLUTION
1) Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD - BOTTOM
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1) Image Entertainment (Midnight Madness Series) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD - BOTTOM
|
1) Image Entertainment (Midnight Madness Series) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD - BOTTOM
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1) Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP 2) Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD - BOTTOM
|
More full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K Ultra HD Captures for Patreon Supporters HERE
Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |