The movie opens with a title
card telling us “The following film is
based on fact,” and then giving us a brief reminder of the events of the
first film. And if you can’t recall all that happened in the first movie, or
somehow never saw it, don’t worry, for The
Hills Have Eyes Part II periodically includes further reminders in the form
of footage from that film. Bobby (Robert Houston), one of the few survivors of
the first film, is, understandably, in therapy. He also is part of a racing
team, and is nervous because the upcoming race is in the desert, near the spot
where the horrors from the first film took place. He feels his team has an edge
because he has developed some sort of special formula of gas that will give
their bikes extra power. By the way, his team and entourage include some actors
you’ll recognize from other projects, including John Laughlin as Hulk (you’ll immediately
remember him from Footloose, which
was filmed around the same time), Kevin Blair as Roy (you likely know him from Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood),
Peter Frechette as Harry (he was in No
Small Affair, which came out around that same time), and especially Penny
Johnson as Sue (who went on to do some excellent work in the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and 24 and now The Orville). In addition to Robert Houston, Michael Berryman and
Janus Blythe also reprise their roles from the original film.
As Bobby’s team is assembling,
Bobby is busy reliving scenes from the first movie, and decides he is too
shaken and fearful to make it to the race. Yes, Bobby is one of those rare
characters in horror movies, making an intelligent decision at the beginning,
thereby avoiding the horror altogether. The rest load onto an old school bus
and head to the desert without him. Harry, who is driving the bus, is sort of a
Neal Cassady character, weaving a tale as he drives, telling the others: “We are approaching the part of the desert
where the family of Jupiter held sway. Where the sand ran with fire and blood,
and the hills had eyes.” Yes, he actually mentions the title of the film.
And why not? Ruby (Janus Blythe), having cleaned up well since the first film
and now going by the name of Rachel, is part of the entourage and does her part
by remembering scenes from the previous movie. Anyway, they are running late
(because none of them remembered about daylight saving time) and so need to
take a shortcut on some dirt road to make it in time to register for the race. And
we all know what happens to people who stray from the main road in a horror
movie. Soon they end up at what seems to be an abandoned ranch, looking for
gasoline. And while the guys at first have fun scaring each other, it turns out
that there are some real scares awaiting them. Soon it is clear that
they’re not going to make it in time for the race.
One by one, these characters
are picked off in typical 1980s slasher fashion. And if the music reminds you
of Friday The 13th, there is a reason
for that. It was done by Harry Manfredini. There are some good scares in this
one. I love when that refrigerator door opens behind Cass (Tamara Stafford).
And actually, Cass is one of the most interesting and believable characters.
The scenes involving her are particularly unsettling and frightening because we
don’t get any shots from her perspective, since she is blind. So we are
constantly wondering what might lurk just outside of the frame, just as she
wonders the same thing. Those shots are especially effective and suspenseful. There
are also some ridiculous moments. I love that when Pluto (Michael Berryman)
steals one of the bikes, he is concerned enough with his personal safety
to steal a helmet too. It makes him a little less scary, though, doesn’t it?
But of course the silliest thing in this movie is that even the dog has a
flashback to the original film. Yup.
Special Features
The Blu-ray contains some great
bonus material, including a documentary titled Blood, Sand, And Fire: The Making Of The Hills Have Eyes Part II.
This documentary features interviews with producer Peter Locke, production
designer Dominick Bruno, composer Harry Manfredini, unit production
manager/first assistant director John Callas, and cast members Michael Berryman
and Janus Blythe. They talk about Wes Craven, about shooting at Joshua Tree,
where it was terribly cold, and about the lack of funding for the film. Janus
Blythe talks about her character’s death. Honestly, when watching, I hadn’t
realized she had died. I thought she was just knocked out, and I kept expecting
her to come back and save the day. Janus talks a bit about that. And, yes, the
dog’s flashback is addressed in these interviews. This documentary is approximately
thirty-one minutes.
There is a commentary track
done by the folks behind “The Hysteria Continues” podcast. They talk about how
the film’s score is quite similar to that of Friday The 13th, to the point where one of them says, “I am wondering if he was maybe using outtakes
or even maybe identical cues.” They also talk about how the original The Hills Have Eyes was a big hit on
video in the UK, and how that led to this sequel. They also mention that the
characters in this movie genuinely like each other, which is unusual and
refreshing, and they talk about how the desert is such an great location for a
slasher film.
The special features also
include a photo gallery of production stills, poster art and video art. The
gallery plays without need of the arrow button, and is set to music from the
film. It runs approximately seven minutes. The film’s trailer is also included.
The Hills Have Eyes Part II was written and directed by Wes Craven,
and was released on Blu-ray on September 24, 2019 through Arrow Video.
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