The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

Director:

Alexandre Aja

Writers:

Alexandre Aja (screenplay) &
Grégory Levasseur (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

10 March 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The lucky ones die first.

Plot:

A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Gas Station | Cannibal | Trailer | Nuclear Testing

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Aaron Stanford	...	Doug Bukowski
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Ethel Carter
Vinessa Shaw	...	Lynn Carter
Emilie de Ravin	...	Brenda Carter
Dan Byrd	...	Bobby Carter
Tom Bower	...	Gas Station Attendant
Billy Drago	...	Papa Jupiter
Robert Joy	...	Lizard
Ted Levine	...	Big Bob Carter
Desmond Askew	...	Big Brain
Ezra Buzzington	...	Goggle
Michael Bailey Smith	...	Pluto
Laura Ortiz	...	Ruby
Gregory Nicotero	...	Cyst (as Greg Nicotero)
Maisie Camilleri Preziosi	...	Baby Catherine
Ivana Turchetto	...	Big Mama
Maxime Giffard	...	First Victim
Judith Jane Vallette	...	Small Deformed Child
Adam Perrell	...	Small Deformed Child

Directed by
Alexandre Aja

Writing credits
Alexandre Aja		(screenplay) &
Grégory Levasseur		(screenplay) (as Gregory Levasseur)
Wes Craven		(1977 film)

Produced by
Wes Craven	....	producer
Frank Hildebrand	....	executive producer
Samy Layani	....	producer: Morocco
Inigo Lezzi	....	line producer: Morocco
Peter Locke	....	producer
Marianne Maddalena	....	producer
Cody Zwieg	....	associate producer

Original Music by
tomandandy

Cinematography by
Maxime Alexandre

Film Editing by
Baxter

Casting by
Mark Bennett

Production Design by
Joseph C. Nemec III

Art Direction by
Grégory Levasseur
Tamara Marini		(supervising art director)

Set Decoration by
Alessandra Querzola

Costume Design by
Danny Glicker

Makeup Department
Howard Berger	....	special makeup effects designer
Salima Oulad Dahhou	....	hair stylist (as Salima Ouled Dahhou)
Karl Derrick	....	on-set special effects makeup artist
Massimiliano Duranti	....	hair department head
Jake Garber	....	special makeup effects shop supervisor
Grady Holder	....	dental prosthetics: K.N.B. EFX Group
Abounouom Mariam Lee	....	makeup artist (as Mariam Lee)
Mario Michisanti	....	makeup department head
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects designer (as Greg Nicotero)
Scott Patton	....	makeup designer
Matteo Silvi	....	key makeup artist
Kevin Wasner	....	on-set special effects makeup artist

Production Management
Tina Anderson	....	post-production supervisor
Moncef Belam	....	production chief
Fettah Lahouissi	....	production manager
Alix Taylor	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Adil Abdelwahab	....	first assistant director: second unit
Grégory Levasseur	....	second unit director
Jon-Luke Lourens	....	second assistant director
Shamiel Soni	....	second second assistant director
Franklin A. Vallette	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Cristina Cecili	....	head painter
Mark Fruin	....	property master
Armordillo Design & Construction Ltd	....	set design and construction
Harry Pain	....	assistant art director
Lorenzo Sartor	....	carpenter
Luigi Sergianni	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Richard Adrian	....	sound designer
Christopher Alba	....	assistant sound editor
Albert Bailey	....	sound mixer
Dane A. Davis	....	sound designer
Ezra Dweck	....	sound re-recording mixer
François Eudes	....	sound designer (as François-Eudes Chanfrault)
J. Aloysius Flanagan III	....	sound re-recordist
Ginger Geary	....	foley artist
Ronald Kelly	....	assistant foley editor
Mark Larry	....	supervising sound editor
Ryan Maguire	....	foley mixer
Kimberly R. McCord	....	dialogue editor
Carla Murray	....	sound effects editor
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Dick Philip	....	boom operator
Ken S. Polk	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sean Rowe	....	foley artist
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	sound editor
Frank Smathers	....	supervising adr editor
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Bryan O. Watkins	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Danilo Bollettini	....	special effects coordinator
Akihito Ikeda	....	special effects makeup: KNB EFX Group Inc.
Jason Pinsker	....	lab technician: KNB EFX Group
Franco Ragusa	....	special effects supervisor
Dirk Rogers	....	special effects technician: K.N.B. EFX
Lino Stavole	....	mold/lab technician: K.N.B. EFX Group
Patricia Urias	....	3D transfer technician
Patricia Urias	....	foam runner
Lindsay Vivian	....	special effects runner
Jenny Wallace	....	special effects runner

Visual Effects by
Laurent Ben-Mimoun	....	digital matte painter
Chad Goei	....	digital artist
Jamison Scott Goei	....	visual effects supervisor
Tom Haney	....	digital compositor
Wing Kwok	....	digital compositor
Laura LeFaivre	....	visual effects producer
Noll Linsangan	....	digital compositor
Darin McCormick-Millett	....	digital opticals producer: Pacific Title and Art Studio
Sookie Park	....	lead compositor

Stunts
Guiomar Alonso	....	stunt double: Laura Ortiz
Joseph Beddelem	....	stunt rigger
Philippe Losson	....	stunt performer
Jason Oettle	....	stunt rigger
Cedric Proust	....	stunt coordinator
Florian Robin	....	stunt double: Aaron Stanford
Florian Robin	....	stunts
Rainer Werner	....	stunt rigger
Othman Ilyassa	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Alessandro Cardelli	....	gaffer
Andrei Cretan	....	assistant camera
Ancuta Iordachescu	....	focus puller: "c" camera, second unit
Ionut Lupulescu	....	focus puller: "b" camera
Imad Rechiche	....	assistant camera
Greg Taieb	....	video assist operator
Lacey Terrell	....	still photographer
Valerio Villalba	....	focus puller
Erik Wilson	....	camera operator
Erik Wilson	....	director of photography: second unit

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nancy Au	....	costume department supervisor: Los Angeles (as Nancy Capper)
Kelly Chambers	....	wardrobe assistant
Anna Lombardi	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Michael Hatzer	....	color timer
Mark Scovil	....	first assistant editor
Kathy Thomson	....	digital colorist
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter (uncredited)
Shepard Hall	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Jeremy Drake	....	musician: guitar solos
François Eudes	....	music designer (as François-Eudes Chanfrault)
David Franco	....	music supervisor
William Kehoe	....	score assistant engineer
John Kurlander	....	score mixer
Dwight Mikkelsen	....	conductor
Dwight Mikkelsen	....	orchestrator
Sheri Ozeki	....	music editor
Robert Puff	....	music preparation
Jamie Steele	....	score mixer
Matias Vellutini	....	assistant to composer
Scott Williams	....	musician

Transportation Department
Omar Darouiche	....	transportation captain (as Omar Driouche)
Najma El Mahjoub	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Saadia Aalami	....	assistant: Samy Layani
Noureddine Aberdine	....	location manager
Mohamed Atbir	....	set production assistant
Michael Barnes	....	financial legal services
Soumaya Bellafquih	....	assistant: Samy Layani
Géraldine Bergé	....	script supervisor: second unit
Greg Bernstein	....	legal services
Tara Billik	....	assistant: Marianne Maddalena
Lmahjoub Boulmi	....	animal wrangler
Mehdi El Atlassi	....	assistant: Frank Hildebrand
Carly Feingold	....	assistant: Wes Craven
Redouane Fihi	....	production assistant
Charles Heaphy	....	production financing
Abdenabi Izlaguen	....	location manager
Nazha Kajja	....	production coordinator
Nazha Kajja	....	set production assistant
Cheryl Leigh	....	script supervisor
Alex Matcham	....	production controller
Miriam Matejovsky	....	assistant: Alexandre Aja
Nanette Munro	....	assistant: Peter Locke
Heidi S. Pavey	....	coordinator: Los Angeles
Katryna Samut-Tagliaferro	....	production co-coordinator
Ibtisame Semmar	....	production accountant
Howard R. Schuster	....	financing (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Craven-Maddalena Films
• Dune Entertainment
• Major Studio Partners

Distributors

• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2006) (Germany) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2006) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Presidio (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Amuse Soft Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• FS Film Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• K.N.B. Effects Group (special makeup effects) (as K.N.B. EFX Group)
• Pacific Title (opticals)
• Rez-Illusion (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Danetracks  sound design & editorial
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Pivotal Post  editing facilities
• Widget Post Production  sound post-production
• Wilshire Stages, The  ADR recording facility

Also Known As:

Despertar del diablo (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
The Hills have Eyes - Hügel der blutigen Augen (Austria) (Germany) [de]
У холмов есть глаза (Russia) [ru]
Aima stous lofous (Greece) [el]
Brda imaju oci (Croatia) [hr]
La colline a des yeux (France) [fr]
Las colinas tienen ojos (Spain) [es]
Le colline hanno gli occhi (Italy) [it]
Le visage de la peur (Canada: French title) [fr]
Mägedel on silmad (Estonia) [et]
Sziklák szeme (Hungary) [hu]
Tepenin gözleri (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Viagem Maldita (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong gruesome violence and terror throughout, and for language.

Runtime:

107 min | 108 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (edited for re-rating) (certificate #42400) | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Singapore:R21 | UK:18 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Canada:18A (Nova Scotia) | Norway:18 | Germany:18 | Sweden:15 | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:R | Mexico:D | Argentina:18 | Netherlands:16 | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:Limited | Portugal:M/18 | Ireland:18 | USA:Unrated (uncut DVD version) | France:-16 | Poland:18 | Brazil:18 | Italy:VM14 | Hungary:18 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Japan:R-18 | Finland:K-18 (self applied)

Filming Locations:

Marrakech, Morocco

Company:

Craven-Maddalena Films

Trivia:

The mini-series of _"Ten Commandments, The" (2006) (mini)_ was being filmed in Morocco nearby. The cast and crew of both productions were all staying at the same hotel.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Doug is laying in the box with all the body parts trying to get out, a chopped-off arm is standing up behind him. In the next scene it’s lying down, and in the next again, its standing back up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Gas Station Attendant: Ruby, is that you?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Worst of 2006" (2007)

Soundtrack:

California Dreaming

The Hills are Alive with the Sounds of ... SLAUGHTER!!

I dislike the nowadays and boisterous remakes of classic horror movies as much as the next person but, ever since the news came that an update of "The Hills Have Eyes" was in talks, I had great expectations towards it. There are reasons for this rather enthusiast anticipation, actually. Unlike "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or "The Fog", to name just two examples, Wes Craven's original 1977 screenplay was open for improvement AND Alexandre Aja would be just the right man for the job, as his own project "Haute Tension" is definitely one of the best horror films since the year 2000. That particular film wasn't really a masterpiece of plotting, but it was genuinely grim and barbaric and those are exactly the qualities a film like "The Hills Have Eyes" require as well. The new screenplay follows Craven's original fairly strict, except that the eyes in the hills aren't of members of an inbred family anymore but of an entire community of horribly mutated ghouls. Deep in the New Mexican deserts, a small village of coal miners once refused to leave the area at the time the American government decided to test nuclear weapons there, and now they still prowl the wasteland, assaulting travelers that dare to leave the main highways. The Carter family is next on the menu, and the mutants really don't care whether the victims are females, elderly folks or even newborn babies...

Alexandre Aja delivers the exact right amount of disturbing tension and really a lot more gore than you could possibly dream of. Much more than the overrated Eli Roth, this young French filmmaker is the new prodigy of horror. Strictly talking in terms of cinema, "The Hills Have Eyes" is also a more than decent production. The dialogs are fluently written and the characters are a lot more likable than in the original. By them I primarily refer to the members of the Carter family, as Michael Berryman's charisma as creepy Pluto remains unequaled. Altering the background of the desert-people into mutants was a pretty intelligent move by Aja, though. Despite being sadistic and utterly repulsive-looking bastards, these people are basically a sort of "victims" themselves, which brings a lot of extra depth and unsubtle social criticism in the overall simplistic story. I'm sure this film also had its share of flaws, like the editing being a little too MTV-ish perhaps, but the thrills and fast pacing were just too overpowering to have me bother about them. Kudos also to the terrific selection of songs, the convincing cast of actors and actresses and – last but not least – the personal trainer of those brilliant German Shepard dogs!