The Hills Have Eyes II
Review by Peter Syslo

The Hills Have Eyes II (2007), actually surprised me a bit. I have heard people slamming it and saying that it is a rip-off of other action/horror movies, but I don't think it was that bad. I think that this movie does what it should have done - it jumps right into the action/horror, it does not dwell too long on unnecessary plot points, and it certainly delivers scares/suspense/gore (at least the unrated version does). The movie is just happy to be a sequel and doesn't 'force the issue' by trying to top the original/remake or by trying to be an 'art piece'.

The movie is directed by Martin Weisz, co-written by Wes & Jonathan Craven, and stars virtually little-known or unknown actors. Again, I think the choice of actors was good for what the movie is, if bigger Hollywood names or popular television stars were in this, I think that it would have ruined it completely. The plot is pretty straightforward: A novice/bumbling military squad is called to the desert, where the first movie took place (they are investigating some military disappearances). The mutants hunt and kill off the soldiers one by one. However, the mutants are really after the women because they want to repopulate. A few soldiers are left at the end and they try to escape the mutants above and below ground.

I have to say that I liked this movie; yeah, it wasn't great but I thought that it was fun and it is the kind of a movie that you watch with a group of friends on a weekend. Sure, you could see influences in it, from other movies, but I thought that it was effective as an action/horror film - in fact, it reminded me of 80's action films with some of the 'tough guy' dialogue and 'cartoonish' violence. You just have to watch the movie and not put a lot of thought into it - just relax and enjoy. Again, I viewed the unrated version and it did have a lot of violent/gory kills in it (along with an unnecessary rape scene - they could've just hinted at that) and aside from some of the mutants looking like Sloth, from The Goonies, there were some genuine scares that I didn't see coming (my girlfriend jumped a few times). So, I think that the movie is worth seeing, if you are looking for something light/fun and that isn't a remake.