64
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThough not particularly bloody, The Hills Have Eyes is an extremely intense and disturbing film. As is the case with Sam Peckinpah's classic, Straw Dogs, it becomes oddly and distressingly exhilarating to watch the nice family become increasingly savage in their efforts to survive.
- 70Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesTaut, unsettling tale. One of the seminal horror films of the 1970s. [29 Oct 2003, p.E5]
- 70Time OutTime OutParallel families, Lassie-style pet dogs who turn hunter-killers, savage Nature: exploitation themes are used to maximum effect, and despite occasional errors, the sense of pace never errs. A heady mix of ironic allegory and seat-edge tension.
- 63Slant MagazineEric HendersonSlant MagazineEric HendersonThe major saving grace of The Hills Have Eyes is that it’s better acted than probably any other film from Craven’s early period. Because of his emotionally bare nature, Robert Houston’s achingly implosive terror is more complex than your average male lead in a horror film.
- 63Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezDespite some admittedly intense sequences and a lean, spare script, The Hills Have Eyes hasn't aged all that well, particularly the business with the cannibals, who are more likely to inspire laughter from modern viewers than anything else. [31 Oct 2003, p.22G]
- 63The Seattle TimesThe Seattle TimesBack from the time when Scream director Wes Craven still made real horror. A family on vacation with a trailer is irritating enough. But then their ride breaks down in the desert, and there's a clash of family values with a family of inbred cannibals. During the struggle for survival, it gets hard to tell who the real savages are. [27 Oct 2003, p.E1]
- 60EmpireEmpireImportant, but it echoes a better film - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.