The Hills Have Eyes – Arrow Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1977
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Wes Craven
Cast: John Steadman, Janus Blythe, Peter Locke, Russ Grieve, Virginia Vincent, Suze Lanier-Bramlett, Dee Wallace, Brenda Marinoff, Robert Houston, Martin Speer, James Whitworth, Michael Berryman, Lance Gordon, Cordy Clark, Flora, Striker

Release Date: November 8th, 2021 (UK), November 9th, 2021 (USA)
Approximate Running Times: 90 Minutes (Original Ending Version), 91 Minutes 19 Seconds (Alternate Ending Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD 7.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $59.95 (USA) / £34.99 (UK)

"Taking an ill-advised detour en route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their campervan breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, the family find themselves at the mercy of a group of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills. With their lives under threat, the Carters have no choice but to fight back by any means necessary." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "The Hills Have Eyes was shot on 16mm and the grainy appearance is true to the source materials.

The film was scanned in 4K on a Northlight Film Scanner, selecting the reels in the best condition from 2 separate 35mm CRI elements struck from the 16mm AB negative reels, which have been lost. The optical soundtrack was transferred from original 35mm print elements.

All restoration work was completed at Gamma Ray Digital, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Scanning and grading was overseen by Perry Paolantonio and the restoration work was supervised by Benn Robbins.

The 4K UHD grading was completed by Jan Frederick Kuhn and Benjamin Albrecht at LSP Medien in Uelzen.

The 4K restored HDR master was supplied by Turbine Medien GmbH."

The Hills Have Eyes comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 85.9 GB

Feature: 57.8 GB

This transfer does a great job of retaining The Hills Have Eyes' intended grimy look. Sure, the grain looks thick, as it should, colors are nicely saturated, contrast, image clarity, black levels and compression look solid.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English and a DTS-HD 7.1 mix in English. All three audio mixes are in great shape, dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and robust when they should. Though the Stereo and 7.1 tracks do a good job opening things up, the mono mix is still the most desirable of the three tracks. Included with this release are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (40 images), original screenplay (BD-ROM content), 4 T.V. spots (1 minute 53 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), U.S. trailer (2 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), German trailer (2 minutes 42 seconds, LPCM mono German with removable English subtitles), outtakes (18 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an option to watch an alternate ending by itself (11 minutes 37 seconds, 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10, DTS-HD mono English with removable English SDH subtitles), an interview with actor Martin Speer titled Family Business (16 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer Don Peake titled The Desert Sessions (10 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled Looking Back on The Hills Have Eyes (54 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with director Wes Craven and producer Peter Locke, an audio commentary with actors Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Susan Lanier and Martin Speer, an audio commentary with film academic Mikel J. Koven, reversible cover art, six postcards, reversible fold-out poster featuring new and original artwork and a 38-page booklet with cast & crew info, an essay titled Family Activities: Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes written by Brad Stevens, an essay titled The Hills Still Have Eyes written Ewan Cant and information about the restoration. 

Summary:

The premise of The Hills Have Eyes is ripe with possibilities, and Craven, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, exploits this premise for all its worth. The meticulously constructed narrative does a great job of establishing the mood, and when it comes to pacing, there are no issues, as this is yet another area where this film excels. Key moments are given an ample amount of time to fully resonate, and the mood that is established very early on builds to a fever pitch by the film’s finale.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where this film does not deliver and then some. One of the most durable assets of this film is its main location, the desert, and how it reinforces the family's sense of isolation. And this sense of isolation is firmly reinforced by the visuals, which take full advantage of the main desert location.

Performance wise, the entire cast is very good in their respective roles. And nowhere is this more evident than in how, by the film’s finale, the family and the cannibals that attacked them have become indistinguishable.

Five years after he shocked audiences with his debut film, The Last House on the Left, Wes Craven would follow that up with the equally disturbing The Hills Have Eyes.

The Hills Have Eyes gets a solid 4K UHD upgrade from Arrow Video, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer