Common Sense Media Review
Grim remake of '70s slasher film. Not for kids.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
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Where to Watch
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The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 8 parent reviews
Based on 31 kid reviews
Kids say that this horror remake is exceptionally violent and disturbing, featuring strong themes of gore, sexual violence, and intense swearing, making it unsuitable for younger audiences. While some appreciate its thrilling and suspenseful nature, many reviewers emphasize the need for caution due to its graphic content and suggest it is better suited for mature viewers only.
- graphic content
- strong violence
- inappropriate for kids
- intense and disturbing
- caution advised
- not suitable for younger viewers
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Gruesome and then some, the new HILLS HAVE EYES again pits two families against one another. In one corner of the New Mexico desert traipse the Carters, including retired cop Big Bob (Ted Levine), his churchy wife Ethel (Kathleen Quinlan) and their mostly grown kids, new mom Lynn (Vinessa Shaw) and her liberal-leaning husband Doug (Aaron Stanford), adolescent Bobby (Dan Byrd), and slightly younger Brenda (Emilie de Ravin). In the hills, a family of mutants watches the Carters, until it's time to strike. Their faces are doughy and misshapen, bodies bent and filthy, and snaggly-sharp teeth perfect for ripping flesh from bones. First, they kill one of the Carters' two German shepherds, leaving it for young Bobby to find. He's so scared that when he makes his way back to the broken down trailer where the rest of the family awaits a never-coming rescue, he doesn't tell them what he found, concerned he might scare them. This is only one of many bad ideas made by the California-bound vacationers (the first is to take the "shortcut" directions down an unpaved road).
Is It Any Good?
Alexandre Aja's revisitation of Wes Craven's 1977 original is true to its source, making the same basic social and political points with about as much subtlety. (In 1945, the U.S. military irradiated miners during atomic testing, and the victims' kin remained fond of eating people.) Most of the mutants are men, which explain their kids, including a little girl in a red hood. She provides an emotional and ethical counterpoint to her elders, though she's more mascot than complicated character.
The mutants descend on the hapless travelers in veritable droves. Aja and DP Maxime Alexandre's mobile, precise camerawork creates a perverse elegance, even as the film exploits ugliness and abuse. While Craven and his peers conjured nightmares in the wake of the Vietnam war, this new generation of slasher aficionados and makers is working amid mass mediated torture, war, and moral mayhem. No wonder their visions are bleak.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the film's two family units: How do the travelers/victims turn desperate and become like their attackers? How do the film's graphic displays of violence (now a staple of horror/slasher movies) serve specific functions? Do viewers want to be scared or repulsed, to identify with victims or monsters, or to take pleasure in the technical expertise of the violence? Why do horror movies remain so popular, especially with teens?
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 10, 2006
- On DVD or streaming : June 20, 2006
- Cast : Aaron Stanford , Emilie de Ravin , Ted Levine
- Director : Alexandre Aja
- Studio : Fox Searchlight
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 105 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong gruesome violence and terror throughout, and for language.
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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