While subject matter wasn't as controversial as 1972 directorial debut The Last House on the Left (which was remade in 2009 and famously referenced by Jigsaw in Saw II), franchise deserves its own place in history.
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
The similarities to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) were intentional, as Wes Craven was a huge fan of Tobe Hooper's seminal work.
Film itself was based on the legend of Sawney Bean, who apparently lived in the Scottish highlands near Edinburgh in the 16th century.
Before being caught by a search party on the order of King James VI, inbred cannibal family ate over a thousand people (depending on what you believe). Deemed insane, they were gruesomely tortured and executed without trial. This inspired how the Carter family became as brutal as their attackers when seeking revenge.
Story inspired two films:
Hillside Cannibals¹ (2006)
Lord of Darkness² (2012)
¹The Asylum's mockbuster of The Hills Have Eyes remake.
²Modern day re-telling was released in the UK as Sawney: Flesh of Man.
The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning (2007)
One-shot comic serves as a prequel to 2006 remake, leads into and bridges the gap between its sequel, The Hills Have Eyes 2.
A documentary on Craven's own infamous 1985 sequel (which he later disowned) was released in 2019, entitled Blood, Sand and Fire: The Making of 'The Hills Have Eyes Part II'.
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| Original character Mrs Karen Sawney Bean was created specifically for comic. |
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| Before succumbing to radioactive poisoning years later, she gives birth to Hades. |
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| Handsome chap grew into a big strong boy. |
Presenting live-action equivalent.
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| Michael Bailey Smith (who played Pluto in 2006 remake), is back as Papa Hades in sequel. |
Rip offs
Wrong Turn series (2003-2014)
Mike P. Nelson's 2021 reboot (simply called Wrong Turn), ditched the cannibal and incest-related themes synonymous with its predecessors.
Blood Tracks (1985)
Ironically, this was produced by Smart Egg Pictures, the same studio behind A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
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| Chernobyl Diaries (2012) Brad Parker's directorial debut (co-written and produced by Oren "Paranormal Activity" Peli), features humanoid mutants. |
Sam Raimi
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| Rivalry began with a torn promo poster of Jaws (1975). |
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| The Evil Dead (1981) As a jovial response, a ripped poster of The Hills Have Eyes can be seen when Ash and Scott investigate the cellar and find the Naturom Demonto. |
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| Ash vs Evil Dead Home Again - S2 E9 (December 2016) Poster is displayed outside Elk Grove's local cinema. |
Tributes
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| Camper van |
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| Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) |
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| Call of Duty: Ghosts, Onslaught DLC³ (2014) |
³Aside from Ring (1998) and Hellbound; Hellraiser II (1988), Fog map also references The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II (1987), Evil Dead (2013) and Scream (1996).
Poster
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| A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) |
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| Scream 4 (2011) |
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| Frightmare (1983) |
Tagline
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| The lucky ones died first... |
The Lucky One (2012) and The Lucky Ones (2007) are unrelated films.
Check out the following.
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| The Divide (2011) The lucky ones died in the blast |
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| Muck⁴ (2015) The lucky ones are already dead |
⁴Slasher legend Kane Hodder, dubbed 'The world's most prolific cinematic killer', is Grawesome Crutal.
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| Cold Ground (2017) The lucky ones freeze to death |
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| The Curse of the Blind Dead (2020) The lucky one's⁵ are already gone |
⁵Obviously should be ones.
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| The Haunting of Woodland Hills (2016) The hills have eyes... |
Wow. That is some lazy shit.
Anaconda (2025)
Local guide and snake handler Santiago (Selton Mello) says: "Only the unlucky ones survive."
If intentional, pretty cool.
Miscellany
Mind Ripper (1995)
This was released in Germany as The Hills Have Eyes III: Mindripper, but aside from desert setting, its only connection is Craven (producer), and his son Jonathan (writer).
Lance Henriksen stars as Dr. Jim Stockton, and as a fun quirk, was cast as John Milton in Scream 3 (2000), the final time he'd work with the great man.
Us (2019)
Pluto, Jason's evil doppelgänger, may be a nod to Michael Berryman's villain.
"Big" Bob is crucified on a Joshua tree and burned alive by Papa Jupiter.
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| Resident Evil 4 (2005) Officer Mario Fernández Castaño is already on fire when we reach the town square. |
Similar principle, right?
In the 2023 remake, event is played out in full.
Join me next time as I take an in-depth look at remake.
