Editorials
Alex Aja’s Blood-soaked ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ Remake is Among the Best, and It’s Now on Streaming
Remakes are often maligned among horror fans, but without them we wouldn’t have films like The Fly, The Thing, or The Blob. Granted, for all of the gems there are, there’s an equal measure of awful remakes as well. The line that separates the remakes between great and lackluster usually falls upon the director, their vision, and their intent for the new update. In the case of The Hills Have Eyes, it was original creator Wes Craven that saw an opportunity to update his gritty 1977 film after seeing the success of remakes like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the early aughts.
After watching High Tension, Craven approached director Alexandre Aja and his screenwriting partner Gregory Levasseur about the possibility of updating his film with the caveat that it has a new approach and something worthwhile in justifying its existence in the first place. The collaboration between the horror master and the new voices in French extreme horror resulted in one vicious remake that managed to top the original.
And, in a rare turn, The Hills Have Eyes is now streaming on Tubi.
The plot is essentially the same; the suburban Carter family are caravanning from Ohio to California with their two dogs in tow, but wind up stranded in the desert. There they are relentlessly hunted and killed by the twisted cannibal family that resides in the desert hills. In Aja and Levasseur’s hands, their version of The Hills Have Eyes is an onslaught of tense violence and the pacing much faster. The cannibal family is also much more monstrous.
When developing the script, Aja and Levasseur knew they needed to make their cannibals terrifying, so they began researching the effects of nuclear devastation. Using documents, photos, and footage from the nuclear fallout of Chernobyl and Hiroshima, the pair wrote extensive descriptions in their screenplay for the mutant characters and used the research in their direction to special makeup effects designers Greg Nicotero (look for Nicotero in the film as mutant Cyst, too) and Howard Berger. Their studio, K.N.B. EFX Group Inc., handled the extensive task of creating the cast of unnerving mutants to Aja and Levasseur’s specifications. The gore-heavy horror film also meant that the studio had to create gruesome death sequences as well.
It’s the way in which Aja shot many of the death scenes, combined with the makeup and effects teams’ work, that gave The Hills Have Eyes such an intense, nihilistic feel despite being a little less graphic than you’d think. For example, in the harrowing sequence that sees most of the Carter family outside trying to save family patriarch Big Bob (Ted Levine) from being consumed by fire, there’s a disturbing battle inside the trailer that culminates Carter matriarch Ethel (Kathleen Quinlan) and eldest sister Lynn (Vinessa Shaw) getting shot to death. Lynn is shot at point-blank range in the head, but it cuts away right as the trigger is pulled and instead shows her brain matter being splattered against her baby’s crib mobile. The shocking imagery of the aftermath is enough for the viewer’s mind to fill in the gruesome blanks, and it was all thanks to blood and viscera canons. And the horrific makeup on the actors, of course. Some deaths, however, were shown in unflinching detail.
The Hills Have Eyes is a great example of how to blend practical effects with CGI. The practical effects are still the star of the show, but the CG is used to augment it in a way that doesn’t feel dated. The visual effects team, with Jamison Scott Goei serving as visual effects supervisor, created over 130 visual effects for the film. K.N.B. EFX Group spent over six months designing and creating the makeup effects for the mutants, even while the film production was underway.
Aja and Levasseur transported their version of the cannibal family from Nevada to New Mexico, bringing a layer of nuclear fallout to the deformed clan. Their knack for intensity and distressing survival horror worked in tandem with the amazing talents of the makeup and visual effects team to deliver one of the most unrelenting remakes of all time. Aja’s take on Craven’s original vision still honored it while making it his own, a common thread among the best horror remakes.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on January 2, 2019.
No conversation about cartoons based on live-action movies is ever complete without mentioning The Real Ghostbusters.
This animated continuation is, warts and all, a notable example of turning a hit movie into a hit series. And although the new target demographic skewed a little younger, even kids-at-heart could partake in the further adventures of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore and Egon Spengler.
For a good part of its run, the show required fans to wait at least a week for more Ghostbustin’. That’s torture for a kiddo. Luckily, though, the entire series, or at least most of it, is now available for streaming.
So, as you revisit The Real Ghostbusters on Tubi—for now it’s just the first five seasons there—use this guide to help prioritize some must-see episodes.
The Boogieman Cometh
“The Boogieman Cometh” (Season 1)
Season One’s “The Boogieman Cometh” is a classic episode featuring one of the show’s more iconic villains. It’s hard to forget the unique character design used for the Boogieman (whose creepy voice was provided by Ray and Slimer’s actor, Frank Welker). In this story, Egon is reunited with that bump-in-the-night entity who haunted his own childhood, all while trying to keep him away from his latest targets: the brother and sister claiming to have the Boogieman in their closet. Although the Ghostbusters do save the day here, the Boogieman eventually returns (“The Bogeyman Is Back“). That same episode also features the love-’em-or-hate-’em Junior Ghostbusters.
Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream
“Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” (Season 1)
You could say the namesake of “Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” had good intentions for putting mankind to sleep for the next few centuries—he wanted to end war and keep everyone dreaming. Sounds nice until you remember that whole free will business. But when it seems like the Ghostbusters have lost to their latest foe, the last one standing, Winston, gains a sudden ally. Janine’s dream of becoming a Ghostbuster is manifested, and she helps put this rogue spirit to bed.
When Halloween Was Forever
“When Halloween Was Forever” (Season 1)
Before the show’s execs capitalized on Slimer’s popularity by making him the focus of later episodes, early stories like “When Halloween Was Forever” better utilized that gooey ghost. Here, the spirit of Halloween itself, Samhain, hopes to make the holiday a permanent thing by stopping time. And who does the embodiment of All Hallows’ Eve use in his nefarious plot? Slimer, of course. Thankfully, the lil’ green bud knows where he really belongs, and Samhain is banished (at least until Season 3’s “Halloween II 1/2“).
Night Game
“Night Game” (Season 2)
Because Season Two was rather long, in comparison to other seasons, it accumulated quite a few solid episodes. One of the most beloved, though, is that ultimate good-versus-evil story, “Night Game“. Winston gets to shine here as he participates in a battle that was 500 years in the making. Except this time, the fighting is done on the baseball field. The other-dimensional settings in The Real Ghostbusters are always great, but the one here is particularly memorable.
Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin
“Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” (Season 2)
Not all ghosts and whatnot were bad in The Real Ghostbusters. As “Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” showed, some were actually benevolent. Sadly, it took a lot of convincing, and one very heroic act, for Peter and the others to see past this goblin’s grotesque appearance. The heroes find more than one shapeshifter at a sideshow carnival in the Poconos; a sinister Class-4er called the Metamorph does a swell job of menacing the Ghostbusters before they finally realize Drool’s not their culprit. The good guys indeed win here, but that victory is a bittersweet one.
The Collect Call of Cathulhu
“The Collect Call of Cathulhu” (Season 2)
While “The Collect Call of Cathulhu” does misspell “Cthulhu” in the title (probably to avoid legal issues), it is clearly the Old One in this Lovecraft-inspired episode. The story kicks off with the Necronomicon being stolen by the deity’s modern-day cult, who then raise their ancient god at Coney Island. From there, the Ghostbusters’ typical methods don’t work on the big guy, so they seek advice from an old issue of Weird Tales (or “Wierd Tales”, as it’s spelled on screen). That build-up to the finale comes with a decent amount of dread before the Ghostbusters, as well as a scholar named Alice, face off with one of the show’s most powerful entities.
Knock, Knock
“Knock, Knock” (Season 2)
A number of Real Ghostbusters episodes could be reworked into big-screen features, but perhaps “Knock, Knock” is the most hopeful. It helps that this story feels in step with the first two movies. Here, some ignorant construction workers accidentally uncover and open an ancient door in the subway. What’s behind said door is none other than those unspeakable evils that only the Ghostbusters can quell. A good deal of the imagery here is prime for adaptation.
The Grundel
“The Grundel” (Season 3)
One of the darker episodes, which was written by the prominent J. Michael Straczynski, is “The Grundel“. Here, a boy is being influenced by the titular entity, a type of ghost who ultimately turns his targets into new Grundels. The episode does have something of an after-school special quality to it, but that doesn’t take away from the eerier moments. For more Grundel lore, be sure to check out the episode “Grundelesque” from the sequel series, Extreme Ghostbusters.
Standing Room Only
“Standing Room Only” (Season 4)
It’s no secret that The Real Ghostbusters experienced multiple changes after the second season. Out of all of them, though, retooling the show so that Slimer would get more of the spotlight is maybe the most egregious. Thankfully, Season Four (the first to be called Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters) didn’t completely obey that new directive; episodes like “Standing Room Only” felt more like the old days. The focus here was on the well-being of the city and its people, rather than on the series’ green mascot (or the Junior Ghostbusters). In the episode, Peter’s new ghost attractor isn’t to blame for the ensuing chaos; the ghost-eating Mee-Krah is what’s really imperiling everyone. And the Ghostbusters must dish out everything they have to avoid a doomsday situation.
The Halloween Door
“The Halloween Door” (Season 5)
While many fans will skip the later seasons in their rewatches, episodes like “The Halloween Door” are still worth checking out. This colorful helping of Halloween pandemonium premiered on primetime, so the animation is better than usual. And save for a random musical moment, it’s an enjoyable event. Here, a group of anti-Halloweeners tries to cancel the holiday, but they only end up making things worse by unleashing a baddie named Boogaloo.
The first five seasons of The Real Ghostbusters are available on Tubi, starting on July 15.
You must be logged in to post a comment.