The Hills Have Eyes

"The lucky ones died first..."

1977 1h 30m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 1,039

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Taking an ill-advised detour en-route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their RV breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, they find themselves at the mercy of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills.

“The lucky ones died first...”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Susan Lanier
Brenda Carter
Robert Houston
Bobby Carter
Martin Speer
Doug Wood
Dee Wallace
Lynne Wood
Russ Grieve
Big Bob Carter
John Steadman
Fred
James Whitworth
Jupiter
Virginia Vincent
Ethel Carter

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Wes Craven
Writers: Wes Craven
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $25M — a 71.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Hills Have Eyes (Original) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Wes Craven, shot by Eric Saarinen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Don Peake. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Wes Craven shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wes Craven directs. Eric Saarinen behind the camera. Don Peake scores. Wes Craven cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $25M — a 71.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
449 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Part of the "The Hills Have Eyes (Original) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Wes Craven, shot by Eric Saarinen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Don Peake. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Wes Craven shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Susan Lanier and Robert Houston and Martin Speer carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The lucky ones died first...".
11IMDB entry: tt0077681 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 9 themes, including "rape", "government", "mutation", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: Eric Saarinen
Original score: Don Peake
Editing: Wes Craven
Costume design: Joanne Jaffe
Makeup / hair: Donald Mulderick
Sound: D. G. Fisher
Stunt coordinator: Ron Stein
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $350,000
Box office: $25,000,000
Return: 7143% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Part of

The Hills Have Eyes (Original) Collection

Two tales of cannibalistic carnage, both written and directed by Wes Craven, about a mutant clan lurking in a desert.

Also by

Wes Craven

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-10-30
★ 6/10
You folks. Stay on the main road now you hear! After having announced himself to the horror hordes with The Last House on the Left, Craven's next horror pick would be this, The Hills Have Eyes, another slab of grit and grime. A nuclear family head across the desert in their giant trailer only to break down and find there's beasties in the hills hungry for their blood. It has become very much a popular cult pic with Craven fans, which is understandable given the brisk pacing, moments of intensity and suspense, while the allegories and messages are smartly inserted. But the low budget does affect the product, it looks cheap and renders much of the violence and sexual aspects (implied or otherwise) as being not very frightening or stomach churning. While some of the acting is very poor, further adding a cartoonish feel to what should have been a nerve shredding experience. Above average for sure, but not the masterpiece some would have you believe. 6/10
Gimly2018-10-26
★ 6/10
Though the case of The Hills Have Eyes is a rare one wherein I feel that the remake is in its entirety a better film than the original, Wes Craven's 1977 exploitation horror is still a solid movie, just one that doesn't succeed in its totality. Gimme a Beast spin-off anyday though. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
JPV8522021-11-16
★ 7/10
This is one I could've sworn I had seen before and while I think I remembered a few scenes, the rest was a blank. In any case, I thought it was okay for a independent horror film with characters that at least weren't obnoxious. It's nothing special but I suppose entertaining enough. 3.5/5