The Hills Have Eyes
Eight Below
Silent Hill
The Hills Have Eyes
French director Alexandre Aja showed real talent with slasher "Haute tension" (2003), and this, his first Hollywood production, is even better. An all-American family is stranded in the Nevada desert. This is obviously a drag, but things get much, much worse as - on this former nuclear test site - degenerated-mutant-freaks start bestially molesting and then murdering family members. This remake of Wes Craven's 1977 movie is a real accomplishment. A tight narrative and thorough character development ensure that the movie remains entertaining. "The Hills Have Eyes" is appalling, sickening and immensely gory, as well as a frank political statement. The movie has a sense of humor but doesn't play for laughs. It takes itself seriously, and succeeds in making the audience do the same.
( Julie Vinten )
"The lucky ones die first," according to the tagline of this gruesome and gruelling remake of Wes Craven's 1977 low-budget classic. An all-American family are driving through the New Mexico desert en-route to San Diego when their vehicles are immobilized by spikes laid across the road. The problem is a large group of genetically mutated savages live in those parts and they kill anyone passing through. "The Hills Have Eyes" is a truly shocking film that leaves you gasping for breath as horror is piled upon horror. It also illustrates the first rule in modern horror films: only set them where there is no mobile phone signal. As one character explains: "My network has 97 percent coverage, trust me to end up in the other 3 percent." Vicious fun, if you'll pardon the oxymoron.
1/2 ( Tim Ochser )
Eight Below
"Eight Below" is a Disney picture about a man (Paul Walker) wanting to save a group of sled dogs he calls "kids" from a gigantic Antarctic snowstorm. That sounds kind-hearted enough, but the movie is also an illogical tale about stupid people making annoyingly stupid, life-threatening decisions in the dangerous Antarctica. If possible, you have to forget about the weak story and the bad acting and concentrate on enjoying the beautiful, snow-covered landscapes and the cutely clever dogs. "Eight Below" starts out well with some dog-sledding action, but once the setting switches back to America, the movie takes an incredible dive in intensity and becomes very boring. I suggest watching the first hour, and then skipping till the last 10 minutes when the emotional reunion won't leave one eye dry.
( Julie Vinten )
Jerry Shepherd (Paul Walker) is part of a science team based in Antarctica. He and his eight huskies take scientists on field trips and then bring them safely back to base. But when a freak storm approaches the team is forced to pack up and Jerry's beloved dogs get left behind in all the confusion. He chains them up and promises to come back for them but can't find any way of getting back, leaving the doggies to fend for themselves in harsh terrain. "Eight Below" is a charming little film that will have dog-lovers on the edge of their seats, rooting for the dogs to stay alive until Jerry can somehow get to them. Call me misanthropic but I've always been more touched by the on-screen suffering of dogs than people.
( Tim Ochser )
Silent Hill
Rose's (Radha Mitchell) adopted daughter is not well. When she sleepwalks, she cries out the name "Silent Hill." To get some sort of explanation, Rose takes her there 's and uncanny things start to happen. Based on a series of computer games, "Silent Hill" deals with the supernatural, faith, God and the Devil 's juicy stuff. Women screaming, little girls crying, fire, darkness, fear 's "Silent Hill" has many spooky moments and the attention-grabbing art direction and set design bring a chillingly eerie atmosphere to the feature. I could have done without the ending. It reveals why all the weird things are happening, but is rather silly. The movie works best when you have no idea what is going on while one scary creature after another leaps at you from the dark.
( Julie Vinten )
"Silent Hill" is without doubt one of the worst films I have seen so far this year. It's so bad that I actually felt angry watching it. Based on a computer game, the story is a confused mishmash of ideas, none of which work and none of which are scary. We've been there before with "Doom" and "Resident Evil" and doubtless more computer game adaptations will follow. I just can't believe that a film this bad actually passes for a film. Isn't there some sort of quality control measure to prevent abominations like "Silent Hill" from getting made? There's a scene toward the end where the screen goes white for a moment and I thought: "Yes! It's over!" But to my dismay it wasn't. You have been warned.
( Tim Ochser )
