[The Archive] ‘The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 (1984) “The Hills Remember that One Time Too”
We all get that feeling that we’re being watched. It’s even worse when you feel it with your friends in the desert where once a family was terrorized by mutant cannibals. ‘The Hills Have Eyes Part 2’ (1984) is horror master Wes Craven's sequel to his beloved cult classic. It’s an imperfect masterpiece that left me with much to desire while still making me feel thankful for a dog flashback.
8 years after the first movie, Bobby is struggling with the feeling that it isn’t over. The people who attacked his family could still be alive. He now owns a Yamaha business in Burbank, California. His friends plan on winning a motocross race in the desert with the new fuel Bobby has made. It’s close to the desert where the tragedy happened. He can’t bring himself to go. In his place, Rachel decides to go. She and Bobby have been keeping a secret from their friends. Not only was Bobby’s family the ones attacked in the desert, but Rachel was related to the attackers. She’s Ruby. Their dream of competitive racing is now about to become a radioactive family reunion.
That’s all I’m going to tell you about the plot because this movie is a raucous experience. We are watching a movie with pieces that feel like other ideas in different directions. They are interesting, but clunk paths where they meet for the explosive end. Bobby is introduced first. His pain highlights and sets the mood of the film. Hopeless and regretful. He leaves before the end of Act 1. Rachael has a secret. If she doesn’t reveal it, her past demons will show everyone. She disappears before the finale. Cass may be blind, but not only does she have heightened senses. She may have psychic powers. It’s an advantage the cannibals would never expect. She never uses them. These three characters have interesting traits and could themselves be the protagonist. It left me imagining what could have been potential sequels to this series.
If you are a fan of 80s horror, see it now on Tubi. Seeing it, I was reminded of the Friday the 13th franchise. A group of friends in the wilderness are killed off by a local legend. It helps when the music is done by the same composer, Harry Manfredini. They share the same music cues. It’s a tense and campy sound. Once I made the connection, it made it hard to ignore. I started to expect Pluto to put on a hockey mask by a nearby lake.
The biggest problem this film has is where they choose to do flashbacks. The opening is a moving shot of the desert hills at dusk. Screams from the first movie can be heard. After that, there is Bobby at his therapist's office, where he has a flashback of the night of the attack. Later, Rachel is on the bus and has a flashback when she was trying to protect baby Katy from her brother Mars. Finally, Beast the dog has a flashback while on the bus about how he tore into Pluto, leaving him for dead. It bogs down the flow of the movie. It came off less informative and more insecure about this installment. I prefer the opening shot of the hills. It gives an atmosphere of isolation where the screams of the past never stop echoing.
I love this movie despite its warts. It’s a gritty, confined attack on the moments we share with our loved ones. It’s an acceptable attempt to recapture the carnage that was the first movie. If you love to cringe and laugh with your terror, go watch ‘The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 (1984)’ currently streaming for free on Kanopy, Fandor, Arrow HD, and Fawesome
5 dog flashbacks out of 10.
Words by: Mojorisen Andrew
