![the hills have eyes 1977 the hills have eyes 1977](https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/rZtn54Aa0mpQrEEBKeufbmAMhPM.jpg)
Some of the scenes noted by Craven as removed were Fred (John Steadman: The Longest Yard 1974, Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie 1980) beating Juniper (James Whitworth: Fandango 1970, Terminal Island 1973) to death, Mars (Lance Gordon: Amy 1981, Independence Day 1983) and Pluto (Michael Berryman: Weird Science 1985, The Lords of Salem 2012) kidnapping the baby, and Juniper eating Big Bob’s (Russ Grieve: Gilligan’s Island series, Dogs 1976) arm and fingering his eye. As a result, some of the scenes had to be removed or toned down for a theatrical R-rated release in the midsummer of 1977. That said, when the legacy of The Hills Have Eyes II was resurrected in 2007, when Director Martin Weisz came in to direct, Craven was all but too happy for another chance to produce and write the script for it with his son Jonathan Craven.Īs mentioned, and according to Craven, the original version of The Hills Have Eyes was in fact given an X-rating due to the extreme graphic content of the film. While he did in fact direct the sequel, Craven actually highly disliked it, and later all but disowned it.
![the hills have eyes 1977 the hills have eyes 1977](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1odM17iW3uY/V40zFqN_kLI/AAAAAAABC-w/Qa8UHNpNEzcvHbD2cO5d0rmOYZ0AeT0_QCLcB/s1600/THE%2BHILLS%2BHAVE%2BEYES%2B%25281977%2529%2Bvhs.jpg)
Despite Craven’s creative licensing decisions, Craven still managed to deliver an hour and thirty minute long Horror classic that has stood the test of time as one of the greatest exploitation Horror films to date.Ĭraven’s original film even spawned the sequel The Hills Have Eyes Part II in 1984. Unlike the film counterpart, Blood Relations took place in a forest, not a desert, the cannibals being children and not adults, and the baby being used for food not a perverted ritual. The Hills Have Eyes was no different, putting viewers into a rather uncomfortable space of incestuous mountain cannibals with a thirst to kill, which still resonates 40 years after its initial release. Always known for his creative intuition when it came to Horror, Craven always challenged his viewers with audacious visions of what it meant to truly terrify an audience. A dark tale, it tells the story of a family traveling to California, who meet the unfortunate fate of having their car breakdown in a secluded desert area inhabited by bloodthirsty cannibals. Initially given an X-rating by the MPAA due to its graphic violences, for an R-rating, the film was cut and released in theaters on Friday, July 22nd of 1977. © Vanguard Monarch Releasing Corporation.