(1977) ***
"Baby's fat. You fat. Fat and juicy." – the line I remember most from this movie.
Somewhere along the line I got it in my head that the original Hills Have Eyes was not worth the time. This was a gross error in judgment and thankfully no one was hurt by my negligence. While it does not measure up to the overachieving remake, it’s still entertaining in its own tactless 70's way. A family traveling to California by trailer ignores the warning of a haggard old gas station attendant about going down that road and find themselves hunted by deformed cannibals in the hills of New Mexico. After one of their dogs is found gutted and the father is burned at the stake, the remaining members fight for their lives in the – hang on a sec...
“Baby’s fat. You fat. Fat and juicy.”
Now that’s just a terrible thing to say to someone for many reasons. These seven words manage to insult the baby, the mother for raising an overweight baby, and the mother herself. And the implication that the hairy man intends to eat both of them is just plain rude. I’ve been trying to imagine any circumstances in which it would be acceptable to say these words and I’ve got nothing.
In any case, THHE’77 is chock full of action and surprises. It was refreshing to watch a movie where the upper hand fluctuates between the victims and hunters, unlike say, TCM:TB. The only major downfall is the buffoonish acting by the clan of cannibals. The hairy one barks all of his lines like Wolfman Jack on a coke binge while the bald one simply hams it up too much. Overall it’s still worthy of some attention.
5 comments:
That picture reminds me of my childhood pal Joey Miranda.
Add a mop of hair, and you're right, except I don't remember Joey ever sporting an expression that intense.
It's cool that you checked this out, Summerisle, I watched it for the 2004 'thon and I thought it had some game in a rough, stripped-down 70's way. The remake completely tromps it, though. I bet those nuke mutants would have the original gang roasting on a spit inside of twenty mintutes -- if they cooked their food, that is.
There's a sequel from the 80's that is best avoided.
I vaguely remember Joey remember but I don't recall him looking like that dude. Is that the giant from Twin Peaks by any chance? And Lurch from the Adams Family movies?
so i made a minor discovery while researching michael berryman to find out why he looks like that (hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia - series of abnormalities which cause a person not to have hair, sweat glands, fingernails or teeth)
listed under berryman's credits is a role in a straigh-to-video about ed gein. the role of ed gein went to the guy that played jason voorhees.
Weird that he'd be in a movie about a serial killer and not be cast as the killer.
He isn't Lurch; the Michael Berryman role I keep thinking of is as a Road Warrior-style mutant in Weird Science. I think he's also the principal in the video for Smokin' in the Boy's Room.
He's got teeth, though. How else is he gonna eat those babies?
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