There's been a lot of chatter, speculation and anticipation for Alex Ajas' new film, The Hills Have Eyes, and rightly so. His Haute Tension (or High Tension here in the states), was quite a way to make a first impression. Relentless, graphic and just damn weird, at the end, it seemed like we were witnessing the birth of a new master of horror [(c) Showtime].

I was able to get my paws on a ticket to a press screening in Dallas, Texas, today, March 2. Would you like to know my thoughts on Ajas' remake of the Wes Craven original?......... I was gonna tell you anyway.

After an initial title card informing us of the government testing of nuclear bombs in the 50's and such, this film kicked in with a great opening scene wherein what appear to be government research types are taking readings and samples in the desert to test for radiation and its effects. That doesn't sound too great, does it? Well, that all changes when they are brutally murdered by an unseen assailant with a pick-ax.

Cut to opening credits, which are interspersed with shots of mushroom clouds, houses being destroyed by blasts and, eventually, some stills of mutated children and whatnot. The credits actually start to build up the suspense and give us a clue as to what's going to be a plot point. (Thank Fenrir! I was getting sick of films that just start after the logo and then throw an expensive and pointless opening credit sequence AT THE END OF THE FUCKING MOVIE!)

Soon, we're introduced to our heroes. We've got the older family: Mom, Dad, teenage Daughter and Son. And also the younger family which consists of another Daughter and her Husband and their Baby. They're all traveling together through the desert on the way to California and stop for gas in the middle of nowhere-ville. They get a tip from the creepy attendant about a "shortcut", are soon stranded in the desert and are then attacked by an unknown enemy.

So, that's the basics. And if you've seen the original, you didn't need me to tell you that.

Now, obviously, Aja isn't going to do a straight adaptation like that retarded version of Psycho. He's added some new twists to this story (The final act in the testing village was brilliant!). First, he's given us a history and a reason for the lunatics living in the "hills", which was nice. Also, he's taken away the whole underlying theme of one family versus another, which might be a problem, for some.

The only reason the first one really worked, for me, anyway, was because you could contrast the two families, but still see that both groups interacted as a family unit. Aja has made our killers more basic and simplified. Even with their back story, we never really identify with them.

That being said, I must now digress and bring up High Tension. As mentioned above, that movie was relentless. It was a film that relied on never giving the audience a chance to rest. It always kept them on the edge. Hills is not High Tension 2. Instead, by bringing the focus of the film directly onto our "hero" family, we have a more emotional story to follow.

Our main characters actually seem like real people. We're not supposed to care about the fucking nut-cases that are attempting to kill them. I found myself not wanting ANY of the good guys to die, even with their faults, which is rare in a horror flick. After all, we're there to see death, are we not?

So, by making the normal characters the very focus of the film, as well as likeable and believable, Aja has now made his story unpredictable! (And, possibly, other words that end in "able".) You never know who's gonna get off-ed, and when they do, it makes you go "Oh shit"! Which is a good thing, I guess. I didn't see a bad performance from any of our main characters, including the teenage son and daughter, which are roles that usually have a high chance of being annoying.

The movie DOES have it's tension (ha ha! *ahem* Sorry.), suspense and graphic moments (when Dad finally shows up after disappearing, it's quite a scene), but they're spaced evenly throughout and never really overwhelm the center of the story: Our family.

So, that's the actual writing and acting. How about the direction and cinematography? Aja teamed up with Maxime Alexandre, whom he also worked with on Tension. The way they utilized the wide-screen aspect and depth of field, along with the sharpness and clarity of their shots had me thinking, at times, that this was a 3 dimensional flick. It was that damn good! Mr. Aja and Alexandre succeed at making you feel that you're actually there.

That's just my opinion.

My suggestion is that you see it on the big-screen, as it is intended, and make up your own mind.