The Hills Have Eyes is what would happen if you took an average American family and dropped them into a post-apocalyptic world. The story isn’t actually set after the end of civilization, but in the remote Nevada desert filled with savage mutated scavengers it might as well be. The movie is Wes Craven’s third film and has developed a cult following despite being panned by critics.

The legend of Sawney Bean was spawned between the 13th and 16th century. This Scottish tale, which has never been verified but might have pieces of truth, is about a couple that left their families and lived in a cave that was hidden by the tide. The two produced fourteen children, who then went on to have many incestual offspring. In the cover of darkness this clan would emerge to hunt. It didn’t matter if they were hunting game or people, they needed meat. Before they were captured and executed it was said that they had murdered and eaten more than 1000 people.

X Rated but not for nudity.

The Hills Have Eyes was given an X rating by the MPAA, effectively killing a wide release unless the movie was changed. Wes Craven went back and edited several scenes. Most of the scenes weren’t removed, only shortened and cut in order to make them less graphically violent. When Katie hits Jupiter in the back with an ax, only the swing is shown instead of contact. Several attacks were shortened and obscured. The final scene of the movie was significantly cut down for the censor board, but Craven managed to sneak the footage back in. If Wes Craven had killed off the baby like he originally intended they may have never gotten it down to an R rating.

Wes Craven thought it was a good idea to film in the desert during summer.

While filming The Hills Have Eyes the daytime temperature hovered around 120 degrees. The scorched earth was not only hot to the touch, but also extremely rough and hard to scale. To make things worse, Michael Berryman has a condition called Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia. One of the major side effects is that he was born without sweat glands, which made for a very toasty experience. Being 30 miles from civilization didn’t help either, as the cast and crew had to cram into Winnebagos to get to the set everyday. At night, the temperature dropped to a frosty 30 degrees within an hour of sunset.

Lamb is a good substitute for human meat.

In the scene where the feral family is eating Bob, the family’s father, they are actually eating a roasted leg of lamb. Most cannibals have reported that humans taste like pork, so for the eventual second reboot they might want to keep that in mind.

Dead dogs, not dummies.

Before any of the humans are killed, the family dog Beauty meets a violent end. Instead of using a puppet or prop, Wes Craven bought a dead dog from a Nevada Sherrif’s department. Some have criticized this move because it is easier to cope with a bad looking puppet than an actual dead dog, but Wes Craven wanted it to look more authentic.

The Hills Ha ve Eyes will be remembered for its unhinged violence and disturbing portrayal of humanity at its worst. It’s a family vs family thriller that isn’t afraid to cross taboo boundaries and has endured for more than 40 years. It has inspired remakes, parodies, and even its poster has become iconic. Despite its critical failure upon release, it helped move Wes Craven into the spotlight as a premier horror director, as well as launch the career of the prolific Michael Berryman. While it does suffer the effects of being a lower budget 70s movie, it is very much worth your time.

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Tony Southcotte: Tony hails from the Rocky Mountains somewhere around the state of Colorado. Possibly raised by grizzly bears, this gritty denizen of the arena now spends most of his time grappling with Java updates and dysfunctional RAM. With not much fiction under his belt, it might seem tempting to bet against Mister Southcotte, but an impressive knowledge of everything from PVC pipe to psychedelic drugs makes Tony a storehouse of fiction waiting to hit the paper. Plus, you know, there’s the possibility of him ripping you apart like a grizzly bear.