Analysis - The Hills Have Eyes by Stacey

The title sequence of “The Hills Have Eyes” introduces the cause behind the horror. There is a small amount of text, telling us that there were many nuclear bombs set off in this particular place in America, and that the government will still not admit to this being the cause of the deformities in the surrounding areas. We are first shown some men in suits testing for radioactivity with Geiger Counters in the desert. They are then attacked by a man with a pick, whose face we do not totally see. There are then images of nuclear bombs, mushroom clouds and buildings being blown away by the shockwaves. In between these images, we are shown distorted pictures of people with deformities, most likely caused by the radiation. We are then introduced to a creepy-looking man shouting “Ruby”. He gives up and goes back to his petrol station where we are introduced to a family who are travelling to California and looking for directions.

The camerawork in the opening sequence is, at first very smooth and drawn out. This makes the viewer feel more relaxed and unprepared for the action that is about to occur. There are lots of shots from behind things so that we cannot totally see what is happening. For example, when the final man in the radiation suit gets killed, we are shown this from behind a rock which lets the audience create their own pictures of what is happening. We are shown point of view shots from the people in the suits so that we can feel more connected to the characters and we can experience more of what they can see. When we are shown the images of the bombs, the camerawork is very steady and we can clearly see what happens. This changes, however, when we start seeing the images of the people with deformities when the camera become shaky and the images become quite hard to see. Once we are introduced to the family, the camerawork is very smooth so that we can clearly see the people in the shots. However, when we see the red coat being stolen, the camera becomes unbalanced to show that there is something about to happen. When the boy is in the toilet, we have a point of view shot of the cabin, and he is looking around a lot because he is panicked about the things that are in the cabin. Once he sees the girl looking at him, the camera jumps as he does, exaggerating his point of view.

At first, the editing of the film is slow; we just have a slow shot of a stream in the desert and the men looking at their Geiger Counters. The editing becomes quicker as the men are attacked and keeps getting faster until the last man is killed. These are all straight cuts between shots. When we see the bombs going off, some of the images are in black and white, others in colour; these are also straight shots. When the images of the people with deformities are shown the pictures are distorted and the shots are very shaky and quick, so that the viewers cannot totally see what is being shown, which will scare them more. When the man is introduced, the shots are very smooth to contrast with his appearance. When he meets the family, the shots are all medium lengths, with mixtures of close-ups, medium shots and long shots.

The music at the beginning is a very ominous orchestral piece which creates an eerie feel to the opening of the movie. The music becomes more dramatic as the men are attacked and we can hear the sounds of them screaming and the pick going through them. During the images of the bombs, there is a western-type song playing that sounds creepy in this context. The petrol station is introduced with the sound of clinking glasses and the pig. When the man is looking for Ruby, there is very little diegetic sound which shows the silence that is facing the man. The family are very noisy when they arrive. The teenagers argue, the parents argue and the young couple’s baby is crying. This covers the noise when the small child steals the red coat and we hear her sadistic childlike giggling and heavy breathing.

The mise-en-scene of this film particularly scares the viewers. In the beginning, there is a lot of smoke on screen in the desert, which creates an ominous feel. The men who are attacked are holding a lot of technical equipment which gives the film a futuristic effect. The first killing we see is of the scientists and this is with a pick axe which is a brutal weapon to be used. The bombs that go off show what caused all of the radiation, and therefore the thing that causes what happens in the film. The setting of the petrol station is secluded, and gives the whole scene an uncomfortable atmosphere. The barbed wire that is around the desert is twisted and broken which could suggest that something has escaped. The fact that the man is holding a gun as he is in the desert shows that he knows that there could be danger. When he is at the petrol pump, there is a sign on the wall that says not to smoke near the pumps, but he has a cigar in his mouth which shows that he doesn’t care much for rules. The pig that the teenagers find is very random and could mean that the man may have some mental issues. The cabin that Bobby goes in is dark, dingy and has things in it that we cannot properly see and that could be anything. When the woman goes into the station building to bring back the dog, she uncovers things that we have already seen; stolen goods, a wallet and a human ear in a takeaway box.

The characters in the opening of this film are obviously scientific people as they know how to use the equipment they have. They are dressed in radiation-proof clothing that covers their face, so that we cannot identify who they are. They also seem to be naïve about what could happen to them while they are out in the desert as they do not know what to do when the man with the pick starts to come after them. The person who is covered in blood is not a character that is on screen for long, but he gives the viewers a sense of what is going to happen to the scientists. The man who kills the people in the suits is a scary character who is not totally shown, which also makes him more mysterious, although we can see enough of him to know that there is something not right about his appearance. The man who owns the petrol station is at first shown in a dim light to make him also look like a mysterious person. He is dressed in scruffy looking clothes, has a dirty beard and doesn’t look to be healthy. The family seem to be an average American family. The mother is dressed in nondescript clothes and is shown to be having a subtle argument with her husband; someone who misses his job because he is wearing a police cap and we find out that he used to be a detective. The teenagers are dressed in casual clothes and seem to have a typical brother - sister relationship – always fighting. The eldest child, is trying to make her husband relax, because he is getting wound up about the fact his wife’s parents hate him. We partly see the character of a little girl stealing a red coat. This character could be Ruby and the red coat could help to identify her later on in the film.

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