INT: Hills Have Eyes 2

According
to Wes Craven’s THE
HILLS HAVE EYES 2, the lucky ones get eaten first. We however
were lucky enough to eat first when invited to indulge in an all
exclusive breakfast. Fox Atomic hosted the event at NY Comic Con to
promote Craven’s horrific remake-sequel thus reviving nasty
nightmares of mutant cannibal freaks with insatiable appetites for
human destruction.

What
a tantalizing way to jump-start the morning, wouldn’t you say?
Arriving bright and early, I sat myself at one of the
roundtables with the group of attendees in a packed room adorned
with large Hills 2 posters and two flat screens replaying the Hills
2 trailer. Shortly after, we
were greeted and joined by the horror guru Wes Craven, Craven junior
aka Jonathan and two of the film’s actresses, Jessica Stroup and
Daniella Alonso.

Both
actresses were beautiful as expected of scream queens.
Although bearing no physical resemblance whatsoever, father
and son shared a similar sense of casual dress style and relaxed
attitude. Feeling privileged
to be among the chosen bunch treated to this fortunate breakfast, it
was disappointing to learn that there wouldn’t be time for
official roundtable interviews. In
anticipation for mutant scene revelations, the lights dimmed down
and a special sneak peak commenced. We
continued feasting on a tasty selection of eggs, bacon, sausages,
waffles with a side serving of repulsive, disturbing images of
mutant deformities terrorizing the unassuming National Guards who
have substituted the Carters (from the first movie).

Before
revealing the nitty gritty, let me begin with a short synopsis of
Hills 2, which differs slightly from its classic 1985 remake.
The 1985 film unraveled the suspenseful tale of a group of
bikers consisting of survivors from the original 1977 film,
embarking on a bus journey to a biker race near the desert of the
infamous Carter incident. You’d
think they learnt the first time! Fateful
terror ensued the biker bunch as the bus broke down.

Unable
to recast Brenda Carter played by Emilie de Ravin in the 2005 THE
HILLS HAVE EYES due to scheduling conflict, Craven pursued an
alternate approach. In a time
of war and terrorism, Craven thought it best to integrate the
current political issues and send a group of brave National Guard
trainees on a frightful journey into the New Mexican desert aka
cursed mutant territory. Unbeknownst
to them, they’ll be greeted with inexplicable terror and
monstrosities that will be have them begging for a quick death.

Due
to a tight deadline in producing the screenplay, papa Craven
recruited son Craven to co-write an evil mutant masterpiece.
Together the Cravens joined intellectual forces, got their
evil juices flowing and bore to my understanding, an even more
gruesome plot plaguing the adventurers with even more savagery.
The anticipated result is said to be a nail-bighting,
chair-clenching, heart-stopping roller coater ride.

Proceeding
with the exclusive clip, the scene opened to a special gruesome
treat, or possibly A SPOILER
for some. It was a gory,
graphic birthing scene of a tortured and obviously imprisoned young
girl pushing and screaming in agony. Kept
alive for the purpose of breeding, the excruciating scene ended with
the birth of a very bloody, deformed human/mutant baby followed by
her final decapitation with a heavy wooden looking club.

What
especially intensified and heightened the anguish of this girl was
in the way in which the scene initially opened: in silence and
zoomed in on the screaming girl thus relating to her state of
distress and sense of urgency. It’s
like a bad nightmare in which you try to scream but nothing comes
out. We were also shown a
montage of various clips from the horror, which confirmed that these
Guards would be battling for their lives mostly in the underground
desert caves. One observation;
expect more blood, guts and gore in part 2 than in part 1 (if
fathomable.)

Following
the nauseating scene came the unleashing of the press.
The master of horrors and company dispersed as the hungry
journalists spread like wildfire circling mostly Wes Craven in an
attempt to partake in the informal Q and A granted for a brief time
before being whisked away to attend to their busy schedules.
One nuisance that interfered, if not annoyed, most people
during the interview period was the continuous replay of the Hills 2
trailer on full volume. Proven
effective, its tantalizing theme song “Insect Eyes” by Devendra
Banhart still haunts me.

To
follow are some interesting points and facts learnt about the
stomach- turning and violent sequel THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2, its
creators and cast.

Wes
Craven:

Believes
that horror films carry important messages to society struggling
with whatever the current issues are at the time of filmmaking
What
scares him the most is the present administration and the
deconstruction of the constitution
After
seeing and being impressed with the film Butterfly: A Grimm Love
Story, he knew that Martin Weitz would be the ideal director for
Hills 2
Said
that: “Weitz is a filmmaker that certainly is not afraid to do
something controversial. Grimm
Love is about human cannibalism, with all sorts of sexual
overtones and everything that just makes a lot of people twitch,
so that told me he wasn’t afraid of touchy material.”
Admitted
to receiving a call about Scream 4 for the first time after a
long break. Although the
studio may now be entertaining the idea, Craven said it’s
something that will not happen in the near future
Believes
that remakes and sequels can be great even the third time around
if the right person with unusual vision takes on the project
Believes
that horror or devastation can appear in the most safest places
at any given time, so nobody is ever truly 100% safe in any
place (including your home and dreams)
The
original idea for The Hills Have Eyes came from a book he read
called Murder and Mayhem which highlights the killings and
executions in the old British Empire and more specifically
focusing on the documented Sawney Bean family from the 16^th
century in

Scotland

who attacked travelers in isolated regions and ate them
He
was amused in the irony of a civilized society torturing the
Sawney Bean family even more brutally than their own
cannibalistic practices before executing them
He
is currently working on an untitled project for Rogue Pictures
which he hopes to shoot next spring
There
is a possibility of a Hills 3 if part 2 does as well as expected
When
asked about rumors on Nightmare on

Elm Street

, he said although he hadn’t heard of anything, he would
consider it if the studio approached him about a comeback
Although
his first horror The Last House on the Left will be remade
sometime next year, there is no further development/movement
with the project yet
Shocker
and People Under the Stairs are being considered for possible
remakes by Rogue

Jonathan
Craven

Said
that he and his dad got along great, things went really well and
it was amazing to work with him on the script for Hills 2
Was
shocked at the level of camaraderie and understanding being able
to sit at a table together without any wars
They
have discussed the possibility of working together again on
future projects after releasing Hills 2
Worked
on the script for Hills 2 out of a hotel room with his father
for a straight month to avoid interruptions
Said
that no amount of horror he can ever conceive or imagine for a
movie script can measure up or come close to the horrors that
the real soldiers have faced in places like
Iraq
or

Afghanistan

so he integrated those thoughts into the equation of the script

Jessica
Stroup

Plays
Amber, a naïve nineteen-year-old enlistee
Was
excited to take on a role to portray a tough girl and represent
the women in battle today
Found
it extremely energy consuming to exert the anger and energy
needed to kill someone – it was the most intense feeling
she’s ever felt
She
did 90% of her own stunt work
Did
rock climbing and combat training to prepare for the role
Hurt
herself on set numerous times
The
giant freak mutants on set scared her although they were sweet
and gentle people

Me alongside Jonathan Craven

Unfortunately
I didn’t have a chance to speak with Daniella Alonso who portrays
‘tough on the outside, soft on the inside’ Missy in Hills 2, but
she is absolutely beautiful in real life.

After
our breakfast shindig wrapped up, I headed out to tour the grounds
of my first official Comic Con. To
describe it in one word – chaotic!
There were thousands of people circling the booths, costumes,
games, comic books, posters, T’s, figurines, dolls and anything
else you can imagine! Encircled
by all the elaborate and creative costumes almost made me want to
trick or treat. One treat I
took away from this whole experience was an immense appreciation and
admiration for the genuine enthusiasm expressed by all the
‘geeks’ who got their freak on!
It was truly a magnificent experience!