The Hills Have Eyes, Part II

The Hills Have Eyes Part II is Wes Craven's follow-up to The Hills Have Eyes, and most agree that he should have quit after one. The original was made for $230k, and is rated 5.6 at IMDB. This sequel cost $1M to make, and is rated 3.2. Even factoring in 8 years of inflation, he produced far more for the money in the original, and the second one even recycled several minutes of footage in flashback scenes.

NUDITY REPORT

Two women show breasts in night scenes, Penny Johnson and Colleen Riley.

DVD info from Amazon.

Full-screen format
no features

The plot, of course, requires a way to get some kids back into the desert, off the main road, and into the bombing range, so they can encounter the cannibals. They are going to a motocross race, forget about the change from Daylight Savings to standard time, and cut across the desert to make up the hour. All that's left is to puncture the gas tank at just the right spot, and you can have the bad guys and good guys stalk and kill each other any way you think looks cool.

Videograve, in one of the few reviews, said, "A bunch of annoying dirtbikers going to a race get caught in the desert and are terrorized by the cannibal families (sic) last two surviving members. Miserable writing, awful acting and sloppy execution make this one bad sequel." Amen.

The Critics Vote

no major reviews online. there are two genre site reviews at IMDb.

The People Vote ...

IMDB summary. IMDb voters score it 3.2/10

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a D.