Dominatio Per Malum

The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007) 4/10

Re Hills Have Eyes (No. 2) [2007] 4 APR 27
House of Lords

Abstract:

A group of soldier deliver supplies to some scientists in a godforsaken and desolate camp in the middle of nowhere. And encounter psychotic and cannibalistic mutant humans. Soldiers do stupid stuff. Soldiers die. Rinse and repeat formula.

Held (TAN J dissenting): Not a good movie.

Per Curiam: Don’t watch this before a meal.

Per LIM J (KONG, LEONG and TAY LJJ concurring; TAN J dissenting):

From the very first frame, The Hills Have Eyes 2, hereinafter THHE2, sets out to shock. It is, to its credits, very gory with copious bloodletting and various dismembered body parts. By itself, gore and violence is not per se objectionable if it is a means to an end, a way to achieve a purpose. But when it becomes gore for the sake of gore, it quickly numbs the audience to the violence.

Like all slasher flicks, we start with a finite number of characters who will invariably be killed off. The first, and most glaring problem of THHE2 is that most of the characters are generic and boring. There is half-hearted attempt at character development, but for most parts, the audience doesn’t give a damn because none of the characters seem particularly interesting. This is unlike Re Aliens, a landmark sci-fi judgement, which most famously introduced Lt. Ripley into the cinematic world. So what is the difference between Ripley of Aliens and the entire cast of THHE2? Well, Ripley has brains. The entire cast of THEE2 act like idiots.

This is a fatal flaw in THEE2 submissions, which place it amongst more analogous films like Aliens v Predator. The film descends to merely an excuse for gore overload. The problem is that its not even scary. Nauseating yes, scary no. The director trots out the standard horror cliches without thought or subtlety. The best horror films are not the ones with the most copious gore. For example, Re Descent is a far superior film that uses tension, lighting claustrophobia instead of an overload of violence and Re Scream, the granddaddy of slasher flicks at least had characters that were smart enough not to be killed so easily.

THHE2 is so nihilistic and dumb that it is not enjoyable. It may appear to fans of gory films, much like Re Saw and its sequels. Unfortunately, those looking for a good film should steer clear of this generic slasher clone, where the high levels of gore is its one and only redeeming value.

Verdict: 4/10