The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1984) — Film Review
This morning, my microwave, stove, and toaster oven lost power and restarted immediately. Nothing else in the house was affected, and it happened for no reason. My husband joked it was a demon — ever since the Paranormal Activity franchise, we joke about demons lurking in the house if something strange happens. I laughed and agreed it must be that, and then I said, “That event was more terrifying than The Hills Have Eyes Part II in its entirety.” We both laughed because I was joking and because it was true.
Nothing in horror is more upsetting than the inevitable drop in quality and creativity from a film to its sequel. It happens more often than not and is always depressing. You watch a horror film, and it’s fantastic, or hell — it’s not exceptional, but really good. You hear there’s a sequel, and you groan because you know the sequel will suck and ruin the horror for you. This doesn’t always happen, but it happens enough that I now dread horror sequels.
Seven years after the first, the sequel follows a mostly new group of kids who venture into the desert for a bike race. They get lost, and their bus breaks down virtually right next to the cave dwelling of the cannibal family from the first film. All hell breaks loose, and the viewer is on the edge of their seat watching the cannibals gnaw biker flesh off the bone. Actually, that’s what I wished happened. What really happens is the…
