I thought this review summed it up nicely..
"Travelling across the desolate New Mexico desert with their weathered trailer, the Carter family stop off at a petrol station where the creepy attendant advises them to take a particularly desolate shortcut. Throwing common sense and caution to the wind, head of the family "Big" Bob (Levine) complies, accompanied by wife Ethel (Quinlan) and their three children, Brenda (de Ravin), Bobby (Byrd), Lynn (Shaw), Lynn's husband Doug (Stanford) and their infant. Before long they find themselves with their SUV totalled and malevolent genetic mutants watching them from the hillsides.
Based on Wes Craven’s 1977 cult classic of the same name (Craven acts as a producer here), Aja's movie is of the rare brand of remakes which arguably surpass their source material rather than being the latest in a line of pointless rehashes. A fresh interpretation of the material, the scene is set as the opening credits roll backed by combined images of the testing of nuclear weapons and physical deformities, adding a deeper social context to the bloodshed.
Aja crafts the movie skilfully, with minimal violence until halfway through the film. In the meantime, there are plenty of false alarms and a palpable sense of terror is created before the gore sets in, and when it does, it more than makes up for lost time. The level of blood and guts being splattered about the place is particularly high for a mainstream feature, and effective use of the family relationships as well as a shocking rape scene go to make The Hills Have Eyes a sickening movie as well as a scary one.
Naturally, the film isn't free of those old horror movie clichés (which have become even more so since Craven’s first outing with the story) – the group begin their troubles by taking a dangerous short-cut, later they venture into a dark mine and naively expect supposedly dead attackers not to rise up again, all of which make for ‘look behind you’ moments. Equally, the characterisation isn't spectacular, but it’s good enough for the audience to care about which ones survive, an element which is refreshingly unpredictable. It's also good to see the spunky Carters putting up a proper fight against the mutants, including a particularly vengeful dog.
The Hills Have Eyes is far from being a must-see for the average cinemagoer, but it has much to offer for hardened horror fans. "
Gave it four stars too.
. Chill. Smoke a joint or something.