Alexandre Aja on Remakes and “The Hills Have Eyes:” “You know it’s funny because the remake question is a big question and as a fan of the original film I wondered, I asked myself a lot of times if it’s reasonable? Is it correct to redo that thing that you love so much? But at the same time… I find out that you know there is a movie that I love like ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and if someone were asking me back in the day, back a few years from now, if I wanted to remake it I would say no because the Tobe Hooper one is really a masterpiece. And it’s the same for ‘The Last House on the Left.’
But the reasons I love so much ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ are not the same reasons. I don’t like ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ because it’s the most scary movie ever made. I love the original ‘Hills Have Eyes’ because of Michael Berryman, because of the look of the film, because of the ‘70s, because of some of the dialogue, some kind of dark humor. I mean, that’s the reason I love it and all those reasons kind of made the movie as a huge phenomenon and as a cult movie. And what I wanted to do remaking that movie was to take the story - but just the story - and to try to reinvent the film in a more ‘Deliverance’/‘Straw Dogs’/‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ way. Something much more realistic and much more intense and violent than the original was.”
Alexandre Aja Insisted This Remake Remain Loyal to the Tone of Wes Craven’s Original Film: Craven examined human nature with his “The Hills Have Eyes” and to Aja that underlying theme was of the utmost importance. “Exactly. Wes talked to me after watching ‘High Tension.’ We came to the meeting and during the meeting he asked us, ‘You know I would like to make a remake of ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ but I want to find an approach, something to justify the movie today.’ We came back a few days later with the idea of the nuclear testing background which, you know, with this simple idea everything became very obvious. You know, like the mannequins, the look of the hills dwellers and most of it - also the subtext of how society creates these monsters and now we have to face them.”
Speaking of Wes Craven, Aja said the veteran filmmaker was extremely easy to work with and didn’t demand much input into Aja’s version other than one crucial sticking point. “He asked us to keep the German Shepherds,” explained Aja. “That was very important for him and for his producing partner Peter Locke. But beyond that you know he knew that we were a fan of the original film and that whatever we would do, we would do it with a lot of respect.”
Once filming started on “The Hills Have Eyes,” Craven didn’t visit the set often and took a hands-off approach. “I mean we wrote the script and we traded emails and notes about the script,” Aja said. “He was always very respectful and supportive of all the ideas. And even when we, of course, we came to some arguments at the end he’d say, ‘Okay, that’s your vision. I did my movie, you are doing yours. I respect your vision.’ So he was amazing far beyond what I was expecting from a Hollywood producer.
It was really amazing to work with him. Even if he didn’t come on set, he was very supportive and very happy with the dailies. You know, it’s my first Hollywood experience and at the same time I’ve been able with this kind of film, which is very strong and violent and scary, to deliver my cut to the audience which is not so often. What you’re watching right now is the director’s cut, even if the MPAA cut back a couple of minutes, it’s still the director’s cut.”
Alexandre Aja on the Violence and Gore of “The Hills Have Eyes:” I asked Aja if he ever felt he pushed it too far or did he believe that wherever he went with the violence and bloodshed, the audience would follow. Aja said, “This movie was for us the perfect mix after ‘High Tension’ because it was a survival story and only a survival story as opposed to ‘High Tension’ which was a slasher and a survival story. Doing ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ and writing ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ we were like trying to reinvent all the situations and all the terror, but keeping the story and keeping the real key of the direction that we should take. So it was like, ‘Okay, is it real? Is it too much?’ And then the really sticking point was the reality because the more you believe in the characters, the more you believe in what’s going on, the more you are sucked into the story and you’re living the story instead of watching only the film.”
Page 2: R Rated Horror Movies and Character Development
