Connect with us

News

Vlogger Finds Lost Filming Locations for Craven’s ‘The Hills Have Eyes’

Published

on

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Travel vlogger Justin Scarred has done the impossible and found the actual filming locations from Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes (1977)The YouTube star incorporated the help of his brother to search out and document the rural California desert locations and produced a 44-minute video of his findings on his popular Randomland Fright docuseries

Their exhaustive journey and fervent determination paid off and using split screens and shot for shot overlays capture what might be the holy grail of horror locations. What makes this such an important discovery for movie fans is the remote location and repetitiveness of landscape which made it nearly impossible for explorers to pinpoint.

Justin Scarred- Randomland

Justin Scarred- Randomland

Here’s what Justin has to say about his search:

“For two decades I searched and hoped someone would post the filming locations online, but after waiting and searching all this time, I finally found the correct spot, just northeast of Los Angeles, in the Mojave Desert outside of Apple Valley.

This video is the culmination of weeks of searching and returning to the desert multiple times, combing over the mountains and washes to locate the filming locations of the Carter family trailer, Pluto’s dog attack scene, Beauty’s disappearance and Bobby’s search, Pluto’s entrapment, the Rattlesnake Canyon, the Mars Chase scene, Ruby’s revenge and the Baby’s reunion! My brother and I are happy to present the end result of all the blisters and cactus wounds, THE LOST FILMING LOCATIONS OF THE ORIGINAL HILLS HAVE EYES!!!”

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

The Hills Have Eyes was “officially” shot just outside Victorville California in the iconic craggy desert landscape which has come to signify the uneven California desert in a lot of films.

wes craven michael berryman | Tumblr

Craven’s actors, including Dee Wallace (E.T., Cujo), have notoriously said that location shooting was a hellish experience; often filming in120-degree weather during the day and nearly freezing temperatures at night.

Randomland Fright - YouTube

Randomland Fright – YouTube

Michael Berryman who plays Pluto and has become the literal poster child for the film had an especially hard time since he suffers from many birth defects including the absence of sweat glands.

The cast provided their own make-up because of the limited budget and Wallace has said that the dogs in the film were treated better than their human counterparts.

Despite the MPAA having a fit over some of the graphic violence and at one point giving it an X-rating, The Hills Have Eyes went on to become a great box office success. In 1984 the director re-visited his cannibalistic mutants in the widely panned sequel The Hills Have Eyes Part II.  

Of course, the franchise got a reboot in 2006 with Alexander Aja (High Tension, Crawl) at the helm. It got yet another sequel in 2007.

Life Between Frames: The Remake Comparison Project - Wes Craven's Nuclear Family Meltdown

Even though the franchise has become a cult mainstay (there’s even been talk of a mutant origin story) the original is still one of the true horror gems spanning generations.

With Justin’s video documentation of the film’s location that reverence is still in good standing among fans, filmmakers, and American cinema in general. Plus it’s a testament to the actors (and one intrepid vlogger) who endured the extreme elements for their craft and the genre itself.

Take a look:

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

Published

on

Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

on

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading