Views from the Void

The Hills Have Eyes
Plot: A family that are going on vacation across the New Mexico Desert, find themselves stranded after an accident causes their vehicle and trailer to crash. But they soon find that the desert is home to some very unsavoury characters in the misshapen forms of the inhabitants of a mining village, the results decades of nuclear testing. These monsters are out for blood, and the family are on the menu.
My Thoughts: Firstly I ought to mention that this is a remake, but I haven’t seen the original so I cannot compare it. As a Horror film it ticks all the right boxes but doesn’t really add anything new to the genre. The first part of the film introduces us to the family, Dad Bob, Mum Kathleen, Elder daughter Lynne with Husband Doug and baby, and teenage kids Dan and Brenda (played by the lovely Emilie de Ravin who was Claire in Lost). Oh and we mustn’t forget the two Alsatians; Beauty and Beast! At this point it’s a guessing game as to who is going to survive.
The mid section of the film is quite disturbing and graphic as it involves the ‘monsters’ attack on the trailer. After that it is survival time as the Doug rushes off into the Monsters Lair to rescue his baby, leaving others to protect themselves.
One of the highlights of the film, and the biggest hero in my opinion, is the dog Beast. I cheered (quietly to myself) every time he chewed his way through one of the monsters; you wouldn’t catch the littlest hobo doing that! There is blood aplenty and pickaxes (See, they’re miners) seem to be the weapon of choice. There’s plenty of “Why are you going there alone” and “Shoot it to make sure it’s dead” moments, but that’s part of the genre.
On the whole, if you like survival horror films, like Wolf Creek, then you will enjoy this. It is very straightforward; good at what it does but doesn’t do anything more. Oh and it has Claire from Lost in it J
Worth a watch!
Score: 07/10
Best Bits: Everything that Beast does. Yippee!

V for Vendetta
Plot: Set in a fascist 1984-esqu Britain, V is a Freedom Fighter in a Guy Fawkes mask. After rescuing Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) from an attack by police, he invites her to witness the destruction of the Old Bailey. The film then follows their relationship as V sets in motion a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament whilst also exacting revenge for a past where he was subjected to cruel biological experiments instigated by the government he is trying to overthrow. But hot on their tail is Inspector Finch, who ends up uncovering more than he bargained for.
My Thoughts: I went to this film expecting to be a bit bored but ended up being blown away! The feel of it is dark and the symbolism is powerful. V himself is an eloquent speaker with a large vocabulary of words beginning with v and a penchant for quoting Shakespeare- which is useful as Evey was once in Twelfth Night as a child! If you are expecting a lot of swashing and buckling, then you may be disappointed as the knife action is sparse- although when it does happen- it’s excellent. Natalie Portman shows she can act and delivers a very good performance, especially during the incarceration scenes. However after her hair is shaved, it doesn’t seem to grow back, which is surprising seeing as the film spans a year. There is more to this film than the build up to the finale, there are some wonderful flashback scenes, and an incredibly powerful story about Valerie, who leaves her last words written on toilet paper in the cells. There is also a surprisingly refreshing performance from Stephen Fry that leads to one of the more frivolous scenes in the film (Benny Hill anyone?)
On the whole, the plot may confuse a little, as there is so much detail to take in, but the performances are top notch and the ending is highly charged. An absolutely thrilling movie, that tugs at the entire rainbow of emotions. A must see film!
Best Bits: The Stephen Fry TV show scene- A little light relief glistening in the darkness of the film; The incarceration of Evey and Valerie’s story and of course the ending
Score: 9/10