The Hill has eyes (1977)

WORK – Degenerate rurality

A family on their way to California crosses the desert, under the pretext of visiting a silver mine they inherited. An accident, and they find themselves isolated in the midst of rocky and desolate hills. From the hills, a tribe of savages observe them... The hunt started.

Rare violence for the time, The Hill has eyes is a pure survival to the crade atmosphere, the derisory budget and the execution « primitive » who hides under his brutality a satire against a certain reactionary America.

IMAGE – The « beauty » American Desert

Made from a 16 mm source (at the time of the filming) converted into 35 mm (for the projection), this fully restored copy from the 4K scanning of the negatives of the film (which had already been used for the previous Blu-ray) disappoints somewhat. Because if it is obvious that the high granulation of origin (well preserved) continues to defuse the pique (which thus has nothing chiseling), there is still too much dust and other white dots there and there.

And it's a shame since the image is stable and subtly uses an HDR10 encoding that separates better than in the past the night of the day. The contrasts thus gain in richness (while remaining variable), the scenes (especially nocturnal) in relief and the lighting in intensity (cf. « stake »). The blacks are no longer crushed and additional details appear in the dark.

Then there are the colors, drawn from the same master that the editor Turbine used in HD (and therefore darker than the version published by Arrow Films). Long live without excess, the colorimetric palette offers thanks to the WCG of the deeper and better saturated primary.

SOUND – The cry(s) of suffering

Frontal by its nature, the soundtrack DTS-HD MA 7.1 still benefits from some effects/ambiences/voices inviting with more or less softness at the back. Overall solid despite a slight breath and unequal balance (the mediums and sharps taking precedence over the low frequencies), it also seems less extensive (not to mention the fact that it forces to drastically increase its reference volume) than its consoeur proposed in Stereo.

Clearer, harmonious and surprisingly « Go inside », it is a soundtrack of good bill which does not suggest any significant failure. And it's the same or almost the same thing (it's less open at the front) for the Original-Mix offered in DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono.

In any case, these are never stifled mixes that succeed in creating a particularly gloomy atmosphere marked by the worrying score of Don Peake.

CONCLUSION – They should have stayed home...

Despite an insufficiently cleaned copy, this 4K Ultra HD remains the best way to receive home the little family of horrors! So, when's the great remake on this stand?