The Hills Run Red

I always like the idea of horror movies being true, so after reading the synopsis of The Hills Run Red, I got my hands on it and watched with anticipation.
Even the poster is a copy!

We open with the creation of our slasher star, Babyface. It’s got some nice gore and scissors-to-the-face shots, so it’s a shame it’s never shown to us without cuts. It’s clear that Babyface is suppose to be every slasher murderer before him and it doesn’t come across as anything else. His origin story has been done, his bulky, brutish appearance is hackneyed.

In short, we have a documentary crew chasing a lost horror movie, just like in John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns, we also have a group of hicks threatening our main characters, just like in The Hills Have Eyes. The movie pays homage to a lot of really great, and some really bad movies. They even include a ‘wishbone’ scene a la Fulci’s Demonia! Go watch that instead.

The characters are almost too predictable, but the actors all execute their individual roles fairly well, so I did my best to overlook the whiney chick that’s fucking her boyfriend’s best friend but getting mad when her boyfriend is hanging around a cute blonde...blah blah blah. That being said, during some of the torture scenes the acting comes across nicely and the blood mixes well with real tears.

I think the movie is alright, but when you get right down to it, it’s just a cute mix of better movies that came before it.