Every year we get a few films that get the horror-loving community excited. These movies are considered the cream of the crop and are often billed as the next great horror classic. Of course, this is hardly ever the case. While none of them have actually delivered on the lofty promises of their hype, they always bring something good to the table and always prove to be worth spending time with. These movies include the likes of Hatchet, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, and The Cottage. It just so happens that The Hills Run Red is another one of those movies. It arrived on DVD with a decent amount of hype that had me wondering if this could be the one as I sat down to take it in.
Coming out the other side of my viewing, I have to say "no." The Hills Run Red is not the next great thing in horror. It has some very good moments and is built upon a great idea, one that I am sure any fan of low budget, underground filmmaking has thought of at some point. The problem is that as good as parts of this film are, it is still quite flawed and disappointing. Still, when it comes right down to it, if you like horror you will enjoy this film.
At the center of the film is Tyler (Tad Hilgenbrinck), a film student and horror junkie. Tyler is obsessed with a lost video nasty called The Hills Run Red. It was an early 1980s horror film that was quickly pulled from theaters due to its depiction of sadism and horror. All prints were destroyed and the film's director, William Wyler Concannon (William Sadler), disappeared shortly thereafter never to be heard from again.
What is Tyler's angle? Simple. He wants to find the movie. He is convinced that a print still exists and is determined to find it. Tyler also wants to make a documentary about the film and his search for it. To help him out, he has enlisted the help of his girlfriend Serina (Janet Montgomery) and best friend Lalo (Alex Wyndham). The three of them head off into the woods with the newly found Alexa (Sophie Monk), daughter of Concannon and the only known living member of the movie's cast.
As our intrepid quartet heads into the woods, we learn that there is still someone in the woods. A murderous force still exists at the original filming locations. What is in the woods? What secrets do the movie within a movie hold? Who is Babyface?
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