This desolate and monumentally disturbing film is based on real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas (who confessed to killing over 300 people). An illiterate ex-con, Henry (Michael Rooker) kills randomly, without emotion or motive. But he knows what he's doing, actively changing his methods to avoid capture. Flatmate Otis (Tom Towles) joins the bloody spree, and the pair delight in videoing and replaying their handiwork, which gets gorier as the film continues. By cataloguing depravity as matter of fact, the film brilliantly triggering our fears of the dangers that roam the streets.

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A family of middle-class holidaymakers head off the beaten track in their luxurious Winnebago and meet their wild counterparts - a group of cave-dwelling cannibals who prey on unsuspecting travellers, in this brutal 1970s shocker from Wes Craven. Unflinching in its nastiness - classic scenes centre on one of the group being crucified then burnt alive, a canary being eaten alive and a baby being snatched for the cooking pot ("Look Pa, we brought you a juicy Thanksgiving turkey!" announces one of the cannibals when he arrives home with his prize) - The Hills Have Eyes assembles a picture of civilised individuals pushed to such extreme limits that they rediscover their instinct for survival.

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