10 Horrific Wilderness Horror Movies Based On True Events
4. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Wes Craven’s 1977 exploitation horror classic The Hills Have Eyes sees the Carter family come face-to-face with a family of mutated cannibals when their car crashes in the middle of the desert. It’s a grungy and violent slice of '70s horror action, though you might not be aware that it’s based on true historical events (though there's debate around the accuracy of these tales).
Craven has openly spoken about his inspirations behind the film being the stories of 18th century Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean and his family. Living in caves along the coast, Bean, alongside his wife “Black” Agnes Douglas, ambushed and devoured travellers who passed by on nearby roads.
It was only when one of their potential victims escaped and informed King James VI of what happened that a search party was dispatched to capture the family, who were consequently brutally executed for their crimes.
According to Craven, his film was to act as a modernised version of this gruesome tale in which his goal was to demonstrate that the civilised family was just as barbarous as the cannibals.
Moreover, the 2006 remake likewise drew upon real-life horror stories of nuclear testing, creating the cannibals using photos of injuries from Chernobyl and Hiroshima.