Hills Have Eyes - Gun Question

[Ferrari308]

So I rented The Hills Have Eyes tonight, a horror movie about a family driving across the desert when a group of savages causes their camper-trailer to crash. Daddy has a BIG gun, I didn't catch the type, but it was a revolver. He gives his son a semi-auto that looked like a glock.

I can't help but wonder, if you were stuck in the middle of nowhere and there were savages that wanted to attack your family, what kind of gun would you want to have?

There was one scene from the movie that was trully horrific. The family pet, a german shepherd runs away from the camper trailer, and the son runs after the dog. The son eventually gets within 20 feet of a savage who runs towards the son. What does the kid do? He has a glock. So he runs away, while firing the gun behind him but not looking at what he's shooting at. I could not help but wonder why the kid didn't stop, take good aim, and fire one shot to drop the savage. Instead, the kid wasted a clip.

 

[JR719]

Sounds like a good movie, did they get out alive?

As far as what gun... tough to decide. Long gun in the woods could get tangled up. Pistol ok but, long gun much better. I think a short rifle with large mag capacity.

As far as the kid running away... fear... fight or flight syndrom. Always nice to get away from the problem instead of fighting.

I would have to carry..... my benelli with 00 buck (I take it when I go camping along with a glock).

If I knew there were savages I would not go.

 

[Low-Sci]

The trouble here lies with the idea that you get to plan for it, as if you know exactly where you'll be lost and who'll be after you and you get to plan for it by choosing your weapon accordingly.

But if I knew that was going to happen, I'd forego paying my tuition and I'd buy an RRA 18" Varmint A4, an EOTech holosight, and I'd load it with black hills ammunition, preferably with 77-grain Sierra open-tip match bullets. Put a sling on it, zero the sight, don't mess with it until its time to shoot mutants. Make the order by 4, because my dad and my two brothers would be there too, and I don't want to have to deal with different types of ammo. Mom and sis are going to be awfully busy reloading magazines as it is to bother with ammo types.

Of course if I don't know that that's going to happen, I won't put up the money for it. I'll bring along my .22 pistol, because I'm not expecting to get lost and wind up mutant food.

 

[30-06 lover]

I saw the movie in the theater... DON"T WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! PLEASE! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY, DON"T WATCH IT! The fact that someone made that up in their mind makes me want to give them a mental health check. I would have walked out if I was not with friends that I thought wanted to stay and finish it. (Later I found out they stayed because they thought I wanted to stay, so four people ALL wanted to leave 15 minutes into this movie). Movie is flat out wrong and very disturbing.


If I was stranded...H&K USP 45 with Hi Caps and an AR-10 with High Caps.
-Mike

 

[Hiaboo]

I most definately agree.. That one scene at the first attack with the girl really really pissed me off and I stopped the movie at that point.. Ugh.

 

[Ferrari308]

Sounds like a good movie, did they get out alive?

I don't want to give it away for those who have not watched the movie. But I will say the choice in guns was important. If only the family had a rifle, they could have made a better defensive position from the camper-trailer. A good scope would have allowed the family to form a perimiter around their camper.

The family only had 2 handguns, the father's service revolver and the glock he gave his son. The women in the family were not given any guns and that comes back to haunt them when the men go into the desert looking for help. That was the familys worst mistake, splitting up. They should have all went together looking for help, instead of leaving the women behind while the father walked into the hot desert.

If I was in that family, I would have waited until sunset so the desert would not be so hot. I then would have formed a line with a gunner at point and one at the end, with everyone 10 feet apart. Then start walking back towards the gas station. That way, if someone is going to sniper, they won't get the family in a group since from point to last there will be 80 feet. The family would be spread out enough that everyone can look for cover.

 

[bigun15]

Instead, the kid wasted a clip.

Pray for forgiveness.

(read my sig)

 

[Ferrari308]

The trouble here lies with the idea that you get to plan for it, as if you know exactly where you'll be lost and who'll be after you and you get to plan for it by choosing your weapon accordingly.

That is a good point. It would make sense to have a nice selection of guns, just in case you run into something which was not planned. It seems like two handguns would be enough for a family traveling across a desert. What possible dangers are there? Scorpions, maybe a snake? It is not like the family has a need to be armed to the teeth. But when disaster strikes, it is better to be prepared. I wonder if an extra rifle would have made the difference? And there is the son-in-law who starts out as anti-gun and does not want to even hold a revolver. By the time the movie ends, his attitude about guns changes.

 

[Radjxf]

Cheesey movie, not terribly bad--seen worse. I'd have to guess the Dad had a Smith 629, can't recall. I thought the kid had a mid-sized Beretta.
By the way, every time you say "clip", it makes baby Jesus cry.

 

[VTKFJoe]

Yeah, terrible movie. The mutant rape scene bummed me out bad.

I thought the semi-auto was a small, possibly single stack S&W - 3914? The kid and dad kept refering to the safety (while the kid was pointing it at his bro-in-law and telling him not to worry - safetys on), it looked like it had the S&W style decocker/safety. I'm fairly certain it wasnt a Glock, I could be wrong though.

If you have not seen this movie, don't waste your time.

 

[ibex]

Um, guys... no offense, but... it is a horror movie. It's not supposed to be wholesome, family-friendly, violence-free entertainment with a "lesson of the day" at the end. If it doesn't make you feel very uncomfortable, the movie is wasted time and money. It is specifically supposed to be more, pardon the pun, horrible than anything your own mind can come up with.

Again, no offense intended, but if that's not what you are looking for, what are you doing in that theater? No, really, what did you expect? Seriously.

On topic:
Splitting up was (as usual) a remarkably bad idea, but an inevitable plot element in almost any horror movie, possibly because staying together is such a good idea that it has the potential to turn perfectly good horror flicks into non-events.

The distribution of weapons was okay, though. The two people who were most proficient and prepared to use them got guns. In the hands of anyone else, they would have been a liability.

The shooting blindly while running away ticked me off, too. Waste of ammo.

And of course the moment where the apparently dead mutant comes back to life for the obligatory final attack. I cannot tell you how pleased I was when Sidney took "preventive measures" in Scream 2.

I think something like a Glock 17 or XD-45 would be my weapon of choice in such a situation. Reliable, accurate, high ammo capacity, concealable, easy to use, realistic to have with you.

 

[massad ayoob]

I seem to remember that the kid had a Beretta 92, and the guy with the harelip had what looked like a large frame, long barrel Taurus revolver...but I am an old guy with bad eyes, so...

 

[dhoomonyou]

My brother in law told me about the "shot gun scene" ... bye bye face.

sounds like Hollywood trashy film, save your money..buy ammo instead.

 

[cyanide]

I could not help but wonder why the kid didn't stop, take good aim, and fire one shot to drop the savage. Instead, the kid wasted a clip

Well the movie would have been over then wouldn't it ?

 

[cyanide]

I seem to remember that the kid had a Beretta 92, and the guy with the harelip had what looked like a large frame, long barrel Taurus revolver...but I am an old guy with bad eyes, so...

I thought that was the gun he stole off of the dad they had captured and latter burned alive.

I liked the movie for what it was a horror flick.

 

[Stiletto Null]

SKS, maybe some Firesights or Techsights. That's my general purpose "car gun".

If I move up in the budget world, maybe a scout-mounted Ultradot or Kobra, or maybe even a siderail->1913 adapter and an Aimpoint.

If they're coming at me in such large numbers and so rapidly that a ten-round magazine fed by stripper clips isn't enough, it probably wouldn't make a huge difference if I had an AK or AR type rifle with 30-rounders.

 

[danurve]

I'm suprised, come on you guys - hollywood & guns ever getting it right?

For a low rated horror flick, I thought some of the eye candy was fine.

 

[Ferrari308]

I'm suprised, come on you guys - hollywood & guns ever getting it right?

For a low rated horror flick, I thought some of the eye candy was fine.

Has anyone seen the 1970's original? Is it worth buying? How does it compare to the 2000 version, is it dated?

I love eye candy too. It is what makes some of these movies so entertaining!

 

[Ferrari308]

I seem to remember that the kid had a Beretta 92, and the guy with the harelip had what looked like a large frame, long barrel Taurus revolver...but I am an old guy with bad eyes, so...

You're probably right. I just know the father had a revolver that looked really BIG. It looked like one of those Dirty Harry revolvers. The kid had some kind of semi-automatic.

I don't understand why the father, who was a police officer, would fire 5 shots out of his revolver at shadows in the dark. Not that the 6th bullet could have saved him, but at the least when everything looks clear, wouldn't you reload? 1 bullet against shadows in the dark is not good odds.

The more I think about it, if I was in their situation I would want a large calibur revolver that could take down a large savage, and a shotgun to clear a path in front of me. I think that would be the best combo. Give the best shooter in the group a high powered rifle so he can pick off anything on top of the mountains that might attack. The goal would be to make a saftey zone the savages could not penetrate.

And now that I think about it, I never would have chosen a path which is a valley inbetween two steep hills. No matter what you do, you can't make a safe path because the savages can get on top real quick. You can't shoot through rock. The savages would have good cover, and the person in the valley would be an easy target.

 

[SteveS]

I could not help but wonder why the kid didn't stop, take good aim, and fire one shot to drop the savage. Instead, the kid wasted a clip.

That would have made too much sense. Most horror movies seem to have the characters wandering off by themselves to be picked off one by one.

If it doesn't make you feel very uncomfortable, the movie is wasted time and money.

I disagree. I think it takes a great deal of creativity to come up with a plot that is interesting and suspenseful. If a writer wants to make people uncomfortable, it isn't all that difficult.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I routinely carry an M1911. I would normally have either a centerfire rifle or shotgun (or both) in my camper. What more do I need?

 

[CNYCacher]

oops

Instead, the kid wasted a clip.

Oooh, you just killed a kitten.

 

[spacemanspiff]

it looked to me like a beretta 96.

gotta call 'party foul' on anyone who thought it was a glock. just cause its black doesnt automatically mean its combat tupperware.

 

[Punkermonkey]

From what I could tell, the kid did have a Beretta, but not a 92. It looked like a PX4.

If left to my own devices, I would travel with an 1911, AR-15 and stick with my original directions and not listen to some crazy wacko at the gas-n-go. but that's just me.

 

[bobaloo]

What would I LIKE to have in that situation? In general, a Thompson with plenty of mags of 230 grain +P hollowpoints. Give my buddy an M2 for covering fire and we should be OK.