Tags
2000's, Alexandre Aja, Cécile de France, Foreign Language Film, High Tension, Horror, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon
Film Title
High Tension
Director
Alexandre Aja
Starring
- Cécile de France as Marie
- Maïwenn as Alex
- Philippe Nahon as The Killer
When Alexandre Aja named his film High Tension, he sure wasn’t kidding about the level of suspense and fear he sustains in this gory horror flick. A relentlessly brutal and suspenseful slasher movie with lashings of blood, imaginative deaths and a jaw-dropping twist, High Tension is a must for gore hounds and horror fans alike.
High Tension opens in chilling fashion as a terrified and wild-eyed girl named Marie runs through the woods, clutching a bloody wound on her stomach. She manages to stop a car and begs for help as the scene fades to black. Marie wakes up and realises it was a dream. Yet what she doesn’t know is that this part of her dream will soon become reality for her. Marie is travelling with her best friend Alex to Alex’s parents’ house located in the French countryside. The two girls plan to study for upcoming exams over the summer. On the first night of the girls arriving at the house, a sudden and unexpected knock at the door signals brutal consequences for all involved. A serial killer enters the house and proceeds to butcher Alex’s father, mother and brother, before taking her prisoner in his rusty old truck. Marie must now attempt to rescue her best friend from certain death and pit herself against this sadistic psychopath in a game of cat and mouse in this terrifying and unexpected horror movie that keeps you on edge and biting your nails for a long time.
Alexandre Aja crafts the scary and blood-soaked events of High Tension with a precision and awareness of the horror genre. It may be unrelentingly gory and disquieting, but suspense and fear are the main backbone to this slasher. Highlights of this almost unbearable tension are the scene in which Marie silently watches from a wardrobe as Alex’s mother is brutally murdered and her spine-chilling attempt to evade the killer in a gas station backroom. Instead of relying on CGI like so many horror films, Aja instead uses brutally realistic make up for the various wounds and death in the picture which give it a decidedly old school feel. The main premise may not be the most original one ever scene in a horror movie, but in the talented and twisted hands of Aja, High Tension becomes a startling and stylish offering with unbearable suspense to burn. High Tension also has an effectively breakneck pace as it grabs you by the jugular from around the 20 minute mark and doesn’t let up until the end. Now I have to mention that this movie has a twist, but I won’t divulge in detail. All I will say is that it is very unexpected and it will most definitely polarize viewers. Some will see it as illogical and a cop-out, others will view it as unique and unexpected. While both arguments can be strongly made, the one thing everyone will agree on is that the twist is really hard to shake off once the credits roll.
Cécile de France turns in an intense performance as the determined Marie, who has to utilise her tough as nails persona in order to take down the vicious killer who has kidnapped her best friend. With expressive eyes and cropped hair, she makes for an interesting heroine caught in this brutal set of events. Maïwenn is great as the traumatized and brutalized Alex, who must endure the twisted mind of the killer after being kidnapped by him. Philippe Nahon makes for a menacing and terrifying presence as the killer who butchers Alex’s family then sets his crazed sights on making the young girl his next victim.
Gory, unsettling and with a chilling twist, High Tension is a genuinely scary and unrelenting exercise in terror that will surely keep you awake at night thinking about it.
CMrok93 said:
The twist at the end was dumb, but everything leading up to it was pretty well-done. Just a shame what a bad ending can do to a really good film. Nice review Vinnie.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for commenting, it really makes for a controversial ending to the movie, doesn’t it?
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Al said:
I might have to see about watching this
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment Al, it is a really suspensfeul movie.
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Al said:
Cool 😀
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adamlaredo said:
I’m with Dan the Man on this one. A lot to like throughout, but the ending makes no sense with the rest of the movie. But that ending may be the best use of a power saw ever.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment. Have to agree about the power saw, really used brutally well in this flick.
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Davide Perretta said:
I like this director, too bad he only went on to make remakes and such after this..
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, didn’t he remake the Hills have Eyes?
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Davide Perretta said:
Yep, and Mirrors and Piranha + a producer credit on Maniac 🙂
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vinnieh said:
I didn’t mind the Hills have Eyes remake, the other two films didn’t appeal to me.
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G. Olivo said:
Oh never heard of this film before. Your review has got me interested. Will check it out.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, hope you do see it.
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Andrew said:
I really liked this, although it is an obvious (very obvious) adaptation of Dean Koontz Intensity, yet I’ve never seen that acknowledged anywhere.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment and the interesting trivia.
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nuwansenfilmsen said:
Seems like a more visually horror flick. But what interested me is the fact that it doesn’t rely on CGI, and supposedly feels old school.
Of course I prefer psychological horror films.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, it may be gory but it’s uber stylish.
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alexraphael said:
Sounds a powerful film dude. Great review as always.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, it will certainly live long in the memory.
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CinemaClown said:
For the majority of its runtime, High Tension really lives up to its name. And then in the final 10-15 minutes, it throws it all away.
Good review, Vinnieh.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I understand what you mean, it is one controversial ending.
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Jim Turnbull said:
Added this to my watchlist the other day and have heard similar things about the ending, but I think the main purpose of a horror film is to scare and this certainly sounds like it will! Great review as per!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, it really does make for chilling viewing.
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theipc said:
I went and saw this in the theater when it came out and it blew my mind. Watching it again, after you know the twist, kind of points out some big flaws in the story, but it’s been so long since I watched it again I couldn’t point anything out today….
Nice work!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks Eric, I think it’s always going to be a film whose merits divide people.
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theipc said:
Yep – I’m off for lunch – I’ll catch up on some of your older stuff soon : )
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vinnieh said:
Enjoy your lunch, mi amigo.
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Tysoncarter182 said:
Really enjoyed this, but it was tarnished for me as I read about the ending somewhere. I’d love to have seen it without knowing, but still a big fan of what Aja was going for, and the whole new-wave horror Europe was putting out.
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vinnieh said:
Shame to hear that the ending was spoiled for you mate. Gotta agree with you about Aja, he certainly has brought that extreme horror over to U.S. Horror.
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