Haute Tension

[OG-]

There are two new directors, in my book, who can play ball in the horror arena. The first is Eli Roth. Eli Roth has an incredible understanding and passion for the genre and though he has only made one feature so far, I think it is pretty damn obvious he knows how to make a modern throw back any true horror fan can appreciate.

Then there is Alexandre Aja. This man has got an eye for horror unlike any director I have seen in the past twenty years. Haute Tension isn't a masterpiece, in my eyes, but it is a first time entry into a genre that, though forgiving, isn't very lenient. If you try to make a horror movie and don't do it right, the genre won't pull any punches in letting you know about it. But Alexandre Aja has no need to worry about the genre masses reactions to his first horror film, because simply put, Haute Tension is a better made film than every single horror film of the past decade.

Though I am a horrorphile, I'm not all that big on slasher/surrival films. I don't find much scary about them and I find that most directors take the exact same route from conception to completetion when it comes to making a slasher entry. Basically, slasher films bore me. I respect them for how they are made, but they're all so formulaic that I'm never that interested in them. Haute Tension just bucked that trend.

The plot is simple; two young students return from college for a study session at one of the girl's isolated farm houses in the countryside of France, only to have a serial killer come to the house at night and do what serial killers do best. But where the generic storyline first proves itself to be above all other entries is roughly six and a half minutes into the film. It is at this time mark that the movie proves it has got the balls to go places other horror films just aren't going anymore. It takes something incredibly simple and almost disgustingly intimate and blindsides the viewer. Maybe I just wasn't ready for it, but this incredibly primitive (I'm talking almost insignficant in the scope of the whole film) action is one of the greatest indicators of the potential of this film and the fact that it occurs so early in the movie is of enormus credit to Aja and his understanding of what needs to be done in a horror film.

From this moment on the movie takes on a level of grit that hasn't been seen in a horror film since the two films that created this emulation of rawness; The Last House on the Left and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Once the nightmare begins, Alexandre keeps it going for the entire length of the film. The title says it all. You watch the movie expecting haute tension, and high tension is what you get. The sound editing and cinematography are so incredibly top notch that it makes me cry thinking that this movie could do with a $2.5 million dollar budget what horror films with budgets ranging in the double digits can't even come close to accomplishing. You can literaly feel every creak on every floorboard caused everytime the killers footstep falls as he stalks around the aged farmhouse looking for his next victim.

The art direction and framing of every shot is utterly flawless. Combined with the editing, which is textbook perfect, I have to recommend this movie for it's style alone. It'll make your physical heart pound and your cinematic heart weep.

While the movie achieves a state of fear that is as rare in a horror film these days as non-augmented breasts, there are three complaints I have to make about the film.

Firstly, the manner in which the father is killed. It is so cheesy and anticlimactic that I actually felt like someone had just robbed me. Robbed me of what, I'm not sure, but it felt like something I had been given was just snatched right out of my hands and I spent the next 10 minutes trying to figure out what the hell was just stolen from deep inside me.

Secondly, the use of Muse as the musical backdrop for a car "chase" scene. It was just completely out of place. I love the song Bliss and while the lyrics may be appropriate, the song just isn't. Imagine if the stomping of Billy Batts in Goodfellas was instead overlayed with a Britney Spears song and you'll understand just how idiotic the choice of Muse for that sequence was. They used the same song about 15 minutes later in the movie and it worked perfectly. It just didn't belong and it really hurt the film in my eyes, which brings me to my third complaint.

After they leave the gas station, the movie takes a very steep dip. Alexandre Aja may be an incredible rareity in the horror genre and though he can simulate a painfully penetrative sense of intimacy in a house, he is in the deep end of the pool when it comes to maintaining any level of tension when a car "chase" is involved. Once the cars are left behind and the story returns to what it is best at, Aja jumps back on top of Mount Olympus, but for that breif period I felt cheated.

I personally felt the ending of the film was very complementary, but I can understand how some people will have an obvious aversion to it. It'll split viewers straight down the middle. People will either love it or hate it and I really think it'll be the deciding factor as to whether or not people ultimately like this film. I loved it and can't respect it enough, but if you don't have a true respect for horror movies, you may just find this magnificent first entry rather mediocre.

But I gotta say, this movie is a gift for anyone who wants to understand how horror movies can still be made. Alexandre Aja is a godsend of a director to the genre and I cannot wait until he wraps the remake of The Hills Have Eyes. A remake worth noting because Wes Craven personaly asked the duo behind Haute Tension to do it.

[Garrett]

Fantastic job! :up:

[projectMayhem]

I really, really, really want to see this one. Where'd you see it?

[SamsoniteDelilah]

So... you liked it?






;)

[jrs]

Excellent review of High Tension OG! I am so anxious to see this. Ever since I have seen the trailer (http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/high_tension/HT_high.html) for the film, I've been so psyched to go catch this. It looks to be one heck of a must see horror film. :yup: :up: :cool:

[OG-]

Oooh, thanks for that trailer jrs, I hadn't actually seen the trailer for it. They did a pretty damn good job capturing the vibe of the movie and I think it was pretty slick, from a marketing perspective, for them to cut it so that you can't tell it's a French movie as that'd probably automatically drive away alot of viewers.

ProjectMayhem, I (like many horror afficiandos) can only get a hold of many horror gems through...lets just say...slightly less than legal means. ;)

[Garrett]

ProjectMayhem, I (like many horror afficiandos) can only get a hold of many horror gems through...lets just say...slightly less than legal means. ;)

Bingo. ;)

[Pyro Tramp]

Thanks for the review, this and OldBoy were the 2 films i was really annoyed about missing this year. Cant wait to see it, DVD's out just after x-mas i believe (R2)

[OG-]

Ah, yes, Oldboy is an amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing movie.

[Garrett]

Ah, yes, Oldboy is an amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing movie.

Have you seen Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance yet? I can't say that it's better than Oldboy but it's fantastic just the same.

[OG-]

Nah, that (surprisingly) is one movie I haven't been able to get my hands on (legally or not). Tartan Asian Extreme is releasing it after they release Oldboy theatrically in early 2005, so I guess I'll have to wait til then.

[projectMayhem]

Do you mean that Oldboy is getting released theatrically in the states?

[OG-]

It has always been assumed that Miramax would release it in early 2005, but I haven't read anything official on it. But I know Tartan has plans for releasing it theatrically in Britain and in 2005 they are opening a Tartan USA branch, which will cover its stateside DVD release, not sure about theatrical though.

[jrs]

OldBoy will be released March 25, 2005 (limited) . Here is the trailer (http://www.cinemas-online.co.uk/trailers/OLDBOY_FF.mov) in case you have not seen it.

[projectMayhem]

Joy!

[chicagofrog]

Joy!

nono, tis not Joy, tis Oldboy, really!...
:p

[Pyro Tramp]

When is OldBoy being theatrically released in UK, anyone know? (i'm looking at you JRS)....or was that date for UK..

[jrs]

When is OldBoy being theatrically released in UK, anyone know? (i'm looking at you JRS)....or was that date for UK..

According to MovieBox.net it says October 15, 2004 for the UK. October passed already so unless that was limited....I don't know.

[Pyro Tramp]

Yeah thats whatt i thought, it played at arthouses, was hoping it may get a wider re-release and show at some bigger complexes

[Nitzer]

I just saw the new trailer on Apple and let me tell you, I am not impressed. The killer just walks up to the front door and starts choppin'? The girl hides under her bed, escape and runs away...come on we've seen this all already a billion times. I have not seen the movie so I can't judge, but IMO this just looks like a TCM copy.

[OG-]

I just saw the new trailer on Apple and let me tell you, I am not impressed. The killer just walks up to the front door and starts choppin'? The girl hides under her bed, escape and runs away...come on we've seen this all already a billion times. I have not seen the movie so I can't judge, but IMO this just looks like a TCM copy.

I can see where you'd say that from the trailer, but there are very few horror films that push tension to the heights this movie does. There is a huge economy in screen time here. The twisted vibe of the movie is established in a matter of seconds very early on in the movie and then it just snowballs from there.

It does copy TCM a bit, and very blatantly during the end chase scene, but I think Hight Tension crushes TCM. This movie is intense.

[hayward]

I really, really, really want to see this one. Where'd you see it?

you may hav heard of Switchblade Romance - which is the same film.

[OG-]

For anyone who is interested you can pick it up here (http://shop.hkdvdstore.com/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=24912).

It says the audio is english/thai, but I don't think that's right because they just finished dubbing the American version, so my bet is that it is French and that's a typo. But ya never know... Either way, if you think the cut to R and dubbed version of it in American theaters isn't worth it, get this.

[Pyro Tramp]

Is it not released on region 1 dvd yet? We've had it on r2 for a while.

[OG-]

Is it not released on region 1 dvd yet? We've had it on r2 for a while.

Nope, I'm sure it won't be out on DVD here for at least another 6 months, if not longer.

[Pyro Tramp]

Bad luck, shame you can't watch region 2 as easily as we can region 1. (from what i've heard)

[chicagofrog]

i think OG's right. the dvd i saw was a Thai-import and was in Frenchy and Thai. i now since my Thai is not so good ;)
i think though even that version was not so strong and even less, shocking.

[OG-]

i think OG's right. the dvd i saw was a Thai-import and was in Frenchy and Thai. i now since my Thai is not so good ;)
i think though even that version was not so strong and even less, shocking.

Wait, the import version isn't as shocking as the R2 version?

[chicagofrog]

Wait, the import version isn't as shocking as the R2 version?

i knew my grammar was bad........ :eek: :eek: :eek:
what i meant was of course that i didn't find it shocking at all, even the dvd version.

[OG-]

i knew my grammar was bad........ :eek: :eek: :eek:
what i meant was of course that i didn't find it shocking at all, even the dvd version.

Oh, yeah I gotchya now and do agree. The movie itself isn't very shocking, though some sequences are rather violent, but where it just dominates is in pushing the tension as far as it can go. The entire movie is essentially a cat and mouse game, but it's the most anticipatory and heart pounding cat and mouse game in a longgg time.

[Pyro Tramp]

I think the Ammityville Horror remake is better

[Pyro Tramp]

That's a joke, Ammityville sucked.
Should be getting my copy of Switchblade Romance (Haute Tension) next week. Yay!

[jrs]

Ammityville sucked.


That's a joke.

[Sexy Celebrity]

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/lions_gate_films/high_tension/maiwenn_le_besco/hightension3.jpg

Bloody and Unattractive

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/lions_gate_films/high_tension/cecile_de_france/hightension2.jpg

Bloody and Badass


I had been looking forward to seeing High Tension (Haute Tension, or whatever you wanna call it), but after reading some negative reviews from critics, I pretty much decided to wait for video.

Now, I'm kinda in the mood to see it again, but these two women are having psychological effects on me. Bloody and Unattractive makes me wanna stay at home - Bloody and Badass with the saw makes me wanna go TONIGHT.

Should I stay or should I go?

[Pyro Tramp]

Go

[Holden Pike]

I personally felt the ending of the film was very complementary, but I can understand how some people will have an obvious aversion to it. It'll split viewers straight down the middle. People will either love it or hate it and I really think it'll be the deciding factor as to whether or not people ultimately like this film.


The ending of this film is terrible. Awful. I never thought somebody would get around to stealing Donald Kaufman's crappy idea from Adaptation, but damn if somebody didn't go and do it...and just like Donald, without any awareness that it's a lousy and half-assed idea that insults the intelligence of anybody who bothered to watch the flick.

Terrible, terrible ending. And it's a shame because the build up to the final fifteen minutes was all pretty good stuff. Not groundbreaking, intentionally very basic, but well done, very well produced, and it really got the first-person sense of dread down. But that they felt the need to put a "twist" in there, and that it was such a preposterous and retarded one that makes zero sense and totally discounts most of what came before, it's all just so sad.


http://www.premiere.fr/var/premiere/storage/images/diaporama/haute-tension/haute-tension-2002__6/1971098-1-fre-FR/haute_tension_2002_reference.jpg


This movie is intense.

The ending is intense bullsh!t and yes, it definitely does ruin the entire movie.


GRADE: D+

[Pyro Tramp]

I agree with Holden about the ending being utterly full of crap however, if you can just ignore that, i thought the film was a good, basic, scary, gory and tense horror flick, unrestrained by studios trying to hit the biggest demographic and lacking the cliched teen fodder most horror flicks use.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I didn't go see it.

I just went to www.themoviespoiler.com (http://www.themoviespoiler.com) and read about all of its secrets. The guy who wrote the review didn't do a good job, but the movie sounds hard to understand.

I saw Batman Begins, though. :)

[Holden Pike]

I just went to www.themoviespoiler.com (http://www.themoviespoiler.com) and read about all of its secrets. The guy who wrote the review didn't do a good job, but the movie sounds hard to understand.

Well, it is a bit difficult to understand in that the writing is so piss-poor it makes very little sense and discounts much of the narrative you've been watching.

But it ain't "complicated". It's just dumber than *****.

[cornandbeans]

High Tension was a french horror flick that was released in 2003 to France (pronounced as Haute Tension in France), 2004 in the United Kingdom (known as Switchblade Romance in the UK), and 2005 to USA and Canada. And personally, it is one of the best horror flicks (and movies) I have watched in my life. Those who have watched the film probably heavily disagree with me, mainly because of the film's "unnecessary plot twist", which I will get into further into the review. There are spoilers in this review, so just keep that in mind. Now, into the film itself.

The film begins with a woman in a hospital robe repeating "I won't let anyone come between us anymore" over and over again. The camera then pans. Then, you see and hear a recording light flash on. A couple seconds later, the woman says "Are they recording?". The setting then changes to a wounded woman running for what seems to be her life. You then see a vehicle which seems to be casually driving down the road. The woman then runs out in front of the car for help. The driver of the vehicle slams the breaks, then looks around to see what ran in front of the car. The woman then presses against the car window, requesting help.

We then find that this woman, named Marie (portrayed by Cecile de France) , was dreaming. Marie and best friend Alex (portrayed by Maiwenn) are going to stay at Alex's parents' secluded farm house to study in the peace and quiet. When they arrive to the home, they're then greeted by Alex's parents, who are unnamed in the film (A little fun fact: the only person in Alex's family whose name is mentioned is Alex's little brother, Tom). After taking a tour of the house, Alex and Marie say their good nights to each other, than go to bed. In the dead of night, a strange man (portrayed by Phillip Nahon) stopped by, and repeatedly rung the door bell. Marie hears Hendricks (the family dog) barking, and is startled, while the father (I'm not sure who portrays him) wakes up to go answer the door. As he answers the door, he is then attacked by the man (who will now be referred to as "the killer"). The killer then kills the family dog, Hendricks. Marie, hearing the father's moans and screams in pain is now frightened. After while, the killer brutally murdered the mother, the father, the family dog, and even the son (the son's corpse is not shown in the rated R version of the film, though it is shown in the Unrated DVD), and has kidnapped Alex.

In an attempt to save Alex, Marie looked through drawers to find something she could defend herself with. The killer hears the sounds and rattles, and enters the house once again. Marie finds a kitchen knife, and keys, then sneaks outside to the truck. Marie is now in the truck with Alex, though for some odd reason, Alex doesn't look very pleased to see Marie. Marie sits near the exit of the truck, knife in hand, prepared to defend herself against the killer...though, the killer shuts the door, unknowingly that Marie is in the back of the truck with Alex. The killer then leaves the house, with the two women in the back of the truck.

Whilst in the back of the truck, Marie is attempting to break a lock on the back door of the truck to escape, though she can't seem to get it. In need of gas, the killer stops at a gas station. Marie is then successful at breaking the lock, and sneaks out of the truck, into the gas station. Requesting the store clerk's assistance, she notices the killer nearing the entrance of the store, so she runs to hide. The killer then enters the gas station, and begins to converse with the store clerk. After a bit of conversing, the store clerk notices blood on the killers hands, while the killer notices the store clerk looking at Marie (though the killer doesn't actually know Marie's there). He then asks the store clerk to get him some liqueur. The store clerk does what he's asked, but is then brutally murdered with an axe to the chest. After murdering the store clerk, Marie runs and takes shelter in a Male restroom. The killer then surveys the area, asking himself "What were you looking at, Jimmy(store clerk)?". Unable to find what the store clerk was looking at, he then goes to the restroom area. He then surveys the female restroom, though doesn't find any sign of what Jimmy was looking at. Assuming nobody was there, the killer then went into the male restroom, though he doesn't survey it, rather he actually uses the bathroom. After the killer leaves, Marie exits the bathroom stall she was in cautiously, unaware if the killer left or not. Noticing that the killer isn't present, she then feels a sign of relief. Noticing that the killer had actually completely left the gas station, the then rushes to the telephone, and calls the police. The police unable to assist her, she then steals the store clerk's vehicle, and weapon. She then chases after the killer.

Tailing the killer, the killer then takes a turn into a road surrounded by forest and trees, while she drives by, hoping the killer doesn't think she's suspicious. She then turns her headlights off (though the light inside the actual car was turned on, which is nonsensical if you're going to chase down a killer), and follows the killer down the path. Losing track of the killer, the killer then appears behind her, running into the back of the sports car she was driving. Marie reaches for the gun she grabbed from the gas station, but notices that the killer removed the bullets from the gun. After being chased, Marie then ends up flipping her vehicle and crashing. The killer then comes to a stop, to check and see if she lived or not.

Marie then exits the car, noticing that she's badly wounded. In search of a place to hide, she finds what seems like an abandoned camp near by. Noticing the killers flash light, she then hides immediately, hoping the killer doesn't notice her. Going towards the light, she then notices that the flash light was hanging from a rope to make her think that there was someone actually looking. She is then attacked from behind with plastic placed over her face, the killer attempting to suffocate her. Marie falling to the grown, the killer then removes the plastic from her face, Marie desperately gasping for air. The killer then begins to sexually harass Marie by placing his fingers in her mouth. Marie manages to find an object near by, and bash the killer's head with it. The killer now stunned, Marie picks up the Barbed Wire bat she created, then begins to repeatedly hit the killer in the face with it. Marie checks to see if the killer is dead, though the killer quickly puts his hands around Marie's neck attempting to choke her. Marie manages to finish the killer off, suffocating the killer with plastic sheeting.

Police then arrive to the gas station Marie called them about, though, they found no sign of Marie. Upon entering the gas station, the policemen find the dead store clerk lying on the floor. They then check the surveillance footage, which reveal Marie as the murderer.

Happy to see Alex, Marie then unchains Alex from the chains the killer placed her in. Alex then threatens Marie with the knife she had given her at the gas station. Unaware of what's going on, Marie then tells Alex that she killed the man who murdered her family. Calling Marie 'crazy', Alex then states that Marie murdered her family. We then go back to Alex's parents' house, to see that Marie in fact did kill all of them. Marie, still unaware of what she had done, continues to try to comfort Alex. Both women exiting the vehicle, Alex then slashes Marie in the face, followed by stabbing her in the stomach. Marie than transitions back to the killer persona she made, grabs a circular saw out of the killers truck, and chases after Alex. Alex would then spot a car driving down the road, just like in Marie's dream. The car then stops. Alex approaches the car and asks for help. The man in the car asks what is going on, though Alex, scared for her life, asks the man to drive. Unable to start the car, Marie disguised as her killer persona then murders the man. Alex steals a crowbar from the mans car, and exits out of the front window of the vehicle. Noticing that Alex is no longer in the car, Marie then follows Alex. Alex, attempting to escape, then pulls a thick piece of glass out of her foot. Marie catches up with Alex, circular saw in hand, and asks if Alex loves her. No response, Marie then says "You don't love me, do you?" twice, though out of fear, Alex says she does love Marie. Marie then puts down the circular saw, and begins to kiss Alex. In the middle of kissing, Alex then shoves the crowbar she stole from the car into Marie's chest. Marie says something along the lines of "I will never let anything come between us. Never again", then repeatedly saying "I won't let anyone come between us anymore". We are now back at the mental ward we saw at the beginning of the film. Alex looking through the one-way mirror, asks if Marie can see her. Assuming she can't, Marie then looks towards the mirror, with a sinister grin. Extending her arms out in a loving gesture, noticing that Alex is behind it.

The Review: In all honesty, I believe this is a very underrated movie. I personally believe people dislike the movie because they don't really understand what's happening. This is one of those movies where you have to watch multiple times to understand, I know I didn't understand it my first sitting of watching it. Near the ending, my reaction was something along the lines of "What did I just watch?" "What just happened?" "Did that really just happen?", but years later its "Wow, that was a brilliant film". The only actual flaw that is noticeable in the movie is that the film director, Alexandre Aja, overestimates the audience's expertness on Psychology.

Blood, guts, and gore are always a plus in a horror film. I mean, it's called horror film for a reason, right? What made this film good for me was the psychological twist behind it. A closet-sexual woman, being Marie, in love with her friend Alex, blinded by lust and sexual frustration then creates an evil persona, so she can have something to blame for her actions. People might think Marie did this on purpose, though, I don't. Yes, I'm sure she was jealous of Alex having a straight sexuality, but I don't think she would go out of her way to kill her best friend. I believe the killer persona was created, so she could rescue Alex, ultimately giving Alex a reason to "love" her.

Another thing a lot of people miss is that this is from Marie's POV. Notice how she asks in the mental ward "Are they recording?" when the red light comes on. It may seem like it doesn't make sense, but that is what Marie thought happened. The disorder Marie seems to have is a DID, Dissociative identity disorder, previously known as a multiple identity disorder, though these are debated if they even exist or not.

Another great part about this film is the musical score, one of the best musical score I have ever heard. Though I'm not sure off the top of my head who did it, it was a brilliant score, kudos to who ever did it.

In the end, I thought High Tension was a brilliant, must-own horror flick that was underrated because it was hard to understand for a casual horror fan, though, when you look into things, and actually try to understand them, you eventually do. I would love a sequel to this brilliant movie, I'm sure Mr. Aja could come up with something!

In the end, this review has my solid 9.5/10 rating.

[Sedai]

Uh...where to start...

First up: Thanks for posting your thoughts on the film. It looks like you like this one a whole lot, and you clearly put some time and effort into writing this. I tend to think this flick is a mixed bag, with some exceptional camera work and editing marred by uneven performances and some silly screenplay issues. I also have a bit of an issue with director's that flat out lie to the viewer in an effort to sell the twist. There are plenty of films that use the "can you really trust the POV of this narrator?" to great effect, namely most of Lynch's work and flicks like Fight Club, but those films don't go as far as to set up events that can't physically be happening if another person in the situation doesn't actually exist.

Case in point: In Fight Club, the narrator (sometimes called Jack) is shown staging a fight in his boss's office where he basically kicks his own ass in an effort to extort the company for a stay-at-home position. Later, we see him in another fight, this time with Tyler Durden (who doesn't actually exist), while the security cameras reveal the twist that he is in fact Tyler Durden, himself. This works because he is in the same physical space we see as viewers, so it makes sense that he could be beating himself up. Well done scene!

A scene in Haught Tension shows the two women being held captive in the backk of a truck, which is then driven to another location. We are shown the narrating character, who also happens to be suffering from psychogenic fugue and identity creation/suppression disorders, as you mentioned, as being one of the captives in the back of the truck. This can;t work. She can't lock herself in the back of a truck and then also be driving the truck at the same time. This is a physical impossibility which for all intents and purposes is an outright lie by the film maker meant to trick the viewer into thinking another character exists. Fight Club does this too, but when you go back over the events after finding out the twist, you don't run into any situations like the one in Haught Tension that present a spacial impossibility.

To me, that makes Fight Club an elegant exercise in playing with convention, and stuff like Haught Tension and Identity a cheap parlor trick that loses its magic after the reveal. That said, I still found Haught Tension to be someone entertaining, because Aja is actually a pretty talented guy, from what I can tell. I like how he sets up his scenes, and the look he gives his films in post-production. I liked his remake of The Hills Have Eyes quite a bit. :)

Thanks for the review!

[Holden Pike]

I still feel exactly the same way about it. It is an effective and well made bloody thriller....up until the ending, which is such lazy, ludicrous, insulting horsecrap that it absolutely ruins whatever simple genre pleasures the flick had been coasting on up until that point.

Basically, it has the exact same logic problems that Donald Kaufman's psychologically taut thriller does in Adaptation...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap9g2vR32Vg

[cornandbeans]

I still feel exactly the same way about it. It is an effective and well made bloody thriller....up until the ending, which is such lazy, ludicrous, insulting horsecrap that it absolutely ruins whatever simple genre pleasures the flick had been coasting on up until that point.

Basically, it has the exact same logic problems that Donald Kaufman's psychologically taut thriller does in Adaptation...


Call me crazy, but I'm probably one of the few who were satisfied by the twist ending. Though I felt rather saddened to see a character I was rooting for throughout the entire movie, was the suspect all along, the psychology behind the movie was quite...interesting.

Marie looked like a normal woman, though inside she had many insecurities, such as being a closeted sexual for instance. She was so blinded by sexual frustration, and rejection that she completely created an alternate identity that just so happen to have evil intentions. I personally believe this set Aja in line for a good sequel, perhaps even better than the first movie since he's more experienced now (High Tension was one of his first films). Either way, I still love the movie. Thanks for the feedback guys. :)

[cornandbeans]

Oh, and the fact that Cecile de France has short hair in the movie. She looks incredible with short hair, heh.

[Holden Pike]

Call me crazy, but I'm probably one of the few who were satisfied by the twist ending. Though I felt rather saddened to see a character I was rooting for throughout the entire movie, was the suspect all along, the psychology behind the movie was quite...interesting.

Marie looked like a normal woman, though inside she had many insecurities, such as being a closeted sexual for instance. She was so blinded by sexual frustration, and rejection that she completely created an alternate identity that just so happen to have evil intentions.

The themes are fine, she is gorgeous...and what happens in the end of the film is physically impossible if she is both the victim and the killer. I haven't seen it in a long time, so I don't remember every specific detail, but she can't drive a vehicle while she is in the trunk, she can't be in the convenience store and outside of it at the same time, etc. There are too many moments, especially in that chase finale, that are physically impossible after the big twist that it has only been one person. Which ruins everything that came before it, for me. I am willing to suspend some disbelief here and there in a genre effort, but you can't go THAT far off the skids and have me sit there and be anything but insulted. To me it plays like a cheap cheat, which is a shame. Played straight, I think it's a good thriller. Ludicrous twist? Check, please.

But, you're mileage varied. And good on ya.

[cricket]

There's plenty of movies I don't like and no harm done. The ending to this pissed me off enough so that I consider it a bad film, even though I enjoyed almost the whole thing.

[Zotis]

I had really mixed feelings about this movie back when I first saw it about five years ago. I still remember it pretty vividly, but some stuff is hazy. It definitely left an impression on me, but sadly it was mostly negative. I had two issues with this movie, first of all the twist was extremely weak. The use of multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia were done in a very typical and unrealistic style. Obviously the director had no remote understanding of either illness, or mental illness in general, and couldn't be bothered to research it and present it within even the slightest semblance of reality. My second issue was the general lack of any deep or meaningful content. It was just all so typical. Set up some basic relationships, and then put the characters through hell. Tell me, how is she hiding in the closet and stabbing someone to death at the same time? How did she drive the truck there in the first place and ambush the house while she herself was in it? That's not a twist, that just doesn't even make any sense and isn't even possible by any stretch of the imagination. Aside from that the acting was good and the violence was brutal. So I did sit through the whole movie.

Fight Club... eh, I don't think I agree with Holden on the issue of impossible situations. Fight Club had some impossible situations, but not too many to ruin the movie. I think High Tension was the worst portrayals of multiple personality disorder schizophrenia I have ever seen. Even worse than Wes Craven because of the sheer amount of impossible situations and the staggering degree to their impossibility.

[Derek Vinyard]

Haute Tension is very good I listen to it with my new dvd yesterday and I was very not dissapointed

[TheUsualSuspect]

I'll have to echo the same thoughts about the absurd ending here. Everything about the film was going so well too. Then the ridiculousness that is the twist came and I nearly did a quadruple take. Is this really how they're gonna end it?

Yup, then the film fell apart for me. As good as the previous section was in terms of thrills, gore, and pure excitement, the final act pretty much erases it all and is an insult to the viewer. Was it thrown on because twist endings were the craze back then? I have no idea, but it almost comes off as an exercise in filmmaking more so than an actual film. An exercise in how to stage a Thriller and how not to end a thriller.

[Godoggo]

I don't have anything to add other than, "yep, me too." The ending ruined what could have been one of the top slasher films.

[Zotis]

I got everything I wanted from this film and more from Martyrs (2008). So if you liked the potential High Tension had, but were dissappointed by the ending, then I think you'll like Martyrs.

http://girlmeetsfreak.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/183369_10150205863489012_768744011_8999555_4369265_n.jpeg

[TheUsualSuspect]

Oh man...Martyrs....that was a difficult watch for me.

[Zotis]

Yeah it was heart wrenching. That's why I loved it. It made me actually feel the pain the characters went through.


High Five anyone?

http://www.filmcaptures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Martyrs_18-1024x549.jpg

[cornandbeans]

I personally still think Aja set himself in line with a good sequel idea. When Alex directed High Tension, it was his first major film he ever directed. Now that he is more experienced not only with directing, but creating movies under the horror genre, I personally believe Aja could come back with a sequel that could either 1) go through the same movie through Alex's POV, but...we'd be watching the same movie all over again. Though since we're watching it through Alex's narration, it would be generally more realistic (hopefully), and remove or explain that impossibilities in the first film. 2) create a sequel actually going a bit in depth on Marie's disorder, explaining it a lot better than they did in the original film. Or 3) They could create an entirely new film from where they left off, which I'd also like to see.

Though I love the movie, I will agree with you to some extinct that it WAS confusing. Again, the only flaw I believed to have been in the movie was that Aja overestimated the audience's expertness in psychology. Besides that, brilliant film for me. And I generally have an open mind about movies, but there are a lot (LOT) worse horror movies I have seen that shouldn't even be compared to High Tension. I think it's Aja's best work.

[Yoda]

I'm not sure you're entirely absorbing people's complaints. Nobody's complaining that it was confusing--they're complaining that it didn't make sense. They're complaining about story constructions and internal logic--neither of which should or would be altered by one's level of expertise in psychology.

There's a scene where she's supposed to be driving with herself in the trunk. There's another where she's hiding from the killer while someone is being killed by them. Obviously, both are impossible, so the ending means that in both cases she was the one committing the act, while simultaneously just imagining not doing it.

The mark of a good twist is that you can watch the film again and see how all the events line up with the new interpretation. Lines of dialogue with double meanings, or people behaving around the imagined person in ways that are consistent with them not being there. Those things aren't present here. Showing it again, but depicting reality, would not show her actions in a new light: it would erase her actions. All the things she does in the film would be gone, because they didn't happen.