High Tension

Sometimes, a twist can make a good horror all the better. Films like Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho,' Bong Joon Ho's 'Parasite' and Park Chan-wook's 'Oldboy' each contain unexpected twists in their respective tales that heightens the impact of their narratives. However, tepid efforts like Joseph Ruben's 'The Forgotten,' Sylvian White's 'I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer' and many of M. Night Shyamalan's offerings prove that not every story warrants a last-minute curveball. Sometimes, a predictable but well-executed scare is far better than a forced 'gotcha'.

Alexandre Aja's 'Haute Tension' (known in English as 'High Tension,' or by the far better title 'Switchblade Romance') falls into the latter category. It follows Marie and Alex, two friends on a trip through rural France, who are targeted by a vicious serial killer. What begins as a taut, brutal slasher with genuine suspense ultimately stumbles under the weight of a twist that strains both logic and patience.

Written alongside Grégory Levasseur, Aja's film begins as a relentless, nerve-shredding experience, paying clear homage to the brutal, no-frills exploitation horrors of the 1970's. Thriving on stripped-down simplicity, there's little in the way of excess, just pure, unrelenting suspense. The kills are visceral, bloody and executed with a savage intensity that will satisfy even the most hardened horror fans.

For much of its runtime, the film is a masterclass in sustained dread. However, instead of delivering a knockout blow in the final act, Aja stumbles at the finish line. The film's momentum comes to a screeching halt, derailed by a twist so absurd it retroactively undermines everything that came before it. Instead of elevating the horror, it forces one to re-evaluate the entire story- not with shock or awe, but with frustration and disbelief.

When this twist is finally revealed, it feels not only unnecessary but out of place, turning what had been a tense slasher into a convoluted mess betraying its earlier effectiveness. The carefully crafted atmosphere of dread is shattered, leaving viewers questioning the film's logic and whether the horror was ever truly genuine. What had been a terrifying experience collapses under the weight of its own contrivance, and the emotional stakes feel cheapened.

This is only worsened by the fact that the characters themselves are thinly drawn, lacking the depth needed to make their fate feel truly impactful. With little to latch onto beyond the immediate terror of their predicament, the film struggles to sustain emotional investment once its central conceit begins to unravel.

In the end, despite a strong start, 'High Tension' becomes a cautionary tale about the dangers of forcing a twist into a story when there is no need for one. Having said that, it does contain some bloody brilliant scenes of gory grotesquerie. From its opening moments, the film throttles one with scenes of unrelenting brutality. The kills are savage, designed not just to shock, but to immerse you in a Thomas Hobbesian world where life is nasty, brutish and short.

Additionally, it is visually striking, with Maxime Alexandre's stark cinematography contrasting the serene beauty of the French countryside with claustrophobic, blood-soaked interiors. This juxtaposition heightens the unsettling atmosphere, amplifying the film's tension.

Complementing this is François-Eudes Chanfrault's minimalistic and urgent score, mirroring the narrative's escalating terror. His use of songs by the likes of Muse and Ricchi e poveri also creates an ironic contrast, adding a layer of dark humour that deepens the film's dissonance.

Furthermore, the performances are strong, especially that of Cécile de France as Marie. Her ability to shift between fear, determination and terror adds emotional depth to her character, making Marie a (mostly) relatable and sympathetic figure amidst the brutal violence. Her performance anchors the film, grounding the escalating chaos even as the narrative grows increasingly outlandish. She elevates the material, making the most out of Levasseur and Aja's scant characterisation.

Maïwenn isn't given much to do other than scream and cry in the role of Alex- though she does that quite brilliantly. In addition, Philippe Nahon makes for a most menacing and memorable villain, elevating a criminally (and perhaps purposefully) underwritten part.

Ultimately, Alexandre Aja's 'High Tension' is a missed opportunity- a brutal ride sabotaged by its own twist. It bears comparison to Greg McLean's far superior 'Wolf Creek', both following a similar premise of two women being stalked by a serial killer in a rural location. While 'Wolf Creek' excels in its seedy realism, sustained tension and pitch-black humour, Aja's film falters with an unnecessary, convoluted twist that detracts from its terror. In the end, despite good performances, an evocative score and some creative scenes of bloodshed, it is high tension in name only.

This film seems to me to lack balance between the combination of elements that it blends together: the thriller-suspense factor, the gore, and the "surprise" factor. It is a very irregular film, but it still boasts good style and good manners in atmosphere-building, even if it doesn't really live up to meet the expectations, at least for me.

The story goes about Marie and Alexia, best friends who drive up to Alexia's parents' countryside house, hoping to find some peace for studying. Instead, they'll have to fight a psychopathic killer in a macabre cat-and-mouse game.

The best part, in my opinion, is the mise-en-scene and the introduction of the characters and the storyline. Everything in those first sequences tells us that something horrible is going to happen, not only because we already know that we're watching a horror film. The dusty road, the scorching weather, the big corn fields... the real feel of a horror story scene is there. It increases with the night scenes, the shots of the house, the staircase, the corridors. The gloominess and inherent darkness of the place and the quiet surroundings perfectly do their job of preparing us for what's to come.

The story-telling loses steam after this part. Not being a big fan of gore, I didn't really care for the bloody murder scenes, but I'm sure that they'll be appreciated by many -they're rather truculent and well filmed. The duel between Marie and the killer didn't really work for me; in fact, I found it a little boring. On the whole, I thought the story was unoriginal and predictable, but, contrary to what many say, I don't think it's deceitful -I didn't feel that the director cheats on the audience with the ending. (I won't elaborate on this so as not to spoil the film for those who want to see it).

I have mixed feelings about "High Tension". On the one hand, for me, it is ineffective as a thriller, and flawed as an exercise of story-telling. On the other, however, the murky atmosphere and the darkness of the story and of its subtleties stuck with me for a while after seeing the film. I wouldn't watch it again, but I understand why many like it so much.

...and so will faces, slashed throats, dismembered hands, decapitated heads, backs, arms, feet, stomachs, chests... In fact, just about everything that can bleed does bleed in this movie, and does so copiously.

High Tension, aka Switchblade Romance (much better title) is the best horror movie I've seen come out in theaters in years. After so many times hearing "this is the movie horror fans have been waiting for" and then being horribly disappointed by Cabin Fever, The Ring, Malevolence, Darkness, The Grudge, and every single other one, I am throwing my full weight behind this one. Switchblade Romance is the movie real horror movie fans have been waiting for. It's a bloody, merciless, no-humor and no-holds-barred homage to the classic slasher pics of the 70s, and yet it surpasses almost every movie it draws its inspiration from. We get an unstoppable but definitely human killer, far more interesting than, say, Jason or what Michael Myers has now become because of his obviously being human and because he makes some undeniably smart decisions and operates in a continuously logical, inescapable way. The arsenal on display is impressive, as it should be in any decent slasher movie. We get the basic straight razor, the butcher knife, shotgun, axe, and, in an incredible and deliciously violent nod to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the power buzzsaw.

Every aspect of this film is in place. The plot is simple and straightforward, the acting, even dubbed, is interesting (and despite complaints of why only parts of it were dubbed, if you watch closely and pay attention to who speaks French and who is dubbed, it actually makes perfect sense and fits with the movie), the cinematography is strangely artistic, almost gialli-like, the bloodletting stylish and gruesome, the sound design incredible, the tension almost unwavering. The initial horror set piece, the arrival of the killer and the slaughter in the house, is bound to become a well-remembered and oft referenced classic scene of horror. The sheer brutality and stark reality of it ranks it up there, in my mind, with the gut wrenching finale of "Odishon." A quick word on the performances. There's minimal dialogue, but what there is is at least two steps up from most horror films. Its meant to build character, whereas most slasher flick dialogue is there just to drive the plot. Here, we care about the characters, even those who don't get much of a chance to talk, because the situation is so much more real than your average flick and so is the acting. Cecile de France's physical performance is stunning, the fear on her face, the tension in every limb, the breath rate, the pain, everything, and the sheer madness that Maiwenn's character endures is perfectly conveyed by the utter despair she is able to convey even with a gag in her mouth most of the time.

An, of course, a quick word on the ending. Quit complaining! The ending of this movie is great, not only does it take an extremely well made but somewhat shallow gore pic to a whole new level with some interesting things to say about... well, I won't say on account of not spoiling it, but yes, it actually does make sense if you've watched the movie carefully and have enough intellect to think about it on your own rather than just taking at face value what you've seen. I halfway wonder if the twist wasn't in part a snobby French joke Aja decided to play to see if we lulled, summer blockbuster-fed Americans could figure it out and realize that everything works without being spoon-fed exactly how it works.

8 / 10 - which makes it twice as good as the next best horror movie to come out in theatres in a decade. The only thing that keeps it from attaining a perfect 10 is that, although the tension is cranked up high for most of it and the scares are a thing that will haunt you more after walking out of the movie than when you're watching, the suspense does kind of flag unexpectedly in a few key places. Still, given the other 80% of the movie is extremely suspenseful and effectively brutal, this is a small flaw. If you like horror movies, GO SEE IT.

"High Tension" is clearly intended as a cheery throwback to those halcyon days circa 1980 when you could see "Driller Killer," "Maniac," and "Nightmare" back-to-back in a center city grindhouse where the house lights never went up, only one seat in the place didn't reek of urine and sweat, and the poor teenage usher and concession stand worker huddled together in the lobby under a bare light bulb to avoid being knifed to death by some crazed street person. Of course, this film, while being just about the most violent film in recent memory, is French, somewhat arty, and extremely well made, certainly at odds with the subject matter of its homage. If a straight-ahead slasher film throwback with no self-reflective winking to the audience is your thing, then this will be your thing too. Otherwise, it just is what it is: well-made exploitation fare, right down to the silly, slap-your-head-and-say-"doh" final twist, just like back in the day.

"Haute Tension" is one of the best horror films I have seen in years. It is appropriately gruesome and shocking and does not take the wise cracking, action movie based horror movie approach that so many recent horror films have taken. The film is well made and paced and builds up the suspense to a crescendo and does not overstay it's welcome. One would have found it unusual for French cinema to be the one to revitalize the horror genre which has become hackneyed and trite in Hollywood (so many want to refer to it as psychological thriller). The story follows 2 college co-eds visiting the homestead of one of the girl's family on a school break. A mysterious man in a mechanic jumpsuit and old truck (reminiscient of the one in "Jeepers Creepers")comes to the house in the night and brutally murders the family, kidnaps the girl and overlooks her friend who has to pursue the killer to rescue her friend. Director, Alexander Aja, does not make a pedestrian, light weight horror film and the deaths in the film are disturbing and brutal. There is no humor or comic relief and the blood literally soaks the camera lens. The sense of dread and the unrelenting suspense and pace makes this a refreshing breath of fresh air from all of the PG-13 rated "Scream" wannabes that have been hitting the multi-plexes. Wes Craven had reportedly seen "Haute Tension" at Sundance and has hand picked Alexander Aja to remake "The Hills Have Eyes" and have free artistic licence since Craven had pegged him as the "future of horror." There is even a plot twist which you will either love or hate but it fits in well with the film. The performances by Cecile de France, Maewenn and the actor who portrays the killer are perfect. All in all, this is a French film that deserves to be seen in American multiplexes and a must see for horror movie fans the world over who have been having to settle for mediocre horror for many years now.