Alta tensione

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.

"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.

As many reviewers have said, this is one of the best body pile slashers films made ever, certainly in the last few years. Buckets of blood, great makeup and special effects, and some seriously genius ways of offing the good guys. But we also get one of the stupidest plot twists ever that not only ruins the vibe of the film, but makes the whole script seem completely incoherent. On multiple viewings you see the direction around this twist is actually quite well done, tons of small hints and some gross additions are noticed, but it's not worth it at all. If there was no plot twist, this would have easily gotten a 9 in my book, but it's lucky it got the 6 with that dumb idea tacked on for no reason.

...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.

As a horror film fan, I have wanted to see "High Tension" for a while, ever since I saw the delectably violent trailer and clips. It does not disappoint in the gory violence department, but I found it to be too short, with an abrupt ending. Still, the film is a haunting exploration of the darkest corners of the human psyche; a portrait that doubles, or maybe masquerades, as a slasher.

Cécile De France is good in the role of Marie, showing grit, nerve and, dare I say, tension when the role calls for it. Maïwenn Le Besco is also good as Alex, although her role does not demand much from her, except for a few scenes of considerable emotional range.

Two of the best aspects of the film are its cinematography and music. Cinematographer Maxime Alexandre paints the film in bluish, metallic, detached hues, that contribute to the effects of truly unapologetic on-screen violence. Composer François Eudes' score is an audio picture of disturbed peace and chaos brewing in the idyll of normalcy. Had it not been for these two elements, the film would not have been half as effective.

"High Tension" is not a must-see film by any means, but it is a must for art-house and horror film fans.

7/10