High Tension (2003)

- Haute tension
Brutal and Sadistic, 12 October 2005

Talk about an adrenaline rush! High Tension is an adrenaline junkie's wet dream. After the first 15 minutes (which are absolutely necessary to set-up what follows), the movie is a kick-to-the-balls thrill ride that rarely lets up. There's a reason the movie is called High Tension – Director Alexandre Aja ratchets the tension and suspense to eleven. It's a sadistic, brutal, blood-spattered good time. It's the kind of horror movie that in recent years has been sadly missing from the local multiplexes with their offering of PG-13 family friendly horror. The death scenes are graphic and disturbing. The victims do not spout one-liners just before being butchered. Instead, we see real horror on their faces. The acting, especially Cecile De France as Marie, is far superior to what I see in a lot of modern horror. It's an amazing performance. In short, High Tension is horror made the way horror should be made. But then comes the twist……

I have changed my rating on High Tension three or four times. I can't decide how mad I am about the twist. I'm not upset that the movie had a twist, I just don't care for how it was handled. I don't know why people seem surprised that the makers of High Tension would resort to a twist ending. In today's horror/thriller climate, the twist seems to be "The Thing". Every movie-maker seems to be trying to outdo M. Night Shamalamadingdong. Whether the decision to include a twist hurt the movie is open to interpretation. For me, the twist itself had little bearing on my enjoyment of the movie. But based on other comments I've read, it's clear that most people are in agreement – High Tension would have been a great movie without the twist.

It's going to be very difficult, but I will attempt to explain my problems with the twist without giving away too much. Because of that, some of what I'm about to write may not be as clear as I would have hoped. As I said, it's not that I mind the twist per se; it's just the way it's handled. While I have rationalized many of the perceived plot holes in the movie, there are still a few that cannot make any sense given the twist. You simply cannot have a scene in a movie that is simultaneously told from the perspective of both on-screen participants. A perfect example is the scene with Marie and Alex in the back of the truck. That scene as presented only makes sense if it were being told from the POV of both characters. One person alone would not have had that perspective. It's ridiculous to assume it could. Aja is trying to have his cake and eat it too by using these multiple POVs within the same scene. It's cheating.

Even with the twist, I was tempted to do something I rarely do after a first viewing – rate the movie a 10/10. But as I sat and thought about the movie and tried to wrap my mind around the twist, I realized there were problems I wasn't willing to overlook. In the end, I've still rated High Tension a 8/10. That rating is subject to change given repeat viewings and my ever-changing feelings toward the twist. Regardless of the rating, it's one of the best, recently made horror films I've seen.

8/10