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Movie Review - High Tension (2003)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Alexandre Aja |
| Starring: |
Cécile De France, Maïwenn Le Besco, and well, a bunch of no-namers |
| Rated: |
Rated R (for strong graphic violence and some nudity) |
| Length: |
91 minutes |
| Genre: |
Thriller/Slasher |
| Tagline: |
Hearts will bleed. |
| Studio: |
Lions Gate Films |
| Website: |
High Tension |
| Release: |
June 10, 2005 |
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PLOT
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All right, so we start off with a very unoriginal premise. Marie accompanies her friend Alex on vacation to Alex's
parent's country house in the woods. Of course. Where else would you expect the house to be located? Anything
else would be flirting with originality. And these aren't just any woods, oh no, in an extreme use of cliché, these
woods are very isolated! And the house is kind of creepy looking to boot! Well, if you've ever seen a slasher
movie then it'll come as no shock that a vicious killer dude will show up in the middle of the night to start some
killin'. The guy kills off Alex's parents and brother, kidnaps Alex, but he doesn't realize Marie is staying
at the house. So Marie must now figure out a way to save her friend from this dreadful fate. Unfortunately, nothing
is really as it seems.
"Ah, then this must be the point where things get really clever and original, right?"
Nope. One of the worst plot twists I've ever seen ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Sigh. High tension? More like high frustration. Or high aggravation. Or HIGH STUPID TWIST ENDING! Sheesh.
If you were disappointed in the twist endings of Hide and Seek or
Secret Window, weeeeell, they look ingenious compared to this. Lame, predictable
plot twists typically just induce a rolling of my dark, dreamy eyes and a shaking of my head, but High
Tension actually angered me. Thankfully, I didn't pay to see this. But if I had I wouldn't necessarily feel I
had wasted my money, it'd be more accurate to say I'd feel like I had been cheated out of it.
The problem is there is just no way to go back from beginning to end and put all the pieces together in a logical
fashion. Perhaps the filmmakers have a fetish for "gotcha" moments and just couldn't wait to brag about screwing
with our minds regardless of how little they thought the whole thing through? Well, up yours! That's right, to get
on their level I went old school with a 6th grade insult, and I'll reiterate... up yours, filmmakers! I'm sick of
these M. Night Shymalan wannabes who appear to own dictionaries that lack the term "original."
Things would've been fine if the movie had ended right before the twist, but I'm sorry, that just ruined everything
else for me. I'm not giving you a pass on this one, Mr. Director. The plot holes are so big and so ridiculous
that I think it's safe to refer to them as black holes. I'm serious. They're so gaping that they've completely
consumed any of the good that took place for the first 70 minutes or so.
Think of it this way: what do you do if you're dating a really hot girl for a few months and then as soon
as things are about to get serious she drops the bomb that she "used to be" a man? Do you say, "Well, I remember all
our good times, and that's what matters!" Not unless you're a freak. This is something that completely redefines
the relationship, so A) Kick yourself for not realizing she was a man in the first place, and B) run for the hills.
To put it bluntly, High Tension is the girl who had a sex change and left you fuming.
The dubbing is pretty goofy too. I was under the impression that both girls were French, but one girl's lines
are dubbed with a French accent, and the other's is in an American accent. Plus, why is a French girl referring
to her neighbors as rednecks? Are there really rednecks in France? And what was the deal with the gas station
attendant's car having a Confederate flag license plate? Are they trying to fool the American audience into
not realizing this is a French film? Whatever, man, the whole thing is just weird. I didn't let it ruin the
story for me, but I can't help but wonder why they couldn't have kept things consistent.
In the interest of fairness I feel the need to point out that the majority of the movie is indeed fairly tense,
and the kills are very brutal and disturbing. This is not for the squeamish. If all you want is a few buckets
of gore then you'll find some satisfaction. But the ending angered me enough to ruin any enjoyment I'd had prior
to the revelation; therefore, I'm not in a forgiving mood. The movie was looking at 3.5 marks for a while, but I'm
dropping it to 2 marks in an effort to make people understand that if you want to manipulate your audience, then
you at least better make the payoff worth it.
High Tension, Haute Tension, Switchblade Romance - call it what you want, but I call it a
frustrating lesson in how not to close out a movie. The alternate titles don't give us an alternate ending, and
as a result I'm given reason enough to recommend you save your money.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Also known as Haute Tension in France.
- Will likely become known as Big Piece of Crap in America.
- This was rated NC-17 when it was released overseas. The American version has been trimmed by a few
minutes. Too bad the ending wasn't trimmed.
- Cécile De France was in Around the World in 80 Days with Jackie Chan who was in The Medallion
with Claire Forlani whose sexy self was in Antitrust with Richard Roundtree who was in an episode of
The Young Riders with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Oooooooooh noooooooo. Absolutely no way this gets mama's approval. In addition to the very bloody, very
violent, and sometimes disturbing violence, there's a little nudity and one very strange, very out-of-place
scene where Marie *ahem* indulges in "self pleasure." It was gratuitous for the sake of being gratuitous.
At least that's how it looked to me.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer really caught my interest. It's fast-paced, brutal, and you can't help but expect loads of tension.
Unfortunately, the trailer doesn't warn you of the lame ending that's coming.
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THE GIST
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I personally like twist endings, but I like for them to make sense within the context of the rest of the
movie. High Tension literally feels like two movies. I would not be at all surprised if the movie had
been shot in its entirety and then somebody said, "Hmm, we've been told we need to add a twist," and then poor
editing took over without any regard to the events that preceded it. Unless you're a die-hard fan of gore who
is badly in need of a fix then I recommend against this one. It's not worth the frustration.
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