Gender: Male Location: Australia,originally from the uk!
this film is trash??? i saw it last night,i loved it i own it in english language and french both uncut awesome movie......The Region 2 UK release from Optimum is fully uncut.,if u live in the usa its just opened in theatres in 2 versions,r and nc17 check out the latter if u can
Gender: Male Location: Australia,originally from the uk!
by the way guys i didnt mention this as i forgot when i posted the other part,but the story here (i think anyway and the mrs. agrees) is lifted from the first half of a dean koontz book called intensity,its exactly the same the ending to the movie is different and the book has more of a cat n mouse game goin between heroine and mad bastard,lol,but if u read the book everything is more or less the same as the first half of the book even the gas station part of the movie
Love means you never have to say "does that slit throat hurt?" In the American cinema version of
"Haute Tension (High Tension)", best friends Marie and Alex trek to one of their parent's vacation homes in France. Once night falls on the farmhome, their radical sabbatical turns maniacal. One by one, the bodies begin to drop. But, is the random culprit who were led to believe the guilty one, or are someone elses alterior motives coming to fruition?
The French just have a way with the red, and we American gorehounds eat it up. "Haute Tension" delivered some of the most authentic slicing and dicing the screen has seen in years. Brutal and unrelenting, Director Alexandre Aja served up elements of the old fashioned American slasher, with a side of Italian gore, and a sprig of French sexuality, which made for quite a tasty dish. Aja also took a very clever approach to writing this film, making it a narrative recollection piece without the standard cut-in's and flashbacks. Instead, treating us to a horrific collection of events, and a story of extreme survival; ultimately, from the most unlikely of characters.
The term is somewhat overused, but "High Tension" was very atmospheric. The movie wasn't very thick, but very straight forward with a basic plot, relying on its stylish shooting, and adrenaline pumping pace. Tension did indeed run high, and I found the array of predicaments very plausible, even for a slasher film. The score lent itself very fittingly to various scenes, devoid of sharp, jumpy noises. Sometimes, the silence is more deafening.
Of course, the film wasn't perfect. The ending seemed disappointing, having been overdone as of late in similar films, feeling that it didn't do the first 90 minutes justice. However, it lent to an underlying storyline that most won't appreciate, derived from the oddest matter; love, albeit obessive, love nonetheless. I took issue with the English overdubs in the conversations between Alex and Marie. The urbanization of Alex's character wasn't necessary, and didn't quite flow with the film. Her mother, with a French accent, as well as the rest of her family were presented as having just moved to France. Thankfully, these weren't a distraction.
Overall, "High Tension" was one of the more effective, and original Horror movies to make its way through the States in many years. The twisted plot, although having been explored in another indie smash of 2004, still managed to freak my pants off in the end. Cécile De France's portrayal of mad love personified was very complimentary to put it lightly, and I'd love to see more of her. I have high hopes that people will embrace this, wish it were a U.S. product, and also appreciate the morbid, yet admirable lengths that Marie's character goes to for this little thing called love.
"High Tension" gets high marks, 8.0/10 from moi. Au revoir!
Well, if this were a Hollywood movie, you'd have a point. This is an indepdent French film, which in NO WAY had an agenda to smear lesbianism, or portray them as psychos. How many other films can you name that have done the same? Hollywood, infact, doesn't really touch in this or homosexuality.
That's indie territory. To be perfectly honest, if ANY country is in touch with how sexuality should be played out in cinema, it's the French.
I just got back from seeing it and it delivered on my expectations, it was far and away the best slasher film I've seen in a long time, and that's saying a lot, seeing as it's not even a full blow slasher film.
Seeing as C-Dic already summerized the movie and gave one of his reliably good reviews, I'll just say what I liked and disliked about the movie.
On the plus side -
It was probably the goriest and most violent film I've seen in theaters, I can't believe it got an R rating, I've seen Unrated films that aren't as violent as this. Not only is there gore, but the gore is well done, everything looks eerilly real.
It had a very cool style, kinda grainy but still looked good.
Some genuinely creepy moments, such as the doorbell ringing in the middle of the night.
It had a really awesome killer...kinda.
Negatives-
Plot holes and logical impossibilities. Some more things needed to be explained for the ending of the movie to work. Without giving details, they're pretty obvious if you've seen this movie.
The twist ending was very VERY cliched. I won't say more on this, but the movie would have been better without a generic, predictable twist. I'll tell you now, the twist ending in this movie is pretty much the default twist ending for a film.
Slow beginning. It took a while for the movie to get started.
Questionable dubbing. Sometimes the movie was dubbed, sometimes it was subtitled. It was kinda wierd.
All in all it was a very very solid movie, and the positives far outweigh the negatives. Definately a genre classic and a movie that warrants multiple viewings.
Can't wait for the unrated DVD, which is sure to have even more gore that was cut out to get an R rating.
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Last edited by BackFire on Jun 12th, 2005 at 09:08 AM
Cinemaddiction: I can't believe what I'm hearing here. This movie sticks firmly to the cliche I mentioned in my last post, instead of doing something good, and you're telling me that it's in touch with how sexuality should be portrayed?
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Jun 10th, 2005 08:01 PM
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