Haute Tension/High Tension

This film feels like a mixture of Fight Club, Texas Chainsaw massacre, and Mullholland Drive all squeeze into one container. The gore factor was average but well done and well executed. The suspense was excellent and kept me interested during the film. The whole lesbian affair didn't bother me nor did I founded exciting. But that doesn't mean it wasn't interesting to watch. The twist was great! Felt like if it was taken from an M. Night movie. Except this movie time it perfectly. Not too early nor too late in the film. Just about right. And the ending was just psychological insane with a sinister and haunting scene.

Is a good thriller and great suspence flick. Gore factor fairly average. If possible avoid the dubbed version. Go for the full subtitle film.

Haute Tension gets a 4 out of 5.

so...

Spoiler:
if the girl and the bad guy were the same person ... how was it possible that someone was chasing her and who did she think she had suffocated-- or is this like a Fight Club sort of movie...cause could ask the same questions for that movie as well

Originally posted by chilled monkey
You want examples of the "homosexuals as psychos" cliche in film? Hang on:

Basic Instinct, Heavenly Creatures, Lost and Delirious, High Art, Mulholland Drive, 24, All My Children, Babylon 5, Dark Angel, ER, Law & Order, Millennium, Northern Exposure, NYPD Blue, The Practice, Quantum Leap, Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, Charmed etc

I wanted examples of from HOLLYWOOD, not sappy ****ing soap operas and television shows that rip sexuality from headlines. Crazy queers in "24"? I own Seasons 1-3, saw all of Season 4, and I don't recall any psycho homos? Care to refresh my memory?

This is ridiculous. Just tell us, are you gay or just some random feminist? Mild Posession's already sat you down, you're just grabbing air now, looking for reasons to hate this movie for some reason.

Originally posted by chilled monkey
You want examples of the "homosexuals as psychos" cliche in film? Hang on:

Basic Instinct, Heavenly Creatures, Lost and Delirious, High Art, Mulholland Drive, 24, All My Children, Babylon 5, Dark Angel, ER, Law & Order, Millennium, Northern Exposure, NYPD Blue, The Practice, Quantum Leap, Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, Charmed etc

I wanted examples of from HOLLYWOOD, not sappy ****ing soap operas and television shows that rip sexuality from headlines. Crazy queers in "24"? I own Seasons 1-3, saw all of Season 4, and I don't recall any psycho homos? Care to refresh my memory? Are you talking about Richard? That was merely a side story.

This is ridiculous. Just tell us, are you gay or just some random feminist? Mild Posession's already sat you down, you're just grabbing air now, looking for reasons to hate this movie for some reason.

Originally posted by WindDancer
Gore factor fairly average. If possible avoid the dubbed version.

If this is average, what exactly are you comparing it to? Have you seen a gorier film in theatres?

Originally posted by Morning_Glory
so...

Spoiler:
if the girl and the bad guy were the same person ... how was it possible that someone was chasing her and who did she think she had suffocated-- or is this like a Fight Club sort of movie...cause could ask the same questions for that movie as well

Spoiler:
She was telling a story, the whole thing was made up. At the beginning, she asked if the recorder was on, and at the end, when they were reviewing the surveilance tape, and Marie was on it, she was in the ward room, with Alex asking if Marie could see her.

Spoiler:
if she was the bad guy doing all the damage how did she become so hurt ( her arm, her back) the ending just sort of confuses me now

Spoiler:
Self inflicted, I'd imagine. Her head trauma matched that of the mad man who took the barbed wire stick to the head. Just not her face. If you recall, Billy and Stu did the same thing in "Scream" to set up Syd.

Originally posted by Cinemaddiction
[B]If this is average, what exactly are you comparing it to? Have you seen a gorier film in theatres?

In theathers? No, thanks to our friends at MPAA. But I have seen movies with a higher gore factor than Haute Tension. Take for instance the gore factor in Riki Oh:The story of Riki. A lot more gorier and extremely silly, but it is equally entertaining as Haute Tension. Of course Haute Tension is a more serious film than Riki and like I mention earlier the gore factor was average but perfectly executed for this film. In other words it wasn't overly done. And it work fine for the suspense of the film.

You also have to keep in mind that some of us saw the R rated version of the film. It is slightly edited and cut so we missed maybe an extra 5 seconds of blood splattering. Most likely we'll have to wait for the DVD version with NC 17 for those extra seconds of gore.

I found it to be more gory in the sense that it was realistic, Ricki was over the top gore and doesn't disturb as much, well to me it doesn't.

Cine- the 24 lesbian psycho, I think she is going on about Mia Krisnher's(sp?) character who was a bi sexual in the series, had one kiss. I only saw that episode.

Bound: Example of lesbians who did not go psycho.

Spoiler:
I just assumed everything was like Fight Club. All her cuts and stuff, she just beat the crap out of herself, thinking she was beating on someone else. There were also a couple hints too. When she was smothering him with the plastic sheet, he was choking her at the same time.

Also, at the gas station, I was wondering how she got out. That knife couldn't have cut through a lock.

Originally posted by MildPossession

Cine- the 24 lesbian psycho, I think she is going on about Mia Krisnher's(sp?) character who was a bi sexual in the series, had one kiss. I only saw that episode.

Oh, Mandy? It's still ridiculous to just assume that she's representitive of all lesbians, or something equally as preposterous. I've got news for ya, homosexuals can be criminals too! 😱

Originally posted by Cinemaddiction
I've got news for ya, homosexuals can be criminals too! 😱

HOW MANY TIMES? Yes I know there are plenty of 'evil' straight characters and 'good' ones who die. There are also COUNTLESS straight 'good' characters who don't die. How many movies are there with lesbian heroines who don't die?

Bound. Yes ONE movie. And you think that's enough do you? You think there don't need to be any more do you?

If the ratio of negative portrayals to positive was roughly 50:50 that would be fine. But it is not.

There are lots of films with positive lesbian characters, one of the latest ones doing well in the lesbian community is D.E.B.S: The Movie, Saving Face is also a good film, Butterfly is a wonderful happy ending film also.

Not horror/heroines I know, but positive. You are never going to get 50:50 when it comes to homosexual characters in film against straight.

Hollywood is homophobic, you're not gonna see many movies with gays in it at all. Of course the ratio is different, not every movie has homosexual characters. Excuse this movie for making the lesbian character a psycho.

Kinsey and Boondock Saints to name a couple more. Both have very respectable gay characters.

Originally posted by Wolfie

Kinsey and Boondock Saints to name a couple more. Both have very respectable gay characters.

Like a crossdressing Willem Dafoe? 😱 There's no real arguement, CM, as there aren't any lesbian heroines/villains in Horror, unless we're talkin' about Trauma flicks, lol.

Also, I don't think Hollywood is homophobic. It's just too touchy a subject for anyone other than an actual homosexual to write and produce from their prospective.

All this bitching about female psycho lesbians. How the **** do you guys feel about Aileen Wuernos and the movie "Monster"? Or is that another anti-gay Hollywood propaganda fabrication.

MildPossession: I was not aware of the movies you mentioned. Thanks for letting me know.

I feel that this is getting out of hand. I admit I came on somewhat strongly. I did not mean to imply that the director was thinking "I'll make the killer gay, that'll show them." 'Trash' was perhaps too strong as well. To be fair, except for this, it's probably a fine movie.

If you enjoyed it, fine, you're entitled to your opinion.

However, I think you have to agree that there should be more positive portrayals of gay/lesbian characters and that this movie does nothing to help. I admit though, that it was not done malicously and it did not have an anti-gay agenda.

Fair enough?

positive such as?
that can be said about anyone really

Originally posted by chilled monkey
However, I think you have to agree that there should be more positive portrayals of gay/lesbian characters and that this movie does nothing to help. I admit though, that it was not done malicously and it did not have an anti-gay agenda.

Originally posted by Deano
positive such as?
that can be said about anyone really

Positive such as not dying, going crazy etc. Being alive and well by the movie's end. Being good people as opposed to killers, that sort of thing.

The Laramie Project and Boys Dont Cry.....promote good stereotypes, but thats all thery are, stereotypes just plot devices.and these stereotypes as a consequence can promote good or bad ideas about homosexuality, which can be harmful ,but like you say , i dont think they are created with an anti-gay agenda just a pro-money one, hollywood doesnt think ...hmmmm, we as a collective consciousness will create an anti-gay propaganda film, they just think lets make a lot of f@cking money and consequences be damned, mainstream film-makers should be aware that they do have a responsibility to realise when they are arbitrarily using,denigrating and reinforcing negative stereotypes just to make a buck.