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High Tension

October 24, 2005
HIGH TENSION

In a time when the motion picture industry skews marketing at any means necessary in order to attract a specific target audience, here comes a film whose very title is the ultimate truth in advertising. "High Tension" is exactly as its title proclaims, a near-breathless, uninterrupted study in unquenchable terror that knows just what the horror genre is all about, and puts those elements to use in a overbearing arrangement of suspense and dread.
Marie and Alex are classmates and best friends. Hoping to prepare for their college exams in peace and quiet, they decide to spend a weekend in the country at Alex's parents' secluded farmhouse. Nevertheless, in the dead of night, a stranger knocks on the front door. In addition, with the first swing of his knife, the girls' idyllic weekend turns into an endless night of horror.
The film takes place mainly within Alex's family home, an isolated farmhouse in the middle of a fully-grown cornfield. The clothes they wear and model of car tell you the movie depicts modern times. The movie is dubbed from the French version of Haute Tension, so as you are watching the characters talk, their mouths do not match the words you hear. That is not much of a problem, since the majority of the movie someone is screaming or trying to be quiet.
The movie is cheaply made because you will not see many special effects or camera tricks. The lighting is most by moonlight or dim lamps. A lot of the film is shot in near dark so you see many shadows. The director chose to use little or no music during most scenes. You really feel like you are chased because of the detail of sounds, such as a squeaky floorboard or the sound of Marie panting as she sneaks around the killer. When the guy kills the family, you hear them make guttural sound, outcry, or plead.
High Tension is one of the goriest movies I have seen in a while. During each kill, you see blood explosions. You see heads decapitated from their...