As many reviewers have said, this is one of the best body pile slashers films made ever, certainly in the last few years. Buckets of blood, great makeup and special effects, and some seriously genius ways of offing the good guys. But we also get one of the stupidest plot twists ever that not only ruins the vibe of the film, but makes the whole script seem completely incoherent. On multiple viewings you see the direction around this twist is actually quite well done, tons of small hints and some gross additions are noticed, but it's not worth it at all. If there was no plot twist, this would have easily gotten a 9 in my book, but it's lucky it got the 6 with that dumb idea tacked on for no reason.

There should not be any surprise why Wes Craven chose Alexandre Aja to direct the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes". Aja's "High Tension" delivers what could be the most terrifying scenario in horror history since "The Last House on The Left". Two young women travel to a dreary looking farmhouse to study for important school exams. That same night, as soon as the doorbell rings, the madness strikes, and it strikes hard. The killer in this film holds nothing back, and it will feel as if you had been struck in the stomach by a 2x4. The flick will not let you go until the last fearful scene is over. Highly recommended for serious horror filmmakers.

HAUTE TENSION

(USA: High Tension /UK: Switchblade Romance)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Sound formats: Dolby Digital Surround EX / DTS

After witnessing the massacre of an entire family at their isolated country home, a young student (Cécile de France) goes in pursuit of a depraved psychopath (Philippe Nahon) who has taken her friend (Maïwenn Le Besco) hostage.

The real deal. A return to the bleak intensity of 1970's/80's horror by a director (Alexandre Aja) clearly in love with the genre. As such, it's no surprise to find Italian makeup maestro Giannetto de Rossi (ZOMBI 2, THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, etc.) credited in the opening titles, and his work - allied to Aja's ultra-realistic approach to the material - is among the best of de Rossi's career. One of the most frightening movies to emerge from Europe - or anywhere else, for that matter - in recent memory, HAUTE TENSION pits a terrified heroine (de France, giving an unrestrained, highly physical performance) against an unstoppable force of nature (Nahon) who proceeds to steal her innocence clean away. Set amongst the splendors of rural France, Aja's film uses the wide open spaces to generate foreboding from the outset (beautiful cinematography by Maxime Alexandre), and his use of music and ambient sound is masterful. Once the violence erupts in earnest - about twenty minutes into the picture - Aja cuts dialogue down to an absolute minimum and strikes a level of intensity that few horror films have achieved in recent years, and the pace remains frantic throughout. De Rossi's gore effects are explicit and plentiful, but the director balances these outrageous visuals with a series of poignant brushstrokes (eg. a dying victim pleading not for help, but for an explanation of the tragedy which has befallen her), adding small touches of human warmth to an otherwise fierce brew.

Some people have complained about a climactic 'turnaround' which appears to come out of left-field, but their protests are groundless. In fact, this jaw-dropping sleight-of-hand is entirely in keeping with the director's off-kilter intentions, and most viewers will relish an opportunity to dissect the narrative on second viewing, where various 'contrivances' and 'lapses in logic' are revealed as nothing of the kind. Aja and co-scriptwriter Grégory Levasseur aren't interested in mollycoddling the audience or leavening the material with wisecracks and 'post-modern' references to genre movies past and present; they simply want to scare the hell out of you, and in that, they have succeeded magnificently. HAUTE TENSION is an instant classic, deserving of every accolade. An uncredited Luc Besson (THE BIG BLUE, LEON, etc.) acted as co-producer on the film.

(French dialogue)