Jan 25, 2019 high tension takes you on a bloody and brutal ride as a girl fights to save the life of her best friend. The 21 most shocking horror movie twists ranked gamespot. Generally, terrible twists like this are reserved for awful movies attempting to add artificial depth or shock value at the last minute as if that would excuse it from being an uninspired mess. A wellcrafted plot twist can take a movie from good to great in fact. Released 1936, high tension stars brian donlevy, glenda farrell, norman foster, helen wood the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 2 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic, which. If bloody violence and gory fx rate higher than plot and good story telling, then this film is for you. High tension is a movie that grabs your soul and wrenches it ruthlessly, all the while asking you to think. It remains to be seen whether haute tension is a decent genre film with a copout twist or if its a sublime horror movie that manages to fool even its own audience. A hundred wellplaced plot breadcrumbs lead us to our perfect ending, but apart from scriptwriting craft rees gets in some bravura scenes of high tension. High tension dvd, 2005, widescreen unrated for sale. Retitled high tension, the rrated version is missing one minute of. The high levels of violence will immediately turn off the majority of viewers but the true star is the incredible use of suspense.
For most of its running time, though, this second feature by alexandre aja is a taut homage to 80s slash. Synopsis best friends marie and alexia decide to spend a quiet. The film was one of several interesting richard basehart plays a meek, henpecked chemist whose wife. I thought the ending was a bit incoherent as the movie couldnt support the. Also, quite a bit of the rest of the plot is telegraphed, and without a lot of subtlety. Marie is the protagonist villain of the 2003 controversial french horror film high tension also known as haute tension. He added that the film had a plot hole that is not only large enough to drive a truck through, but in fact does have a truck driven right through it. If you like high tension you are looking for scary, suspenseful and psychological movies about with insanity, home invasion, massacre, slasher, gory, survival and kidnapping themes of horror genre shot in france or italy. One of the biggest staples of the horror movie genre is the plot twist. Brian donlevy and glenda farrell costars as roughandready steve reardon and equally feisty edith mcneal. I didnt see the surprise of the ending coming, and as a horror fan i loved the intensity and gore of the movie. It was the first cinematic universe, kicking off way back in. Trolls world tour, like a boss and recommendations for easter and passover. She is a young woman who suffered from did dissociative identity disorder, a psychiatric diagnosis sometimes known as multiple personality disorder which developed her.
Released june 10th, 2005, high tension stars cecilede france, maiwenn, philippenahon, franckkhalfoun the r movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 29 min, and received a score of 42 out of 100 on. The main problem with high tension is the distinct lack of tension. As for the best on the basis of a very gory psychoslasher it works quite well. The first half of all three works have virtually the same plot. I was on edge for most of the film dare i say experiencing high tension. Synopsis by hal erickson blending equal amounts of comedy, romance and thrills, high tension is a nearperfect 20th centuryfox b effort. Haute tension s last five minutes ruined an almost perfect tension filled set up. Alexandre ajas high tension is a slasher film about a madman prowling a rural area of france, chopping, slicing and crunching his way through, lets see, a body count of five or six people, including a small child that the film does not neglect to show crumpled and dead in a cornfield. When they arrive, alex gives marie a tour of the house before they settle down for dinner. The 2003 french horror hit high tension is remembered by many for its. High tension switchblade romance 2005 rotten tomatoes. To get it out of the way, yep, the invisible man is a new entry in the universal classic monster franchise. The only downside is that this is the us dubbed version i vastly prefer watching foreign films in their original language, with the subtitle. Still, the film is a haunting exploration of the darkest.
It is a terrifyingly suspenseful film and absolutely one of the best to. Gory as hell, frightening and above all on track to becoming a truly great modern horror movie, the french flick high tension decides that, in its final. In high hopes of spending a peaceful weekend, the french college students and best friends, marie and alexia, head to alexias parents secluded cottage to study, unbeknownst to them that a deranged and utterly sadistic killer is prowling the area, slashing innocent victims for his perverse pleasure. Unfortunately for alexandre ajas high tension, its hail mary of a twist ending. But on the night of their arrival, the girls idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror. Violent, gory, and featuring a sequence of gratuitous lesbian masturbation, high tension was on track to become one of the great horror films of our time.
High tension 2003 is one of the most extensive horror movie collection and serving millions of our fans for more than 20 years. The problem is that ajas film gives zero credit to koontzs original work. High tension is a 2003 french slasher film directed by alexandre aja, written by aja and. Jan 22, 2017 a hundred wellplaced plot breadcrumbs lead us to our perfect ending, but apart from scriptwriting craft rees gets in some bravura scenes of high tension. As the name implies, high tension 2003 is certainly not a misnomer.
For those who could care less about silly things like plot or logic, the movie might be a bit more enjoyable. May 28, 2018 high tension is a 2003 french film directed by alexandre aja. Yes, if you watch the film thinking that marie is in fact standing in for the killer in every scene he appears to the audience, that every scene with the killer happened just like that, except that marie was the killer, the film has some serious plot holes that arent ever addressed and the director has cheated us. Blood sprays freely in high tension, and every last drop of it serves a purpose. Im fairly certain the killer was quint well it only took me 3 yearsbut i finally watched high tension the whole way through. The film was shown at the 2003 toronto international film festival during the midnight madness section. Although the ending left me dry, there is no denying that haute tension is one. High tension is a 1936 american comedydrama film directed by allan dwan and starring brian donlevy, glenda farrell, and norman foster. Theres always something you like about movies and something you dont. As anyone whos seen the film can attest, the story ends with a. Whats the story the film centers on two teen girls who settle in for a relaxing weekend at a country farmhouse, unaware that a violent intruder is speeding toward them to transform their dreams into a relentless, bloody nightmare. For most of its running time, though, this second feature by alexandre aja is a. Featuring one of the most controversial endings i have ever discussed, high tension is a. The plot is very similar to the french movie thema young couple are menaced in their isolated house by young, masked psychosand writerdirector bryan betino keeps the tension levels high.
High tension 1936 film high tension is a 1936 american comedydrama film directed by allan dwan and starring brian donlevy, glenda farrell, and norman foster. Everyone else, i recommend shutting this film off at five minutes before the final running time. Alexandre ajas high tension haute tension if youre french, switchblade romance if youre nasty hit theaters in france in 2003, but wasnt released in the u s of a until 2005. And in my opinion, it wouldve gone on to accomplish much more if only the ending wasnt such a big. Everything you need to know about high tension movie 2005. High tension gives us the best and worst in movie making. High tension switchblade romance critics consensus there is indeed a good amount of tension in this french slasher, but the dubbing is bad and the end twist unbelievable.
That twist was trashy, insubstantial garbage, and was used at the expense of the films own internal logic. At the time of this writing, the seminal french horror film, high tension, is celebrating the fifteen year anniversary of being thrust into theaters and in front of unsuspecting, woefully. High tension 2005 stream and watch online moviefone. High tension 1936 stream and watch online moviefone.
For the majority of its runtime, high tension also known as haute tension or switchblade romance really manages to live up to its name, and is widely considered by many as one of the most notable examples of the new french extremity movement. Gory as hell, frightening and above all on track to becoming a truly great modern horror movie, the french flick high tension decides that, in its final ten minutes, it wants. Writing a movie critique means to offer your insight and opinion on what was wrong with the movie and what made it specialinteresting and intriguing to watch. It does not disappoint in the gory violence department, but i found it to be too short, with an abrupt ending. The worst part is, the movie was fantastic up until that point. High tension was released in france on 18 june 2003 where it was distributed by europacorp. After screening at the festival, the film was purchased by lionsgate films for north american distribution.
High tension s ending twist isnt as good as you remember michael kennedy mar 24, 2020 the 2003 french horror hit high tension is remembered by many for its surprising twist ending, but that twist doesnt stand up to scrutiny. Tension belies its title halfway through, but recovers for an acceptably heartpounding finale. Two college friends, marie and alexa, encounter loads of trouble and blood while on vacation at alexas parents country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway. High tension is a 2003 english language horror movie directed by alexandre aja. That the film has virtually no plot is not a big problem. The film centers on two teen girls who settle in for a relaxing weekend at a country farmhouse, unaware that a violent intruder is speeding toward them to transform their dreams into a relentless, bloody nightmare. I could follow the movie well until the weird twist in the end where we are shown that marie and the killer is the same person in maries body.
And despite a few niggling roadblocks and a wild plot divergence that seems to make very little sense. Best friends marie and alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at alexias parents secluded farmhouse. Alexandre ajas high tension is a slasher film about a madman prowling a rural area of france, chopping, slicing and crunching his way. Theres plenty of blood and guts to go around, and from a strict filmmaking standpoint, its well directed. Oct 14, 2007 by the way, its kind of a messed up movie. If youre looking for more movies like the invisible man, surprise. I love is gritty look and the underappreciated soundtrack.
Switchblade romance was shown at the 2003 toronto film festival as. Up until the lateinthethirdact plot twist, i was ready to label alexandre ajas high tension the best slasher movie since scream, and among the best slasher movies of all time, eager to place it alongside psycho and halloween, but that last twist is such a colossal bungle, not only from a narrative standpoint but just in terms of common sense, that it almost ruined everything that. High tensions ending twist isnt as good as you remember. I did feel some tension in parts and the story moves along quite well with some of the most blood curdling gory special effects i have ever seen in a movie. It was released by 20th century fox on july 17, 1936. It was controversial for a couple of reasons, the first being its depictions of graphic violence. Actually come to think of it, i dont think ive told anyone not even you god what happened on that night so long ago when i put in the high tension dvd for the first time. Night shyamalan plays on the audience should probably steer clear of the notorious french slasher film haute tension released in the u. Its a genre that relies on tension, mystery, and surprises, and how better to shock an audience than by making them.
243 1452 1511 1507 881 749 634 172 648 839 269 293 1137 1069 1200 586 240 1313 588 214 312 1027 719 958 1058 545 245 643 863 125 660 1197 498 119 875 950 691 1328 94 731 565 938 73 392 661 1308 175 1360