High Tension - REVIEW

Director: Alexandre Aja Writer: Alexandre Aja & Grégory Levasseur Stars: Cecile de France, Maïwenn Le Besco, Philippe Nahon Running Time: 91 minutes Before you begin: Contains minor spoilers, but I won't ruin the plot twist... until you get to the comments. And also let me just say this film was not filmed in English and the jacket said nothing about this being dubbed. It did say it included the "Original French Language Director's Cut Version" but I figured it was just one of those ridiculous extras DVDs nowadays are known for. I was wrong. I sat for a good five minutes fuming, "What the hell! Why aren't the lips in sync?!" Nothing pisses me off more when watching television or movies than lip-syncing errors. And it wasn't until I'd run through all the possible causes for the sync error and the first English subtitle came up that I finally figured out what was going on. I can be slow sometimes. So, it's dubbed in French-accented English and every once in a while subtitles pop-up as the characters will speak French for, guessing, dramatic effect. It really doesn't take long to forget about this and just enjoy the film. Just wanted to mention this because some of my buddies won't even look at a film if there is even a chance of subtitles. You've been warned. Why should you watch this movie?

• Nudity: Shower scene with bare breasts. Unfortunately it's not Cecile de France.
• Sex: No actual intercourse but there is oral sex and Cecile de France masturbates.
• Gore: Blood, blood and more blood. There is a not-so-fake decapitation, dismemberment with awesome throat slitting scene and a gas station attendant takes an axe to the chest. The special effects are well done.
• Horror: I actually jumped at a few scenes and I never jump. This was horror done right.
• Offensive language: I don’t really remember any.
• Plot: Cookie cutter but they're double chocolate chunk with a twist of something special that doesn't hit you until the end.

Story summary: The film begins with the blonde on a hospital bed, all cut up and in stitches. The film then cuts to her running through the woods, injured and scared. Finally she reaches a road and stops in the middle, causing an oncoming car to swerve and slam on the breaks. It then cuts to her waking up from a dream in the backseat of a different car, uninjured but shaken by her dream. Right then and there I thought I had figured it out, obviously she was a psychic or some crap. But I was wrong. As she asks for a cigarette from her friend, you'll really notice the dubbing work but bear with it. These two girls are Marie (Cecile de France, the blonde) and Alexia (Maïwenn Le Besco, the brunette). They're two best friends and classmates who have come to France to visit Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse, hoping to study for college exams. You'll never hear about the exams again, so its just fluff. While they're driving, the movie cuts to another area of road and a mysterious old beat-up Citroen truck parks along side a cornfield. Inside the truck the driver is getting a little oral sex. Passionate lovers? Not hardly. As the driver finishes, he tosses a decapitated woman’s head out the window. This is the first scene in the movie that doesn't quiet flow after seeing the ending. I'm not sure if this was still part of Marie's dream or something that really happened. Eventually night falls and the duo arrives at Alexia's families’ farmhouse. Here we meet Alexia's father and little brother - her mother is already asleep by the time they arrive. After a brief tour of the home, Marie is left to settle into her room. Boredom sets in and she decides to go out to have a smoke. Here we're shown Alexia's bare breasts while she's showering, we also notice Marie checking her out. With the cigarette done, she returns inside and ascends to her room. It's a little creepy with the wind, the creaking and what not so she puts her headphones on and zones out. As this is a foreign film, we're graced by the sight of the beautiful Cecile de France masturbating. American actresses are such prudes. The only masturbation scene that comes to mind with an American actress is the scene in Slackers with Laura Prepon and that wasn't anything special. Actually, pretty lame in fact. The motors are running and we're off. As Marie climaxes, that old beat-up Citroen truck we saw earlier pulls up. A jumpsuit clad man exits and bangs on the door. The stranger continues to bang until the father is roused from his slumber and answers the door. Marie peers out through the top story window and watches as the stranger brandishes his knife at the father. Let the killing begin! Everyone dies except for Marie, who hides, and Alexia, who's captured and bound in chains. I won't really get into how they die; it's worth watching yourself. The only thing I didn't like was that they used such a young boy and I hate thinking about violence towards children but at least they didn't show any actual harm coming to him. As all the killing is going on, Marie is searching throughout the house for a phone only to find the main line has been cut. Sure, it's been done but it worked. The stranger loads up Alexia in his truck then re-enters the house for one more sweep. Marie sneaks into the truck and unsuccessful in her attempt to free her friend is also trapped in the truck as the stranger heads off to parts unknown. Who knows how long they've been driving but the truck soon needs a fill up. At the gas station there is another failed attempt at freeing her friend and the gas station attendant is killed. Leave no witnesses and one less self-serve attendant can't hurt anyone. Amazingly Marie is again able to evade detection and capture but the truck drives off before she can get back out there. Stealing the dead clerk's car, a chase ensues. The car chase is actually the second scene that doesn't quiet add up after seeing the ending which we're so close to right now. The chase is predictable as Marie first thinks she's in the clear and unnoticed but in the blink of an eye, she's the hunted and run off the road in a fiery car wreck. As you've heard, there is a twist to the ending. The twist makes it worth re-watching to see if there were any clues that might give it away. Bottom line: Best. Horror. Flick. (of 2005)