Haute tension (2003)

Director:

Alexandre Aja

Writers:

Alexandre Aja (writer)
Grégory Levasseur (writer)

Release Date:

10 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Hearts will bleed.

Plot:

Two college friends, Marie and Alexa, encounter loads of trouble (and blood) while on vacation at Alexa's parents' country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway.

Plot Keywords:

Extreme Violence | Breasts | Dead Child | Car Crash | Disturbing

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Cécile De France	...	Marie
Maïwenn Le Besco	...	Alexia (as Maïwenn)
Philippe Nahon	...	Le tueur
Franck Khalfoun	...	Jimmy
Andrei Finti	...	Alex's Father
Oana Pellea	...	Alex's Mother
Marco Claudiu Pascu	...	Tom
Jean-Claude de Goros	...	Police Captain
Bogdan Uritescu	...	Gendarme
Gabriel Spahiu	...	Homme voiture

Also Known As:

Switchblade Romance (International: English title) (UK) (DVD box title)
High Tension (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic bloody killings, terror, sexual content and language. (edited version); Rated NC-17 for strong graphic violence.

Runtime:

91 min | South Korea:84 min (re-cut version) | USA:89 min (edited version) | Germany:85 min (DVD version)

Country:

France

Language:

French | English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (US version) | SDDS (US version) | Dolby Digital EX (original version) | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (edited for re-rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | Czech Republic:15 | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) (DVD rating) (uncut) | USA:R (cut) | Australia:R | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (cut) | Austria:18 | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta) | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R (edited version) | Germany:18 (cut) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Alexandre Films

Trivia:

The headphones of Marie's personal stereo are Bang & Olufsen A8 headphones.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the killer is pumping gas at the station, the number of clicks of the pump does not match the amount of gas being dispensed.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Marie: I won't let anyone come between us any more.

Movie Connections:

References Blue Velvet (1986)

Soundtrack:

Runaway Girl

Uncompromising shocker, NOT for the faint of heart!!

HAUTE TENSION

(USA: High Tension /UK: Switchblade Romance)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Super 35)

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)