Just rented it this past weekend, and watched it with the wife, We loved it, however the twist ending while good left something to be desired. I give it a very high C+ to a low B-

I knew you wouldn't like the ending, haha.

But, did it have enough gore for ya? Cause it was packed with it.

*****SPOILERS*****




She was driving the truck. She wasn't in the back talking to her friend. In the beginning Marie says "Are they recording?" (So many people seem to forget this bit of dialogue in the beginning) So we know what we see now is her version of the story. The twist is that she had a split personality. To her, she was the heroine and trying to save her friend from this sadistic creep, but in reality it was her who was doing the killing. Why? Because she was in love with her friend, and keeping that inside, as well as her lesbianism, caused her to snap. Alex kept bugging her about finding a guy, and someone bugging you about finding someone of the opposite sex is quite annoying if you're gay/lesbian but not out yet, and this just added to Marie's frustration. Granted it's not Alex's fault, she didn't know, but Marie's fear of being rejected kept her in the closet and unable to tell her friend how she felt. It didn't help that Alex was boy crazy and always screwing around, including with a married man. Marie felt like she was losing her, especially with Alex having ditched her at the club the other night and again in the cornfield, even jokingly. Keeping things inside can drive you crazy, and while usually not as crazy as Marie goes in this movie, it's still the basic idea of the twist. It is about the dark side of love; one that grows to obsession and then anger and hate. Part of Marie loved Alex, but part of her hated her for not wanting her back and wanted her to suffer, just like she had been doing by pining away for her all of this time. She didn't want anyone to come between them anymore because she was sick of all of the distractions keeping them apart. Anyway, the stuff we see except in the very beginning and very end doesn't have to make a whole lot of sense because it's just Marie's version of what happened. There was no car that she followed the killer in, as she was the killer and she was driving the truck. Another popular question is where did Alex get the knife? How could Marie be in two places at once? Well she wasn't in two places at once. While she was the good personality, the one still in love with Alex and wanting to protect her, she gave her the knife.

Most of what we see didn't happen the way we see it happen. We don't know EXACTLY how it happened, but we know that the killer was really Marie. There is even a clue when we see the doll with the crack in the middle of its head, representing Marie's split personality. Then when she is in the bathroom at the gas station and looks up in the mirror, in which we expect to see the killer behind her or something as suspenseful music plays, but it ends up being just her. That is another clue.

*****END SPOILERS*****

See?? I'm glad you were able to decipher all of this cause to me, they should've left that particular twist ending out of the movie and left it as there being a killer and the 2 girls since they already showed his face anyway which merely added to the confusion in the end.. It was a decent slasher movie up til the end Which ruined the movie for me and caused my grade of thisd to drop to where it's at which is a "D"..

Yeah, one can definitely say this movie had it's share of gore, but that ending was too much and took away from what would've been a pretty good slasher flick and instead, reduced it to a confusing mess.. If they were gonna use this ending, they shouldn't of shown the viewer the killers face but shadows of him or from the neck on down.. The way the did this implied there were 2 people: A killer and 2 girls..

Yeah, definitely. It can be confusing. I guess the reason I wasn't confused was because the same 'twist' has been used in so many other films.

Basically, BKB, 90% of the movie was all in her head, and then they offer no real explanation as to why she imagined all this and what exactly happened or not. It just makes this movie a complete waste of time.

Yeah, it can be confusing, but for the most part I got it. I think people would understand it better on a second viewing. There are times when I wish it would have been a straight-forward cat and mouse slasher, but then I also think that if it were I wouldn't have liked it quite as much. I personally dug the twist, I just think it could have been handled a little better. Without a twist then there still would have been a ton of people who would have been disappointed by its lack of anything more, and with it people are wishing it had been a straight-forward horror-thriller. I guess in the commentary on the DVD it is mentioned that there was a scene cut from the movie where when Marie is outside for a smoke she finds the truck on the farm with the saw in the back. I figured the truck was one they had around the farm (the dad probably used it for work or something).

Anyway, I think the movie is kind of like if David Lynch had done a horror movie, but it makes more sense. His movies are just a mindfuck with no answers, and yet he has a huge following. Had he done this movie people probably wouldn't have hated the twist as much because they wouldn't have felt the need to have the answers. Sure people would still try and decipher it though. I really don't think it's too terribly confusing and am surprised so many people are left dumbfounded by it. I found it especially easier to understand on repeat viewings, and it does make sense for the most part. Besides, even if you do find it to have plot-holes from the twist most movies with twists have them. The movie is still a well-made (very nicely directed, acted (at least by De France), filmed, etc...) and pretty intense ride. I loved the cinematography and the hypnotic feel. I thought Matchstick Men was absolutely great until the horrible twist ending which I found to ruin the movie. I don't think a movie has pissed me off more. Yet because I loved everything before it and found it to be a great film until the last 15 minutes or so, I still gave it a solid 7/10 ( B ). The awful last 15 minutes can't change the fact that most of the movie was excellent. I still don't know what the hell they were thinking with that ending though and it has to be one of the very worst, if not the worst ending I have ever seen.

And when she hit that dude in the head with that barbed wire bat, at least 12 times or so, you thought this guy was clearly dead and his head was mush, but then he comes alive, choking her then chasing her with that big ass electric supersaw.. No way..

Actually, both times I watched and counted it was 17 times he was hit, which makes it worse I know , however it doesn't really matter if that is unrealistic since it didn't happen. The scene basically represents a struggle between the two personalities. She thinks he's dead after she finishes him off by choking him (which is then like that personality was killed), and the good personality goes to free her friend. However, once her friend stabs her, the bad personality is awoken again.

Alright, first off, here's what I posted in the "Best Movies of 2005" section:

High Tension was pretty terrible. It had to be one of the most mind-bogglingly stupid movies I've seen in some time. Predictable and without a point, and incredibly pretensious, it's only saved by a few tense scenes here and there. However, the twist (I guessed it right as the movie started and hadn't read any spoilers. The only things that threw me off were the enormous gaps in logic such as SPOILERS how the french chick managed to interact with two different people or things at once, both consoling her friend and shooting the kid at the same time for example. I got the impression that the nice car she picked up was in her head, but that still doesn't explain how, despite getting a ride with her friend all the way, she found that weird truck she drove around. Oh yeah, and since the killer was a girl, what the fuck was the point of that scene where she masturbated with the human head? I guess the director thought no one would pay attention if they didn't have some gore right off the bat. END SPOILERS) is essentially a big cheat, and makes everything that led up to that point go right out the window. I wouldn't force most anyone I had any respect for to have to sit through this dog unless they were a die hard horror fan... or maybe a nihilist. D+

Alright, now I've read through all of this, and frankly, I think you guys are sort of bullshitting yourselves and acting like this movie was a whole lot smarter then it really was. The film led us to believe that Marie and the killer were interacting through the same situations in different ways, with both doing assorted things while the other was actually there. However, the problem with that is that they fucking interacted with people and things around them. But here's just one of the many scenes that cancels itself out: While Marie is blowing the little kid's head off, she is trying to comfort and console Alex. Now if it was REALLY Marie's subconcious making up what it was doing, do you think that she'd have Alex have been inconsolable and scared shitless of her because she had killer her family? NO. If the film wants to have it all be in the person's head, that's fine. The Usual Suspects is a brilliant example of a movie where nothing is where it seems, and the real story is infact different then what's on screen. The big difference is that while The Usual Suspects played by it's rules and used the deception to build upon the rest of the film, High Tension is just the product of some extremely lazy screenwriting and some serious pretenious bullshit going through the direcor's mind. Having entire portions of the movie not be real/be "just a dream" for no other reason then to try and fool the audience (which I must say it really outright failed at. I had a pretty good idea of what the twist was almost immediately) is just a cop-out, plain and simple. The thing that makes High Tension even more insulting then usual is that it thinks it's all some work of genius. Well to the makers of the film, here's a little tip for next time: Normal, ordinary people with no history of physical or mental abuse and no previous evidence of schizophrenia do NOT suddenly have multiple personality disorder, ESPECIALLY to the extent where they live out two entirely different lives. The only thing more cliche and lazy for a script then having a serial killer who murders people for no reason whatsoever is when they have someone just magically suffer from schizophrenia and make up the movie, ESPECIALLY when it's this over-done. I'm calling bullshit on this guys, it's not a work of genius, even if it does think it is and would love for others to think so. Yes, it's not mainstream. But the reason why so many people hated the movie is not because it's weird, but because it's insultingly bad.

The movie SAW along with the twist at the end was more plausible than this.. They should've kept it to where there was a killer and the 2 girls and I would've been fine with this, but the ending blew the entire movie.. I think Moviedude's right: Alot of you tried to make this movie out to be smarter than it was and it failed, all because of the ending..

I agree with you completely. Now, I don't think I would've liked the movie a little bit more, but at least it would've made sense. It even would've made sense if her best friend was in on it with the killer. That would've been actually somewhat of a clever twist. Instead the movie relies on shock value in order to be good, and it falls short in that category as well. IMO, the whole movie was in bad taste.

D+

Well that was something……. Im very indifferent about the twist

Hmmm, it was OK, but I got bored when they got in the truck until the cop saw the surveillance video

C+

Gee, I wanna take something off my chest.


This movie is not confusing, or topo smart, or not mainsstream enough. It´s just silly. The twist is not clever. In fact, It must one of the most stupid twists of all time. Stupid, and cheap. Any movie, any, can have that kind of twist. There is no set-up, nothing. You just have to go [spoil]"It was all dream, all in her head"[/spoil] and that is supposed to explain the plot holes. Urg. It´s such an easy (and therefore not clever at all) way out, It´s not even funny.

I think Aja is a talented director with visual flair and good timing for the suspenseful moments. Surely he will make good films in the future, when he forgets about idiotic endings.

Rant mode off. Sorry, had to say it.

Awful.

I actually agree with BKB about the film being not extremely awful untill the whole "twist", ridiculous.

D+

Who knew a twist could screw a movie over so badly. I mean this movie has everything a horror/gorehound could ever want. Gallons of blood, pyscho killer, Con-Saws thru windshields and women masterbating to Bob Marley. It should be a blast but the twist leaves such a bad taste in the mouth its not even funny. Quite possible the laziest Deus Ex Machina I've ever seen it renders the rest of the movie completely pointless and seems to make out Lesbians are drooling lunatics.

Movie be gone from my sight.

D

Craven and Hooper would be proud, unfortunately, so would Shyamalan.

The 70's and 80's produced what I consider to be the best horror films ever made. There were more independent films being made 20 and 30 years ago and that led to less studio intervention. I seriously doubt Sam Raimi could have made his classic gore fest THE EVIL DEAD if The Weinsteins were behind the scenes. And I know for a fact that Tobe Hooper would never have gotten away with what he did to make Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE as shock inducing as he did. And finally, what I consider is the most disturbing film ever made, never would have been made if guys like Michael Ovitz were behind it. Could you imagine if Ovitz was visiting the set of LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, took a look at the dailies and then said, "okay, that intestine part has to go, the slapping of the naked girls has to be trimmed down and the fellatio part has to be edited." Last House would not be the classic that it is today and it certainly would not be a paradigm to all horror films that many aspire to make today.

Now, what we have are a plethora of films that follow in M. Night Shyamalan's footsteps after his monster and genre defining hit SIXTH SENSE. It's a great film that puts the suspense back in horror. And as much as I love Sixth Sense, as much as I respect what Shyamalan has done to help redefine horror, too many of today's film makers try to emulate him and screw things up.

HIGH TENSION, for the first 80 minutes of the movie is a true testament to the basic primal animal that we are, or can be. It is an uncompromising and relentless attack of our senses, our nerves and our being. It shreds the neo horror film ideology that THE RING and Sixth Sense seemed to invent and instead grabs a hold of your intestines and squeezes and then twists. It is about as intense of a film as I have seen in quite some time. While not as sick and depraved as Last House on the Left, it treads in the same water. This has the look and feel of a 70's guts on the wall horror film and for that, I applaud Alexandre Aja for writing and directing a film that looks like it had very little studio intervention and as such the film is about as shocking a film as you will see from any North American distributed film.

High Tension's strength is that it is about as violent and blood soaked as any film from the period that it pays homage to. Gone is the horror film blueprint that teens seem to love today. This is a film made by a director that grew up perhaps admiring some of the greats from three decades ago. You can see homages to films like Friday THE 13TH, MADMAN, THE STEPFATHER, and of course Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There are at least 4 scenes in this film that truly shocked me. The violence is real, it is macabre and it is brutal. Blood spills, it flows, and it sprays. I have never seen someone get their throat slit, but I would imagine it would something like it does in this film.

The pace of the film is frenetic and at about the twenty minute mark, the dialogue pretty much stops and what we have is a cat and mouse game. Aja does his talking with chainsaws, barbed wire and a switchblade. There is much attention to detail in this film and I guess that sort of justifies the end, which is about as beguiling as any legerdemain present in any of the films since Sixth Sense.

The ending has to be mentioned because as I'm sure many of you know by now, the ending is unnecessary chicanery. It just didn't need to be there. But to be fair, the film does allude to the road it is embarking on, it just seems like an extrinsic path. The denouement of the film, can be a distraction and take away from the raw emotion the film does a great job of making you feel up until this point. And if you examine the film, you'll realize that what you have seen for the last 80 minutes is pretty much impossible. I took all of that into consideration before writing this review. And what it comes down to is this: The films is so perfect before the preposterous ending, that you can kind of ignore the impossibilities and chicanery. If you can just see the film for all of its brilliance before the last ten minutes, you'll love the pure terror that this film presents us with. But just a word of warning. The ending is misleading and dishonest.

This film is an amalgamation of Last House and Sixth Sense. The twist, which may have been attractive to the talking heads in charge of the studio, also takes away from the artistic integrity of the film. I, as other reviewers have mentioned, would much rather a psycho killer gone mad than a film that has to deceive us with a SLEEPAWAY CAMP type slap in the face. While Sleepaway Camp is a good film but not nearly in the class of High Tension, the ending fit there. Here, it is just plain wrong.

High Tension scores a 9/10 from me because it is about as good a horror film I have seen in the last ten years. The last 10 minutes drags it down to a 9 instead of a 10, but this film is raw, it is primal and it is made with ingenuity and care and it is a true homage to the horror films that I grew up with. This is truly a must see for any horror fan.

9/10

So after all the hoopla I read here, I finally got around to watching this...umm..."film" (though I use that in loosest sense of the matter because quite frankly I could barely sit through it).

Really people, this? Good filmmaking? Really? I mean...it was laughably bad. Granted, I didn't have a problem with some of the "plot holes" as it was quite obvious the psychosis element that was later explained but...

First off it pulls off one of the most idiotic "plot twists" in the book. And by "pulls off" I mean it completely takes the ending and makes it a laughing matter. Second, it is filled with so many horror cliches it isn't even funny.

The pacing was terrible, the music was laughable and towards the end (after the big reveal) I couldn't help but laugh out loud when she started cycling. Really, hilarious.

There were also plenty of continuity errors which really annoyed me, but I guess I can get over that.

At any rate, I'm too tired to write a full review, but this was one dud I wish I would have skipped.

D