Movies - Haute Tension

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	Movies - Haute Tension

Haute Tension, also referred to as Switchblade Romance in the UK and High Tension in the USA, is a French slasher film originally released in France during 2003, later released during 2004 in the UK and 2005 in the USA. The film, directed by Alexandre Aja, stars Cécile De France, Maïwenn Le Besco, and Philippe Nahon.

High Tension was picked up by independent distributor Lions Gate Films following a successful screening at the "Midnight Madness" section of the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. Originally rated NC-17 in the USA, a few minor shots were cut from the final version of the US release to get it down to the R rating: this included an oral sex decapitation scene and the aftermath of a bookcase decapitation.

Perhaps the most startling aspect of this film is its incredibly visceral nature. Eschewing the current fad for computer generation, all of the effects are created by renowned horror make-up artist Giannetto De Rossi, a favourite of late director Lucio Fulci, whose work serves to enhance the disturbing nature of the film.

One would note the glaring similarities between High Tension and an earlier published novel by Dean Koontz, entitled Intensity. High Tension seems to mirror Dean Koontz's published words almost scene by scene then veers off into an entirely different ending.

Synopsis

Friends Marie (De France) and Alex (Le Besco) go to visit Alex's parents in the countryside, and study in the peaceful surroundings. However, the tranquility is soon broken when, on the first night, a truck-driver (Nahon) breaks into the house. The intruder proceeds to tie up Alex and murder her family. Marie, however, manages to evade the truck-driver. When the man carries Alex into the back of his truck, Marie is forced to attempt to rescue her friend. Aja maintains a "high tension" atmosphere as Marie makes several attempts to rescue her friend whilst avoiding the attentions of the violent psychopath who is holding her prisoner.

Clues leading to "The Twist"

At the film's conclusion, viewers discover that Marie is the killer; the insane truck driver is only her split personality. Alex, in turn, is abducted by Marie because she is the latter's love interest.

A la The Sixth Sense
, "clues" were filmed within the story to keep viewers guessing before the film's infamous "twist", before it was unveiled. But (according to the supplemental commentary on the DVD release), due to time and budget constraints, most of them had to be cut. However, a few of these said "clues" do exist in Haute Tension, among them:

The back of Marie's shirt reads, in Latin, Audaces Solum, or, roughly translated, "Boldly Alone", which alludes how Marie committed the murders. An alternative translation would be "Only the Brave", as in "None but the brave deserve the fair" from John Dryden's Alexander's Feast.

Also, Marie tells Alex about her dream at the beginning of the film ("I was alone... but it was me chasing me...")

When Marie tries to console Alex, Alex backs away in fear or cries out loudly. This scenario is repeated several times.

When Alex's mother is murdered, her last words are, "why me?". Viewers ambiguously mistake the mother to say this out loud to no one in particular, but most likely she asks this question directly to Marie before she dies.

When Marie is descending the stairs from her room we see a shot of her bare feet as she is climbing down the stairs. The soles of her feet are bloody just like the killer's boots.

After realizing there's no phone outlet, Marie stares at a doll with a crack down her face, a symbol that a change of personalities or split has occurred.

A few minutes earlier in the movie, Marie stares at a crackless doll just before she starts listening to the song 'Runaway Girl' by U-Roy. The lyrics we can hear say 'Just another girl, that's what you are'.

The shot of the killers hands dispensing the bullets out the window are female hands.

Marie strikes the killer in the exact same place she received her head injury in the car.

The killer is aware of Alex's name, as he asks Marie 'Why do you care so much about Alex?'

Much like The Sixth Sense or the plot twist in The Usual Suspects
, the "clues" in Haute Tension become clearer with subsequent viewings.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Haute Tension ]

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