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High Tension

EMAILPRINTLions Gate Films Inc.

High Tension reviews
42
4.8 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 30 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 39 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Crime  |  Foreign  |  Horror  |  Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Alexandre Aja
Grégory Levasseur

Directed by: Alexandre Aja

Release Date:
Theatrical: June 10, 2005
DVD: October 11, 2005

Running Time: 85 minutes, Color

Origin: France

Language(s): French / English / Italian (with English subtitles)

Summary

RATING: R for graphic bloody killings, terror, sexual content and language

Starring Cécile De France, Maïwenn Le Besco, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun, Andrei Finti, Oana Pellea, Marco Claudiu Pascu, and Jean-Claude de Goros

A white-knuckle journey into the heart of fear, this is the terrifying story of two girls' battle for survival at the hands of a sadistic psychopath. (Lions Gate Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80

Film Threat Jeremy Knox

A movie that wants you to squirm in your seat and judged by that standard, it works brilliantly.

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75

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The film revels in blood and gore, but this is not just a run-of-the-mill splatter film. There's a lot of intelligence in both the script and in Alexandre Aja's direction.

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75

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

Like all horror films, High Tension builds to a final, sobering flash of chaos that settles all scores. Some viewers will hate Aja's movie for its end-game reveal; others will love it for the very same reason.

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75

USA Today Mike Clark

But purely as an exercise in style, this movie has its moments.

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75

New York Post Kyle Smith

A chainsaw-cut above recent entries in the genre: a pure, unapologetic, unironic homage to the likes of "Friday the 13th" that respectfully salutes all the old shtick.

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67

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

I was annoyed by Levasseur and Aja's desertion of their tense, simple plot in favor of tedious "plot twists" that could, frankly, use a rest. It's a waste of a good first half. (Grade: A- for first hour, C- thereafter.)

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63

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Even if you don't buy the ending, however, High Tension makes for ghoulish, sick fun, and Aja, who is already at work on a remake of Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes, clearly takes this horror stuff very seriously. The genre can always use a few more like him.

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60

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The first two thirds of the screenplay by Aja and cowriter Gregory Levasseur is a relentless exercise in bare-bones nastiness.

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60

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

While the acting is fine and the direction accomplished, the real stars of the film are editor Baxter and cinematographer Maxime Alexandre. Forfeiting a gold star is whoever haphazardly dubbed the film, simply giving up about halfway through.

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60

Variety Lisa Nesselson

Deftly juggles gore and suspense, and punchline holds an intellectual frisson or two for fans of gender-role speculation, but basically this is one more horror pic on the distinguished road already trodden by "Texas Chain Saw Massacre," "Maniac" and the like.

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60

Village Voice Mark Holcomb

Manages--before faltering under the weight of its own pretensions--to be pretty scary.

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50

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Though staged with technical skill and unflinching brutality, it's an awfully familiar-looking slaughter filled with moments on loan from other movies.

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50

Premiere Peter Debruge

Borderline reprehensible, High Tension is a living nightmare, but then, why else would you see it?

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50

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

For much of its duration the film is a case of intense fare done with an undeniable effectiveness and ingenuity -- until it lurches into a deplorable surprise twist.

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50

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

By turns unnerving and numbing.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

For all this, there is one unalloyed good thing to be said for High Tension. When all is said and done, it really does live up to its title. In every other way it's trash, but that truth-in-advertising aspect is a major weight to throw into the mix.

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50

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Horror fans should see this, at least in geeky admiration for what it pulls off, but in the long run it's no more than a crisp footnote to genre history.

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42

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

This film is satisfied merely to wallow in women in peril, cinematic sadism and the spectacle of violent death and dismemberment.

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42

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The latest reshuffling of "Chainsaw" tropes.

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40

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

High Tension often feels like a ’70s exploitation movie in the best sense; unfortunately, the ending is so bad that it mars everything that comes before.

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40

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

That outrageous third-act reveal proves to be a major deal-breaker.

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40

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Stylistically thrilling but ultimately tedious French import.

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40

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

It can only be said that if you like this sort of thing, then this is the sort of thing you like.

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38

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The horrible anticipation he [Aja] builds is derailed by a gimmick that makes the twist in, say, ''Fight Club" seem perfectly logical. To say more would be to ruin the movie, and why should I do that when its own makers have done it for you?

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38

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

One of the ugliest movies I've ever seen. Even though it occurs mostly in the dark, the open flesh wounds are both graphic and implausible.

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30

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

If old-fashioned jolts are what you're after, this nasty piece of merchandise delivers. But so does electroshock.

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25

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Serial killing and other insanity in the French countryside, with ineptly dubbed English dialogue.

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25

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The philosopher Thomas Hobbes tells us life can be "poor, nasty, brutish and short." So is this movie.

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10

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Such a bizarre movie that it has completely occupied my thinking for days. Not because it's a good movie, mind you. It's more like the equivalent of a botched tooth extraction with a coat hanger. Some bloody shard remains stuck in an inflamed, fleshy part of my psyche, and it's going to take some serious tugging and tearing to root it out.

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0

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

The movie is a model of multinational incompetence.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 4.8 (out of 10) based on 39 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

RavenX301 gave it a4:
I just got done watching this flim on the Movie network. Not very good. I would have given it a 7 or close 8 if it wasn't for the fact that TOoooooo many things have to be forgiven for the ending to work. At first it was good. It was like the old school slasher when there were very few poeple and that ONE killer. But thinking back on the sences after seeing the ending is too weird. At first (like I said) it seemed like maybe it was biulding to some kind of 'kitty' slasher and Texas Chainsaw Massarce, and unlike Riren who thinks that this has bee done so much (I;ve seen thousands of movies including over seas and this polt isnt AS overdone as you seem to think) No....I dont mind the story if it wasn't for ALL those mistakes after knowing the ending. There was a cool move on the surrvilence camera that really surpised me, but only because the movie was so outrageously pointing in one completley differnet way. The movie is way to out there that it makes it too impossible to understand becasue of the lack of actual common sense in a movie thats trying to make you believe in it.

Riren gave it a3:
High Tension has a twist ending that's simply been done too much now, and this is the worst execution of that particular twist ending to date. I won't spoil it for you, but honestly, this thing has been too many times to be novel, and too few times to be acceptable when repeated. It's like a slap in the face after you've put up with all the overreaching "tension" of the movie. The movie earns its credit with disgusting (if occasionally physically implausible - you can't behead someone by pushing a bureau against them) deaths and its dirtier, more realistic vision of the world. It can certainly make you squirm, but not as often as a horror lover might hope. Indeed, its ultimate lack of substance is the most bothersome part of the film, until you realize there was supposed to be something deeper going on all along. Then it all falls apart, in a pile of gore.

Drake D. gave it a5:
Well, I've been waiting quite a long time for this movie to come out on dvd and when i whatched it, it seemed a waste of time, but it kept me thinking throughout the movie. it deserves a 5 no more though.

John F. gave it a9:
I have no idea who "Chad S" is, nor do I have any idea what the "Metacritic Advance Scout Team" entails. But I must ask... why are poorly written, xenophobic rants given a stamp of approval on this site? This cretin's profoundly idiotic review (which housed some of the worst grammar in the history of the English language) not only misunderstood the film in question, but also managed to throw in some indescribably vulgar cultural elitism that couldn't possibly have been more wide of the mark. I like this site. But don't start bigging up meatheaded mouth breathers, lest your fanbase head for the tomato hills.... ANYWAY, this film is superb. The infamous plot twist IS a massive misjudgement, but when a director has spent the past eighty minutes thrilling you to the bone, forgiveness is all that it deserves. A cult classic in the making.

Joe b gave it a6:
Ending was weird. Movie predictable. Not bad, certainly not Good.

Luke L gave it an8:
No, the story wasn't all that great, but it kept me gritting my teeth and sitting on edge, which is a tribute to the camera work and editing. Brutal, but that is what a slasher film is suppose to be. Ending twist was so much better than what Hollywood ever puts out and that flashlight swaying back and forth - classic suspense.

Robby T. gave it a7:
Honestly, High Tension is not a good movie... but I loved it! it is the definition of what a horror movie was supposed to be ten years ago. So get out your official Slasher handbook and let's run down the checklist. Weapons: axe, butcher knife, barbwire, shotgun, chainsaw, revolver, switchblade. Check. We'll obviously need a dark cornfield (must be easy to get lost in). Check. Cut the phone lines. The police should be of absolutely no help. Check and check. Stir in some nudity and extremely graphic violence (including, but not limited to, decapitation). Check. But wait... there must be a twist... one that has been used so much that the viewer almost might not be expecting it. Check. How about some creepy music? Muse's "New Born" fits so perfectly in this film that it is amazing it wasn't tailor made for it. Bottom line: if you want to see a horror movie that reminds you why you started watching horror movies in the first place... High Tension fits the bill. Although (ironically) the film is entirely in French. Wait! I almost forgot the most important part: Enough blood to flood New Orleans all over again... Check.

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