High Tension (2003)
25KHigh Tension: Directed by Alexandre Aja. With Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun. Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia’s parents’ secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls’ idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
“u0026quot;High Tensionu0026quot; is clearly intended as a cheery throwback to those halcyon days circa 1980 when you could see u0026quot;Driller Killer,u0026quot; u0026quot;Maniac,u0026quot; and u0026quot;Nightmareu0026quot; back-to-back in a center city grindhouse where the house lights never went up, only one seat in the place didnu0026#39;t reek of urine and sweat, and the poor teenage usher and concession stand worker huddled together in the lobby under a bare light bulb to avoid being knifed to death by some crazed street person. Of course, this film, while being just about the most violent film in recent memory, is French, somewhat arty, and extremely well made, certainly at odds with the subject matter of its homage. If a straight-ahead slasher film throwback with no self-reflective winking to the audience is your thing, then this will be your thing too. Otherwise, it just is what it is: well-made exploitation fare, right down to the silly, slap-your-head-and-say-u0026quot;dohu0026quot; final twist, just like back in the day.”
