On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 73/85 |
Kim Hollis |
It's gory for sure and the villainous character is terrific, but the ending is a disappointing cop-out. |
| 129/166 |
David Mumpower |
I wonder if anyone involved with this project actually understands the rationale behind the big twist. Somehow I doubt it. |
A film so gory and explicit that it has already been given the controversial NC-17 rating for its North American release, High Tension (Haute Tension in France) received a lot of attention during its festival rounds at Toronto and Sundance. A true return to the roots of the "slasher" genre, it's been described as gritty, gruesome, and intensely terrifying.
Directed and co-written by French director Alexandre Aja, this import from across the Atlantic introduces two female students named Marie (Cécile De France) and Alex (Maïween Le Besco) need some isolation in order to get some vital studying done. They head off to the remote country home of Alex's parents so that they can both focus and relax just a bit. When night falls, a crazed murderer arrives, kidnapping Alex after he kills her entire family. Because Marie saw him approach in his sinister jeepers creepersmobile, she manages to escape his clutches.
Having seen the maniac's bloody swath of devastation, Marie determines that she will rescue her friend and kill the lunatic before he can endanger anyone else. Reports are that the film makes excellent usage of a combination of music, ruthless and lingering zooms on the carnage.
And for serious horror/slasher buffs, the good news is that not one instant of footage will be sacrificed to try to obtain the more mainstream-friendly R-rating. Lions Gate plans to release the film exactly as is. Given the buzz already surrounding the film, it's bound to generate controversy at the very least and morbid interest at its best. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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