High Tension is about a young woman who is trying to save her best friend, who has been taken hostage by a sadistic serial killer. The first I would like to say about this movie is that the cinematography is actually quite beautiful. It's also nice to see a brutal, violent 80s-style slasher flick in the middle of the 21st century, where, with the exception of a few outliers, the sub-genre is mostly remakes and reboots. Director Alexandre Aja should also be commended for his direction. The movie gave me an unflinching feeling of unease. Much of the first half of the movie takes place at a house in rural France. Because the house is essentially in the middle of nowhere, it adds a fantastic isolated feeling that I feel is essential to a slasher flick. I will admit that at first, I thought the acting was very iffy. However, as the film went on, the acting did improve. Lead actress Cécile de France's performance in particular really grew on me, and I feel she became the movie's standout performer. I saw the unrated American version of the film. After doing a bit of research, I learned that it was dubbed over, and not very well for the most part, which is honestly why I probably thought the acting near the beginning was a bit lacking.
High Tension earns its title in almost every way possible. The writing, directing, cinematography, and musical score keep you on edge throughout the movie. The house that much of the first half of the movie is set in looks incredible. The movie's twist ending was something I honestly did not see coming, and in my opinion, helps separate this movie from a good deal of its ilk. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie. Despite a couple of minor flaws, I genuinely enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to any fans of the slasher genre.
8 / 10
Great review!
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