Marie joins the family of her friend Alexa in the French countryside during a break between semesters. Their vacation takes a horrific turn when the house is suddenly attacked by a man who brutally murders Alexa's family while Marie hides. The killer kidnaps Alexa and Marie must attempt to free her.
When High Tension first came out in 2003, director Alexander Aja was talked about like he was the next Christoph Gans. Eight years later, he has in the meantime directed the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors, and Pirahna 3D, all ostensibly horror movies that are at best only okay. High Tension is at first a very straightforward story that benefits from its simple premise. It doesn't matter why this guy has killed everyone, but it's clear that he's seriously dangerous and Cecile de France as Marie the heroine is a great character. There's little talking, the action is uncompromisingly violent, and every scene just gets more and more intense. Then, for no goddamn reason and with like fifteen minutes left, there's a ridiculous twist that makes no fucking sense at all, and ruins the rest of the movie. Immediately thinking back on it, there are a bunch of scenes which couldn't have actually happened. So what, were these abstract flights of fancy? Daydreams of a second personality? And where the hell did this rape-o-truck come from in the first place? High Tension is a movie that sucked and didn't have to. To Aja, I say this: you had here a great film that distinguished itself from its genre, and then you tried to attach a zany premise which you overexplained. Four years after Fight Club, it's not going to blow anyone's mind.
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