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High Tension (2005) Lions Gate Films 1 hr. 28 mins. (in French with subtitles) Starring: Cecile De France, Maiwenn Le Besco, Andrei Finti, Oana Pellea, Philippe Nahon Directed by: Alexander Aja High Tension Rating:  
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG There have been gruesome entries that come along and made their mark in the twisted, ghoulish sweepstakes. Every now and then, who doesn’t enjoy some sick-minded fun from time to time? But in director Alexander Aja’s mindlessly overwrought French slasher flick Haute Tension (English translation: High Tension), this groundless gorefest is void of any considerable psychological suspense. Aja has no trouble generating an intense, bloodied spectacle of images that are haunting. However, the intrigue behind the macabre mayhem is relentlessly aimless. Woefully spotty and uninspired in its wayward madness, High Tension pounces on the opportunity to swagger in its meaningless artsy shock value. France has been known for some of its risque cinema but at least some of their offerings were rooted in social relevance. Aja, who also co-wrote the screenplay along with Gregory Lavasseur, has a certain flair for the brutality being showcased but fails to provide any genuine insight or passion behind his nightmarish narrative. Sometimes cranking out squeamish formulaic frightfests doesn’t necessarily guarantee an automatic tension-filled thriller to behold. Consequently, High Tension is a ridiculously ribald horror show without any crafty heft to support its percolating outrageousness. The premise finds a couple of college students in the persons of Marie and Alex (Cecile De France and Maiwenn Le Besco) looking for a remote venue to study their courses. The young women decide to visit the scenic French countryside as an incentive for concentrating on their selected studies. The farmhouse where the gals will be situated belongs to Alex’s family. It’s not long before a terrorizing psychopath (Philippe Nahon) starts applying his menacing pressure on Alex and her periled loved ones. And so the question remains: will Marie rise to the occasion and stop this delusional deviant from his deadly pestering of Alex and her endangered relatives? Predictably, High Tension engages in the same run-of-the-mill chilling antics that befall so many of these goosebump genres. Aja does gloriously grind out some grotesque flourishes that viewers may find somewhat captivating. Still, the novelty of blood-gushing body parts (with the help of an active circular saw) and other animated instances of mutilation wears thin quickly. Whether some of the hedonistic happenings are played for campy laughs or traces of sheer disbelief, this point is moot because Aja heavily hangs his hat on the incredibly illogical and implausible blind spots of this movie’s misplaced hysteria. We’ve seen this whole perfunctory package before where the harried heroine must confront the destructive demon for survival. Adding to the glaring woes of High Tension is its choppy and confusing presentation where the bad English dubbing and distracting subtitles make this manic actioner a disjointed venture. Overall, the absence of decent acting and the lazily delivered gross out factor makes this slaughterhouse saga a forgettable foray into nonsensical numbness. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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