31 Days of Halloween – High Tension

by Brett Love

My first entry in the 31 Days of Halloween is the blood-soaked fright-fest 'High Tension'. What starts as a traditional horror romp takes a controversial turn at the end, cementing it as one of my favorite horror movies.

When Chuck sent out an email asking about favorite horror movies, there were three that immediately jumped to mind. I’ll be touching on each of them throughout the month, including one that features a certain someone in a hockey mask. Up first though is a largely unknown French film, High Tension. It’s long been one of my favorites because it is not what it seems on first blush.

The beginning of the story has a very familiar feel. Two young girls, Alexia (Maïwenn Le Besco) and Marie (Cécile De France), are heading off for a weekend in the country with Alexia’s family. Along the way we meet a very creepy dude in an even creepier truck who tells us everything we need to know about his intentions when he tosses the severed head he was having sex with out of his window.

As you can probably guess, he shows up at the country home and the crazed blood-letting begins. At that point, things are going along really well. ‘Demented killer chasing damsels in distress’ has been done a thousand times, but this is a good example of that old standard. The action is fast paced, inventive, and positively drenched in blood. In that regard, the following picture highlights my favorite bit of it. That’s a concrete cutter, and yes, it has been in someone’s chest. Fuck yeah!

If all of that was the extent of the movie, I’d still really enjoy it. It’s standard horror done well. But here’s where the gears shift, and I have to talk around some spoilery bits. What makes High Tension rise above all of those other movies for me is the twist at the end. It’s a controversial bit of story telling. Some people hate it, some are completely flummoxed by it, and I think it’s awesome. It sets the movie apart, and manages to make what was already a pretty creepy story even creepier.

I’ll not spoil just what the twist is, in the event that you just can’t resist the lure of a blood-soaked girl carrying a concrete cutter and decide to check it out for yourself. Happy Halloween!