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June 13, 2005
RUTHERFORD ON FILM: Bloody 'High Tension' Should Have Been Filmed With Much Less Gore
by Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
Huntington (HNN) –Gallons of blood and a collection of slit throats unnecessary. The story of a couple of attractive French women vacation in a secluded house by a cornfield would stimulate suspenseful sensation without the gore. Unfortunately, "High Tension" director Alexandre Aja's vision did not coincide with mine.
Robustly following the slasher formula, college gal pals Marie (Cecile DeFrance) and Alex (Maiwenn Le Besco) drive down a foreboding "nobody uses this road except tractors" to the country cottage of Alex's family. While snuggling in for some giggly girlie gossip, a muscular stranger (PhillppeNahon) knocks on the door. When it opens, the unknown man carrying an axe methodically slaughters the family.
As the man loads the bound and gagged Alex into his safari truck, Marie regains her strength as she boldly seeks to free her friend before she falls prey to his psychosis.
Billed as homage to American slasher classics of the 70s, "High Tension" has a wandering, point of view cinematography and music that rotates from daunting drums to shrill percussion. Director Aja has even the clicking of the purchase price on a gasoline pump inciting a tightening of tensions.
Ironically, just as I was about to note how the production resembled scarier than hell approach of the next–to–bloodless "Halloween," "High Tension" forsakes jittering eye of the mind terror for a switchblade spurting splatters of blood on a closet door. Less than a minute later, Aja opts to show us a close up of the victim.
Although I appreciate the director's homage to "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," his story could have continued its adrenalin express without seeing the corpses. The story without the exploitive gore soared wonderfully with bone chilling excitement.
If I remember correctly, two of the namesake teen slasher originals – "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" – showed little or no gore. Their sequels, however, relied upon body counts and blood spattering to drag viewers through premises that redid "Ten Little High School Girls and Boys" battling "he doesn't stay dead" villains.
As the villain's depravity mounts into jittery "Last House on the Left" gratuitous stalk, kill, main and show the corpse brutality, "High Tension" looses the unseen creepiness element that fostered instant classics.
Instead, the filmmaker opts for a Quentin Tarantino at mid movie. If that is not enough, he foreshadows a rudely disquieting suspension of disbelief uprooting twist, which should have been trimmed from the final cut.
Here's a little horror flick whose director had stylish Hitchcock screenplay accolades diminished by his preoccupation with many meaningless gross out scenes that do not advance the plot: He already has us terrified with heavy breathing, stomping footsteps stylistic charged cut–a–ways, and blood flowing onto Alex's bare toes. He did not need a blood tsunami to ratchet his switchblade 'romance' up another notch.
Official Website http://www.hightensionmovie.com/
