Haute Tension 2003 (spoilers)

"I won't let anyone come between us anymore. I won't let anyone come between us anymore. I won't  let anyone come between us anymore. ... Are they recording?" 

Well, hot diggity damn! I am finally publishing my review of my favorite psychological horror movie of ALL time! Anyone who [personally] knows me has heard me mention Haute Tension, with great enthusiasm, more than once in a conversation they've had with me.
I love this movie. I love everything about it. Yet, Haute Tension (U.S. release High Tension) receives some of the most hate I have ever seen -for a movie - in my entire life. From a mainstream audience, I would possibly understand ... but from horror fans, I'll never get the hate. 

Haute Tension is a French horror movie, so there is a language barrier for most Americans, but the film is dubbed in English in the original Thai Release of Haute Tension. In LGF's American release it is dubbed English and subtitled. The execution of dialogue in the American release is much different than the Thai release I own, and to be quite honest, I thought LGF did a sloppy job. The mixture of dubbing and subtitles was very distracting and quite off-putting to me.. LGF's decision to do that was one of many things that continue to make me recommend the original Thai Release over the American release from LGF... it makes a difference, trust me.

Onward we go ... PLEASE STOP RIGHT HERE if you haven't already seen Haute Tension. Please go grab the original English dubbed THAI version of this movie, not the American release by Lion's Gate Films - no, no, not that one - and watch the Thai release for yourself before reading any further. Once you've seen it, come back here and share your thoughts with me.

Haute Tension opens with its lead character, Marie, played by the talented Cecile De France, sitting on a bed in a hospital gown. Marie has a video camera facing her and you see the red light indicating the power is on. Before the scene cuts away, Marie says, "Are they recording?" Seconds later orbs of lights illuminate the screen, then there are quick glimpses of Marie running through a forest. I call this premonitory lighting and it is showcased through beautiful cinematography. The films tension building score wastes no time sending its eerie vibrations from the ears through the hair follicles standing on end above your flesh. The sound effects alone earn this movie its title. Within minutes of the opening act you are informed Marie is dreaming because upon awakening she tells her friend Alex (Maiwenn Le Besco) that she was having a dream that someone was chasing her. Alex asks her who the man was that was chasing her ... Marie's response, "That's the strangest thing. It wasn't a man ... It was me. It was me chasing me." 

After this sequence ends, Marie and Alex continue driving along the countryside as they head toward Alex's parents farmhouse. From there, the movie wastes no time introducing you to the principal characters and delivering shocking imagery. Aja is also not bashful when he introduces the killer (Philipe Nahon) in a scene that is certain to leave most with a 'bad taste' in their mouth. I admit that the aforementioned scene made me laugh out loud. It is twisted, but I love some good dark humor. The tone of this film is immediately imprinted in your mind and it has a certain dark, grungy feeling that seems even grittier than classics like the Last House on the Left or I Spit on Your Grave. Through the entire movie I could almost smell the sweat, blood, and dirt. It evoked such a raw and voyeuristic vibe, that at times the fear and tension of the characters seemed quite real.

The gore is demonstrated through practical effects and any horror fan that is insatiable for the sights and sounds of wet, gruesome kills will  surely quench their thirst for blood. The story escalates quickly when the killer arrives at Alex's mom and dads house after everyone turns down the lights for the night. Upon hearing the doorbell ring, Alex's dad goes to the front door and thee moment he opens the door he appears to have a look of confusion on his face as he gazes out the screen and his eyes connect with the killer's. For me, that was one of many reminders that the story was being told by its narrator BUT Aja was waving a red flag and pointing out some contradictions to that story all along the way. In other words, the story you see comes from more than one perspective and it is like the person telling the story has someone sitting beside them giving you eye signals that are trying to warn you that you shouldn't trust them. This is confusing for a lot of people and is a primary complaint in the individuals who say the "big reveal" was just added later in an attempt to fill gaping plot holes.

Above: The killers van

Below: The Killer played by Philipe Nahon

This film is dark in every way. Both visually and psychologically, Haute Tension plunges deep and leaves you at the edge of your seat. in The great thing about a lot of foreign horror movies is that the unfamiliar surroundings and atmosphere delivers a certain kind of intrigue for its audience that requires no effort from the director. Throughout each scene, the score amplifies your headspace as you watch Alex and her family fall victim to this nocturnal killer.

Marie always manages to be one step ahead of the killer as she works her way through the house in an attempt to save her friend, Alex. One by one Alex's family succumbs to the macabre and brutal torture the killer inflicts upon them. Marie skillfully traverses the halls and stairs of the old farmhouse in her bare feet ... no matter how hard she tries to figure out what to do next, it is easy to sense that something isn't quite as it seems. If you pay close attention, there are reflective [literally] moments that can give you the answer to what is really going on. Aja uses reflections and body language of the victims to send a subliminal message to the audience, but it isn't easily detected upon first viewing. "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?"

I want to point out that I have very caustic feelings toward movies that purposely deceive the audience. I don't easily forgive deception of any kind, not even with movies - so, believe me when I say that I am not making excuses for Aja. I actually believe in the story and I understand the story as it narrated. Everything is right in front of you. That's all I can say. Plus, the trailers even show enough to prepare you for what is coming, but a lot of people have grown tired of movie trends involving plot twists. We know the directors that are out there that are known for their twists and some of us just want a straight forward movie. Haute Tension has a twist, but the movie can exist in a mirror image of the same story without the twist - so I don't consider it a twist just for the sake of a twist.

Once the killer abducts Alex, Marie has to figure out a way to follow him. The obvious answer? Climb in the back of his vehicle, of course. After Alex's family is violently murdered and she is stuffed in the back of the killers van, Nahon proceeds to drive until he reaches a gas station. While at the gas station, Marie has to think fast. She figures out a way to escape the van and sneak inside the store to alert the night clerk.But things go wrong very quickly and an awkward conversation turns into yet another methodical kill. Marie feels stalked and preyed upon once again, so she works her way into the restroom. The killers instincts are primal and keen as he trails behind Marie in the echoes of her shadows. Its a - not so quiet - cat and mouse chase. The music pumps loudly and never convinces you that Marie is actually eluding the killer, but rather you feel quite adamantly that he is toying with her. Before Marie has a chance to regroup and commit to her next move, the killer is back in the van and pulling away from the gas station. 

Marie dashes out the door and quickly runs across the parking lot and jumps inside a car (apparently the attendants). Once inside the car, she speeds off into the night to catch up to the van. Once within sight, Marie manages to keep a safe distance and trails along behind the killer. It doesn't take long for Marie to realize that she actually has not gone unsuspected by the killer. Now, the real game of cat and mouse begins. After the van disappears from her line of vision, she is nervously attempting to locate the vehicle once again when suddenly the van comes from a side road and hits the car, sending it crashing over an embankment.

Marie escapes the car and enters an old abandoned greenhouse that sets up the perfect opportunity to maneuver a stealth attack on the killer or vice versa. To no surprise, the killer emerges in an instant and attacks Marie, but armed with a barbed wire post she quickly regains control and unleashes a disturbing blow to killers head. You hear what sounds like a coconut pop when she delivers the attack and I have to admit that this sound effect was probably one of the eeriest moments in the movie for me. Once the killer is "down" Marie finds her way to the van to save her friend Alex.

The moment the rear door of the van is opened, you will possibly realize that your initial feeling of something being "off" was very matter of fact. Alex is very clearly uneasy when she sees Marie and is letting out cries of pain and discomfort that Marie is there. If everything were as it seems, would Alex be so guarded to see her friend? When all is finally revealed and the truth is exposed ... the underlying message is that the entire time we were witnessing Marie trying to destroy the monster within herself. You are lucky though, you don't just see Marie's story - you see the contradictions in her story and your visuals are being shown by someone who tries to remind you that not all is as she says. I believe Marie was one hundred percent unhinged and so much so that she actually believed that the killer was a separate and very real entity. But if she was suffering from multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, or any other dual-personality disorder - there would be times that she was lucid enough to realize it was within her.

"That's the strangest part. It was me." ...

If you look at the plot "reveal" as a defense mechanism created by Marie's delusional mind, it was the only way she could ever have Alex as a lover. She was so convinced of her alter ego being a real person that she believed she could convince her friend Alex of this delusion also. I am still not sure where the switch flipped for Marie, but considering that none of the events actually occurred as we saw them - it is impossible to tell. In the closing act you once again see Marie in the hospital. Alex is standing with staff and investigators as she watches Marie from the opposite side of a two way mirror. The doctors assured Alex that Marie can't see her, but the film closes with Marie turning toward the mirror and reaching out for Alex as though she knows she is standing there.

This movie definitely earns its title. High Tension - indeed!!! I highly recommend this film and strongly encourage discussion. I wish Aja would come back to this form and release something new and original. 

Haute Tension gets two severed bloody thumbs up from me and then some!