High Tension (Haute tension) ***1/2
Cast: Cécile De France, Maïwenn
Director: Alexandre Aja
Running Length: 1:30
MPAA Classification: R

Marie (de France) and Alex (Maïwenn) are heading home to Alex's family's farm house, isolated in the French countryside. The first night there, a killer enters the house, kills Alex's family, and takes her hostage. Marie goes unnoticed, since the killer doesn't know about her and she is hiding. When Marie tries to untie Alex in the killer's truck, she is accidentally trapped, and taken along for the ride. Marie is now in a battle of wits with the killer, as she attempts to save Alex and escape the killer.

While not completely original story-wise (I was reminded of Dean Koontz's "Intensity" specifically), "High Tension delivers just that...high tension. From the beginning the very end, the feeling of unease permeates the film. It is excellently directed, with no cheap scares. The killer is ruthless, from the first kill to the last. And there is blood galore. This movie is a hard R for violence and gore, having been trimmed from the original NC-17, and is not for the faint of heart. What makes this movie so great is the execution (pardon the pun). Horror fans will delight in this movie and I recommend this specifically for them.

The biggest complaint I have with the film is the subtitles & dubbing. This is a French movie, so you know that you are getting one or the other, but for some reason, the filmmakers chose to use BOTH. It seems kind of odd, but fortunately, there is not much dialogue for this to become too large of an issue. Some will also argue that the ending does not support what has gone before, but I disagree. I don't want to give too much away, so I will not go into specifics. If you are a horror fan, check this movie out.