Movies Off The Beaten Path: Haute Tension
It was the summer of 2004 when my pusher of all things horror and off the beaten path (Pusher Ted), told me about Haute Tension. At this point in my life, I had thought I had seen it all. I assumed all horror movies were in English, that they all had scary looking monsters, chase scenes with masks and knives or they all had names. Freddy. Jason. Michael Myers.
Truly, my suburbanized views of horror movies were about to change forever.
Haute Tension, written and directed by Alexandre Aja, was first released in 2003 in France, followed by a screening at the Midnight Madness section of the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. The critics were mediocre, but vocal. Thefans were elated. The underground cultists were rabid. The film, although cut to a Rated R level, was quite the success.
I won’t do a plot summary for this one. Instead, here is the IMDB Synopsis.
Two college friends, Marie and Alexa, encounter loads of trouble (and blood) while on vacation at Alexa’s parents’ country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway.
Simple. Short. Classic. Right?
You keep on thinking that.
Haute Tension sends you on twisted downward spiral of Suspense, Violence, Gore, and Action. All at once, like a punch to the gonads (or Chesticles, for my female readers), you will be on the edge of you seat for a good chunk of this movie.
The heroine in this film is played by Cécile de France. She is tough. And cool. See?
Meanwhile, her best friend is played by Maïwenn Le Besco. She screams a lot, and is kind of annoying.
You may also recognize her from a previous role;
But I digress.
In conclusion; for opening my eyes to what the rest of the world has in store for me. For teaching me that not every horror flick needs a plot, back story, or meaning. For being the first to break the mold (in my opinion) I give this movie a 9/10.
