…is what this lovely french film gave me when I first viewed it (and I consider myself a thrill-seeking horror freak, so that is not an easy feat). And that’s all you can truly hope for when watching a horror movie. Haute Tension aka Switchblade Romance is Alexandre Aja’s directorial masterpiece (although The Hills Have Eyes remake was pretty damn good too) that contains a kick-ass performance by Cécile De France (who is tough-as-nails hot in the lead role) and is backed by an intensely atmospheric score (and an integral part of the film) composed by François-Eudes Chanfrault. With all of these elements in place, High Tension creates a highly intense mood throughout that is incredibly worthy of the film’s title. Plus, this is one of the only films in recent memory that legitimately feels like it belongs in the golden age of gritty, brutal and realistically gory horror flicks of the 1970s. Which makes sense because Aja himself has stated that Haute Tension is his love letter to the unsettling 1970s horror films that he grew up watching. And the care and admiration for the genre clearly shows (in particular the strong overall influence of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well as a tribute to the subway sequence in William Lustig’s Maniac…which was released in 1980, but was technically conceived in the 70s).

As a result of all of this, HT holds a solid spot in my personal TOP 20 favourite horror movies of all-time (a simple idea for a future auteurs list, as more and more titles are added to the Db) and IMO is the best straight up horror film of the past decade. It also must be said that, yes, I am perfectly fine with the infamous plot twist ending aka the major detail which has proven to be the dividing line in the sand between audiences who either love or hate this film (and rightfully so). This roller coaster ride of a horror film gets an enthusiastic (as well as gory and sexy) 5 stars from this fan.

Bonus: The trailer for the North American release of Haute Tension in 2005 (which I recall seeing in the theatres ahead of Sin City). It stands as one of the finest trailers I’ve ever seen (due in no small part to its use of a spooky and very fitting remake of a Carpenters song that wasn’t even in the movie). Unfortunately, the trailer was not included on the Region 1 DVD release (my only disappointment with the home release of High Tension, which I bought blind and was subsequently blown away by, one fateful evening back in early 2K6). Finally, a warning to anyone who hasn’t seen the movie and is interested: at the aforementioned link to the enjoyable trailer, please refrain from casually reading any of the comments that accompany the video due to the fact that certain YouTube a-holes have taken it upon themselves to spoil the crucial plot twist for unsuspecting readers. Not that anyone would ever want to read YouTube comments…unless your goal was to achieve an instant migraine. But just in case your eyes happen to wander, I’m simply looking out for you :) P.S. I LOVE this movie. I really do. I really do.