Although director Alaxandre Aja's list of horror movies is growing, (Including the remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of The Dead ) it doesn't mean they will grow popular as you'll see in this attempt at his French to American DVD re-release of High Tension. (Lions gate Films 2003) It's a classic story we've all heard before ;two girls, a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, and a crazed killer.

This particular story starts when Marie and Alex (Cecile De France and Maiwenn Le Besco) decide to get some quiet study time at the home of Alex's parents, but very shortly after arriving, the house is attacked by the film's prowling madman (Phillippe Nahon). After some extremely gory attacks on the family, Marie (who has kept herself well hidden) tries to save her (momentarily surviving) friend Alex, which is about the time that Marie shows what inner-strength and cunning she possesses. After a interesting game of cat and mouse is played the film gets to its unique plot twist, which is unfortunately when the numerous amount of holes in the plot rear their ugly heads. It's the classic horror movie mantra which ,in this film enthusiast's opinion, could have been an excellent movie had a little more detail been put into it.

It was good to see Aja's directing skills in using good sets and picking out locations, as well as the quickness in which the movie seems to go by but, that didn't make up for its long list of downfalls. If there was a deliberate angle (I'm not sure there was) in dubbing the movie only partially, it didn't help. Also the dialog left you wondering why he didn't leave it all subtitled (at least then you could have easily ignored it).

I'd have to say the only things that kept this movie from being an entire flop is the brutal, graphic scenes as well as Cecile De France's portrayal of a tough chick,(she could easily become an American action star if she decided to).This together with a great idea for a plot twist (had it held together) and an array of interesting weapons (including a demo saw) could have made for a film with definite bragging rights for its director/co-writer Alexandre Aja. Another person deserving of mention is the films special effects/makeup artist, Giannetto De Rossi, who is known for such movies as Dune and Rambo 3. You should also pay some attention to the unique soundtrack in the movie, I believe it complimented the film in a different style (than the norm for horror films) and helped to set a good pace. (Music from Muse).

If you like the film then you'll probably be interested in the DVD extras. They include a DVD introduction by Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur, commentary with Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur, Haute Horror - Making of High Tension, Building Tension, Gianetto De Rossi: the Truth, the Madness and the Magic, and select scenes with commentary from Alexandre Aja and Cécile De France. One problem with many of the features listed above is that much of it is still in French; luckily you can turn English subtitles on to understand what's going on...

High Tension will be available in a Full Frame VHS Rated R version, a Widescreen Unrated DVD version (the version reviewed here), a Full Frame Rated R DVD version, and an Unrated UMD version (playable on your PSP). Each version of the DVD will have the capability to be viewed using either the U.S. theatrical release audio, original French language tracks or English dub tracks.

Additional Info:

Territory: U.S. and Canada

Rating: Unrated, Rated R versions. Graphic Violence, sexual content and language.

Genre: Horror

Closed Captioned: English Closed captions

DVD Running Time: approx 91 minutes

DVD Audio Status: 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital

More Information: www.lgf.com