Haute Tension

[Icarusintel]

tried the search function and didn;t find anything, so, hopefully this isn't a new thread on the same thing
Anyone in here watched Haute Tension/High Tension/Switchbale Romance (all the same thing)? I just watched it the other night and I thought it was a pretty damn good movie, except for the ending, which all the reviews are correct in saying that the twist doesn't hold up if you watch it again. Beyond the ending though it definitely had the stuff a slasher film's supposed to have and it all worked together really well. It's supposed to be out in the states on Valentine's Day I think. I'd suggest watching the trailer on apple.com's trailers site if you haven't seen anything about it before, of course the text in the trailer makes a lot more sense after watching the film, but it'll give you a rough feel. Oh, and it definitely had one of the most in-your-face throat slashings ever

 

[VictimOfScience]

Just watched it last night and then watched the commentaires and I can really appreciate what the writer/director were doing, but yeah, the plot twist doesn't hold up in the next viewing.

What I think is most important about this film is the sense of tension and the way they build it. It is incredibly effective and this film would be a great study for film students if even just for the demonstration of how to effectively create serious tension in the audience and maintain it for as long as you want! Great techniques.

I love the fact that so many young filmmakers are wanting to harken back to horror films of the 70s, back when they were actually scary. The slick film and beautiful, well-known stars can make most of these horrible (like the remakes of the classics), but these smaller films with relative unknowns and small budgets make things so much more effective! I loved it!

Best scene? The first scene involving the man in the van--sets upon the audience a palpable feeling of shock, disgust and dread! Great great stuff!

 

[MrMan]

Yeah great film, got it a while back when it came out in Britain based on good reviews, have watched it quite a few times since...i love the wardrobe decapitation lol, and i don't think the twist is that bad to be fair, slightly far fetched, but i can deal with it.

 

[Gunner]

Actually the ending isn't supposed to make any sense, the movie is told in a long uninterrupted flashback by the crazy chick.. you can clearly see her handcuffed at the beginning of the movie, she's telling her version of the story to the cops but since she's insane she ends up confessing to the cops that she was in fact the killer.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Thanks for the SPOILER WARNING IN THE POST ABOVE THIS because I appreciate it when people don't give away the end of the movie I was going to see.

 

[Gunner]

You're welcome.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Thanks for the SPOILER WARNING IN THE POST ABOVE THIS because I appreciate it when people don't give away the end of the movie I was going to see.

I wouldn't let it bother you too much--that's just his interpretation of what is going on. The movie itself does a much better job telling the story than he does. I would say watch it for yourself and draw your own conclusions. I wouldn't say that the ending is confusing at all, but that's me. I would also say that the plot doesn't hold-up upon a second viewing, but its still one of the best examples of how to effectively build and maintain tension in an audience and so you owe it to yourself to watch it and really, any homage to 70s horror flicks is great and they all need to be encouraged!!* :cheers:

*Notice I said homage and not remake.

You're welcome.

How rude!