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High Tension
Cleaver envy
2003
Director: Alexandre Aja
Starring: Cecile De France, Maiwenn Le Besco, Phillippe Nahon
Yes. Your buzz will wear off exactly at the point this movie implodes.
THE SETUP:
Two young women retire to one's parents country home to study. A strange man comes by and slaughters the entire family except the two women. Then: a "shocking" twist!
DISCUSSION:
I didn't really want to sit through this, but I wanted to see how they handled the homoeroticism. I knew the shocking twist going in, and let me tell you, if you know the twist, this movie can be really tedious. I kept reaching for a fast-forward button that just wasn't there.
Two young women, Marie and Alex, are driving to Alex's parents' country home to study. Marie wakes up from a dream in which she's chased by a slasher-but the slasher is herself. Then there's a lot of expository and POORLY dubbed dialogue about how Alex likes fooling around with the boys, and devotes a lot of time to chasing boys, which Marie disapproves of. There is discussion of how Marie never lets a guy get near her.
Could all of this exposition POSSIBLY foresage events to come? I'll never tell.
They arrive at the farmhouse. Marie retires to bed to masturbate while listening to a song that says "She's just another girl, another stupid girl." She goes outside for a smoke and watches Alex's breasts as she takes a shower.
Are we sensing a subtle Sapphic vibe here?
Then a big meanie arrives at the house and wastes dad, cute doggie, mom, and adorable brat in short order. Alex is bound and gagged, while Marie sneaks around the house, avoiding the killer. They both end up in a truck, blah, blah, blah, chase, chase, run, hide, cower, etc., and then the big twist is revealed.
We will resume our discussion of the plot after the "spoiler" mark below.
Many of the reviews I read about this movie say that it was a fantastic horror movie until the big twist. I would dispute that. As I said, I knew the twist, so it was fairly tedious going, but even without that it seemed pretty standard and bursting with scenes we've watched before. How many times can we watch someone cower in a bathroom stall while the killer opens THIS stall. and then THAT stall. and then still this OTHER stall. and then the NEXT stall. snore. And there's LOTS of stuff like that. Also, the killer has NO motivation and never seems to get any. And that's just kind of boring.
People have talked about how gory this movie is. You know, people said the same thing about the remakes of Amityville Horror and House of Wax and other such larks. And I just think: "Hello? Have they never seen Re-Animator? Have they never seen Day of the Dead?" I guess not.
SPOILER>>>>
And now I will divulge the stunning twist and save you $10 in the process. Get this muthafuckas-there is no killer. Take a moment to compose yourself. It was Marie all along. You see, Marie is a lesbian [or closeted lesbian], is in love with Alex, and invents this character in her head while it's actually her going around killing everyone.
Now, WHY? Is it a serious case of penis envy [not to mention simplistic writing]? Is it that Marie thinks; "If I were only a man, with a throbbing manly appendage, then Alex would love me?" Or "if I were a man, then I could kill off her family and have her all to myself?" Or maybe she's having this fantasy about how if a psycho killer came to the house, Marie would save Alex, thus winning her love? Or maybe it's one of those Identity things in which Marie has to fight this other character within herself? It may be any of these, but two things are sure: a) lesbian psychology is NOT portrayed in all its complicated and diverse glory, and b) the answers you seek are NOT to be found in this movie.
Is it worth getting upset over? Not really [to me at least], as the whole thing is just so silly. Also, it's quite clear from the start [but again, I knew the twist] that Marie is pretty much bonkers.
This leaves the plot holes to pick through. The biggest one is the truck. The killer, presumably Marie, drives the truck a great distance from the house, where the climax takes place. The thing is, if the killer is all in Marie's mind, WHERE did the truck come from? If there's information on this, it's not in the film. The other thing is, if Marie was not in a car accident [after the male killer-driven truck rams her imaginary car] how did she get so bloodied up?
You may wish to debate these topics, but I don't think the movie is important enough to merit it. It's one of those movies that just hopes you won't go back and think about the events after the twists happen. It could be worse, but I think there are better places to get your chills.
SHOULD YOU WATCH IT?
Maybe if you've already seen every other horror movie that's ever been produced.
