Welcome to my third official review for High Tension on Monsters At Play. My initial review was written about 2-years ago upon viewing the film for the first time at the Philadelphia Film Festival (review here). My second review came about a year later in the form of a 2-Disc PAL DVD release under the films alternate title Switchblade Romance (review here). Third times a charm (and about 78% recycled material) as I take a look at Lions Gate's recent stateside release of the (thank god) uncut and fully subtitled version of this fine horror film.

Poor High Tension, the little film that could, but was never really given the chance. Initially, when we saw High Tension at the Philly Fest (it seems like ages ago) it was just a little French horror film making its festival rounds. No distributor...future uncertain. It wasn't long until Lions Gate decided to pick it up for US distribution (ironically enough, Lions Gate was at the Philly Fest that very same year debuting Beyond Re-Animator). Rumors were flying about the films fate, until Lions Gate confirmed to the horror community, that yes...High Tension was going to get a fully uncut and unrated (if not limited) theatrical release in the United States.

Editors Note: It was certain that High Tension would never receive an 'R' Rating without any cuts in the US. While the film is (in my opinion) not overly exploitative, there are a few stand out scenes of gratuitous gore that would have surely prevented the film from achieving an 'R' Rating. Also note that these scenes stand to intensify what's happening to these characters and are absolutely essential to the films plot and ultimate success (or failure).

After endless promises and delays, Lions Gate wound up going back on their word. Not only were they NOT going to be releasing an unrated version of the film in theatres (the film lost about 50 seconds from the MPAA, give or take), but Lions Gate wound up releasing some bastardized audio track that included some dubbing and some subtitling. Fudging with the story and creating this bizarre audio 'hybrid' wound up just confusing fans and newcomers alike (No doubt, this remix held a hand in what caused nearly a year long delay in releasing the film to begin with).

The film flopped.

Out of sheer curiosity, I went to see it in theatres, and was utterly disgusted. This was not the film I had originally reviewed. This was not the film I wanted to support. This was not a film I would ever recommend.

All disappointment aside, Lions Gate has now released an extras packed special edition of High Tension on DVD and we now have the opportunity to do something we should have been able to do all along. Watch the film in its original native tongue, with subtitles. Lions Gate has finally come through for us, what a glorious time it is to be alive. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...High Tension.

Brutal and uncompromising, familiar and cliché. These are all words that can be used to describe Alexandre Aja's frightfully appealing Haute Tension (High Tension). There's probably just as much to like in this film, as there is to hate. Two female companions (if you know what I mean and I think you do), Marie (Cecile de France) and Alex (Maiwenn) hit the open road to visit with Alex's family at their secluded home in the French countryside. Upon arrival, Alex takes a quick shower, while Marie furiously masturbates to her most favorite of reggae songs (it happens to be my new favorite as well...well, not really but I think you know what I mean). It isn't too long after bedtime that a most unwelcome visitor makes an appearance (in a truck that just screams Jeepers Creepers). Alex is bound and gagged and Marie is forced to play hide and seek as one by one, the occupants of the house are brutally slaughtered by the overall-wearing visitor. When Alex is thrown in the back of his truck, Marie goes along for the ride, in what quickly becomes a frightening test of wits and survival. That is of course until things go a bit sour with a 'twist' that will unfortunately either make it for some of us and/or wind up really breaking it for the rest of us.

'Nuff said on that for the time being.

OK, story elements aside; let's talk about the really good stuff here. There is very little to complain about in High Tension, and that is the true bottom line. Aja's film is frightening and suspenseful, with elements that seem to be missing from just about every other horror film that's been produced in recent years. He manages to tie these filmmaking elements together, in a genre that's usually not respected for its cinematic qualities. High Tension has a great gritty 70's look, a tremendous score (which mixes pop music and classic film scoring elements) and fantastic performances all around. While the characters aren't as developed as one would normally like to see, we still do indeed care for these people - because they are in fact just that...to us, real people.

Admittedly there's not a whole lot of new in High Tension, but the real beauty here lies in the fact that Aja takes these familiar conventions, and winds up using and abusing them to their fullest potential. Too often horror filmmakers become lazy, and figure that just because they've employed these familiar scare tactics, they will automatically suffice, which is most certainly not the case. High Tension does the dance well, with an even balance where the most familiar and subtle of stalking scenes keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat with their heart pounding and racing.

Special effects are provided by Gianetto De Rossi who's worked on such classic European horror films as The Beyond, House by the Cemetery and Zombie. Needless to say, the effects work on display here is extremely gruesome and over the top. The only way and I do mean the only way to see this film is in its completely uncut form. Look forward to a tremendous slit throat, beheading, random blood sprays and a nasty shard of glass stuck in a mangled foot.

Included on this DVD are what appear to be three versions of the film. Original French Language Unrated Directors Cut Version (5.1, 2.0), US English Language Dubbed Version and the US Unrated Version (5.1, 2.0). I don't see why anyone would be interested in viewing anything but the Original French Language Unrated Directors Cut Version (5.1, 2.0). I thought that one of the other two versions of the film would have been the edited version released theatrically, but they all appear to be uncut to me, it's all very confusing. Stick with the original uncut French language; it's the only way to go as far as I'm concerned. Lions Gate...you done good. High Tension looks fantastic, better than the import DVDs, better than I ever could have imagined a stateside release of this film could ever look. This DVD sports a crystal clear image, it's a solid anamorphic transfer all around. Not one complaint, thank you. Audio quality is equally as impressive with solid 5.1 and 2.0 sound mixed and all of the audio/subtitle options.

Extras begin with an intro and interesting audio commentary with Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur. They both seem very passionate about their film and filmmaking in general. Next up is Haute Horror: Making of High Tension a nice behind-the-scenes segment that runs about 23-minutes, which is followed by a piece called Building Tension in which some of the films' scare tactics are dissected. Next up is a fantastic interview with the films' make-up FX guru Giannetto De Rossi: The Truth, Madness and Magic which runs a scant 7-minutes. The man is a legend and I would have loved to see more, but just having this here is a real treat. Finally, selected scenes (5 in total) are offered with commentary supplied by Aja and star Ceciele France. I suppose it's worth mentioning the Lions Gate trailer reel that's included, but unfortunately, High Tension trailers themselves are oddly missing from the loop. Go figure.

Too often we as horror fans get caught up in making compromises, enjoying films because they are 'not that bad' or because they wind up as and example of the best of the worst. In the case of High Tension, is a horror film that truly does deserve your attention, simply because it's one hell of an effective horror flick. Flaws aside, High Tension is without a doubt, one of the best all around genre efforts that I've seen in recent years, and that's really saying something. I can't recommend it enough and if you don't check it out, it's truly your loss.