Review of 2003's Foreign Horror, High Tension

High Tension, Horrible Ending

Two female students, Marie and Alex, set off to Alex's parent's secluded homestead in the country to relax and study. Come nightfall, Hell pulls up at the front door. Alex is now bound and gagged, taken off, with Marie eluding the intruder. Can she save her friend's life in time? Or is everything all that it seems...

Let's start by saying that this film's just awesome...until the last fifteen minutes! For the first 75 minutes, I was like "Oh yea!! Great stuff!!" Then it fell apart and I was like "What the hell?? Why?? WHY???!!!"

The brief intro begins as dream sequence of Marie's. She wakes up into a cross between "Joy Ride" and "Jeeper Creepers" minus the creature. The road trip aspect is like Joy Ride, the killer's truck is just like the creature's truck in Jeeper Creepers. The title, High Tension, fits well because the tension of the victims, as the killer stalks them, is almost non-stop.

It starts out very much like Joy Ride, with the two girls (Marie & Alexia) driving in the country, all alone. They're best friends, traveling to Alexia's home in the country to study for college. Once they arrive, Marie meets Alexia's family: father, mother, young siblings. Everyone goes to bed and a hot scene of Marie having "fun" with herself :) ensues. Meanwhile a serial killer, who kidnaps beautiful young women, plays with them a while before killing them, arrives in his meat wagon of a truck. The aftermath is very, very gruesome. He takes Alexia as his next plaything. Marie sneaks into the back of the truck and the killer drives off. The tension's just begun! I had chills down my spine!