"HIGH TENSION" (2005) (Cécile De France, Maïwenn Le Besco) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Extreme Extreme Extreme Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Moderate Extreme None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Mild Moderate Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror/Suspense: A woman tries to rescue her friend from a serial killer who's just murdered the friend's family. PLOT: Friends and students Marie (CÉCILE DE FRANCE) and Alex (MAÏWENN LE BESCO) have arrived at the Southern France farm house of the latter's family where they're going to study and spend time with Alex's parents and younger brother. Yet, the first night there, a homicidal madman (PHILIPPE NAHON) shows up, rings the bell and proceeds to brutally murder Alex's family before kidnapping her. Trying to avoid being the next victim, Marie hides and then tries to free Alex, only to find herself locked in the killer's truck with her bound and gagged friend. When he stops at a gas station to refuel, Marie takes a chance and races away from the truck, hoping to get help. When that doesn't work, and from that point on, she then takes it upon herself to free her friend and get revenge on the madman who always seems one step ahead of her. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into gory horror/suspense films, they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For graphic bloody killings, terror, sexual content and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: To avoid giving away any late plot twists, only the early characteristics are noted below: CÉCILE DE FRANCE plays a young woman who tries to rescue her friend from a madman who's murdered the friend's entire family. She masturbates (apparently thinking about another woman), uses strong profanity under duress, tries to survive the attacks and save Alex, and smokes. MAÏWENN LE BESCO plays Marie's friend who smokes, uses some profanity and must deal with being kidnapped by the killer after he's murdered her entire family. PHILIPPE NAHON plays the homicidal madman who kills Alex's family in a sadistic fashion, kidnaps her, drinks and drives, and tries to kill Marie. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this R-rated horror flick. Profanity consists of at least 4 "f" words (some subtitled) along with a handful of other expletives and colorful phrases. Some sexually related dialogue is present, while other sexual content includes the killer using a severed woman's head to perform oral sex on himself (we see the head moving up and down and the severed part comes as a surprise when he's done), while a woman masturbates in bed (we see hand movement in her unzipped pants and her pleasured facial reaction, as well as hear related sounds). A woman is seen nude while showering (bare breasts and partially blocked views of her lower half from front and back) and a woman briefly kisses another woman. Violence consists of a serial killer murdering various family members in extremely graphic fashions (smashing heads, slitting throats, ax to a chest, cutting with a chainsaw, etc.) and the wounding of others (including smashing a person's face with a pole wrapped in barbwire). All of that has extremely bloody and graphic results (gaping wounds, blood splattering everywhere) and is definitely not for the squeamish. Such material and all of the various chase scenes and other moments of peril (that make up most of the movie) will be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to some/many viewers, particularly younger ones and those with low tolerance levels for such mayhem. The killer obviously has an extremely bad attitude, drinks and drives, and some characters smoke. Tense family material involves a young woman knowing that her family has been murdered. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Alex mentions Marie being wasted in the past. The killer drinks whiskey from the bottle while driving. The killer tells a store clerk that he needs some booze and the clerk retrieves some for him. The killer drinks whiskey from the bottle and then pours some on Alex who's bound and gagged in the back of his truck. He then holds a lit match above her (like he's going to drop it, but never does). BLOOD/GORE We see bad cut scars and marks on a woman's back in a hospital. We see Marie limping along through some woods, running from something. Her arm, hand and shirt are very bloody and she has a makeshift tourniquet around her arm. When she encounters a car, she slams her bloody hand against the window, as she asks for help. The killer throws a severed head to the ground and it's bloody and has a meaty stump on the end. We see the motion of the killer striking Alex's father with something at the front door, but don't see the impact. We do, however, hear the father scream and then see lots of blood on his head and hands. The large family dog then goes to attack the killer, but as we hear sounds of that attack, we then see the dog's limp body fall to the floor. The injured and bloody father then tries to crawl up the stairs, but the killer catches him, puts his foot down on his head, and then pushes it through the banister rails. The killer then slides a large piece of furniture across the floor, slamming it into the man's head that's sticking out from those rails. The impact is only briefly seen, and the head may have partially or completely come off. We see the killer wipe blood from his straight razor and then approach Alex's mom. We see Alex's mom who has blood on her nightgown. The killer then slits her throat (in a very graphic fashion), leaving a long, gaping wound that opens and closes when the woman tries to breathe. As Marie hides in a nearby closet (with see-thru slats on the doors), we hear the graphic sounds of cutting and then see enormous amounts of blood spray and splatter onto those slats. We then see a sideways shot on the floor of the dead woman lying there with that huge and extremely bloody/gory, open neck wound. We also see a bloody, severed hand on the floor. Alex has some blood from her nose while bound and gagged. We see several shots of the recent murder victims (who are all bloody, with the mom's eyes open and starring into nothingness). The killer slams an ax into a person's chest (where it's then stuck), with very bloody results. The victim falls to the floor (face-down) and the killer steps down onto his back to make the ax go in even deeper (we hear more than see that). We then see a large pool of blood around the victim's body. We hear the sound of the killer urinating in a public bathroom (we see him standing there, but don't see the actual act). Following a bad car wreck, Marie is very bloody, including a bad/deep gash on her arm that's bleeding profusely. Marie hits the killer on the side of the head with a large rock (as he's on top of her), bloodying his head. She then repeatedly strikes his head with a pole wrapped in barbwire (in a graphic fashion) with additional bloody results. We see red abrasions on Alex's skin from where her chains rubbed her. A person threatens another person with a large kitchen knife. The first person then slices the second's cheek (we see a bloody cut) and then stabs that second person somewhere in the body (we don't see the insertion). We see quick flashback images of the killer murdering the others (with bloody results). A car nearly hits Alex, she gets in and begs the driver to drive off, but the car won't start. The killer then approaches with a large, rotary type chainsaw and walks over the car and jabs the chainsaw through the windshield. We partially see the impact on the driver, but fully see Alex (in the backseat) being covered in the driver's splattering blood (we then see the very bloody driver). We see a huge shard of glass in Alex's foot that she then slowly pulls out (in a very graphic/gory/bloody fashion). Marie kisses Alex passionately while both are very bloody. A person shoves a crowbar completely through another person (we see the end come out of the person's back with bloody results). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The killer obviously has an extremely bad attitude. Marie asks Alex if having a fling with an already taken guy was worth it and she says yes. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be disturbing, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material (much of which is extremely bloody/gory). A car nearly hits Marie on the road. Alex states that she saw someone in a cornfield at night as they drive by. They stop and she gets out, leaving Marie alone who then tentatively goes through the cornfield, looking and calling out for Alex (the camera is with Marie in close-up). Marie then hears the car starting and races out to see it driving away, but it's just Alex doing a practical joke (and she stops and lets Marie back in). We see the killer wipe blood from his straight razor and then approach Alex's mom. We then hear sounds of violence (screaming and cutting sounds). After she's heard the killer attack Alex's parents, Marie hears the killer coming up the stairs. She then races to erase any signs of her being in the room before he gets there (and without making any sound doing so). The killer then enters her bedroom and slowly and methodically looks around, even yanking the shower curtain open in the bathroom (but she's not there). We hear the squeaking sounds of his boots as he walks around and then see that Marie is hiding under the bed with her hand over her mouth to muffle her terrorized sounds. As Alex sleeps (with earplugs), we see the killer approach her, put his hand on her head and run his straight razor along her neck (but not slicing it). We then hear sounds of him doing something to her, and then later see that he's shackled her to the bed and gagged her. Trying to get to a phone plug, Marie makes some noise moving the furniture in front of it (thus making us think the killer will hear her). When that's no good, she then slowly makes her way down the stairs, knowing the killer is somewhere in the house. After the killer carries Alex out of the house and puts her in his truck, he returns to the house. At the same time, Marie retrieves a huge kitchen knife and then slowly makes her way around the outside, all while trying to see where the killer is but avoid him. Marie then sneaks into the truck with Alex and raises her kitchen knife awaiting the killer's appearance (as he approaches the truck), but he slides the back door shut and locks the two inside (unaware that Marie is in there). The killer cuts out Alex's head from a photo and then adds it to his collection of cut-out photos of other young women's heads in his truck. After the killer stops at a gas station to refuel, Marie slowly lets herself out of the back of the truck and then runs (in slow motion) toward the attached convenience store for help. She then hides in there as the killer comes inside. Marie hides in a public bathroom stall as we see the killer approaching, carrying a bloody ax. He then slowly looks through every stall until we realize he's looking in the wrong bathroom, but we then see him entering the correct one. Marie hears him enter and looks terrified as she hides in the last stall. When she thinks he's left, she slowly makes her way out, not sure if or when she'll encounter him. The killer drinks whiskey from the bottle and then pours some on Alex who's bound and gagged in the back of his truck. He then holds a lit match above her (like he's going to drop it, but never does). Marie realizes that the killer unloaded the gun she was going to take (he has the bullets in his hand). The killer is suddenly behind Marie on a dirt road at night through the woods. He rams his truck into her car several times during the chase until she eventually goes airborne. Her car then flies through the air while rotating and lands hard in the woods, ending up on his roof with a fire breaking out on the bottom (that's sticking up). Marie tries to hide as the killer comes looking for her with a flashlight. To fool his intended victim, we see that the killer has strung his flashlight on a string, making her think he's somewhere where he's not. The killer runs his straight razor up Marie's shirt, up to her neck and along her ear (no cutting). The wounded killer grabs Marie by the neck, but she then simultaneously tries to suffocate him with plastic over his head. A person threatens another person with a large kitchen knife. The first person then slices the second's cheek (we see a bloody cut) and then stabs that second person somewhere in the body (we don't see the insertion). A car nearly hits Alex, she gets in and begs the driver to drive off, but the car won't start. The killer then approaches with a large, rotary type chainsaw and walks over the car and jabs the chainsaw through the windshield. We partially see the impact on the driver, but fully see Alex (in the backseat) being covered in the driver's splattering blood (we then see the very bloody driver). The killer then tries to get Alex through the back side window, pushing the saw toward her. Alex scrambles backwards while seated/reclined on a road as the killer slowly comes at her with a non-running, large, rotary type chainsaw. GUNS/WEAPONS Knives/Shotgun/Handgun/Straight razor/Ax/Pole with barbwire wrapped around it/Rotary chainsaw: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*cking come on," "I feel sh*tty," "Bitch," "Skank," "Bimbo," "I'm not a slut like you," "Bastard" and "You can't escape from me bitch." (some in subtitles) It's possible the film could inspire some troubled kids to try to scare others and/or imitate the violence that occurs. Marie has a pierced navel. The killer drinks whiskey from the bottle while driving. The killer drinks whiskey from the bottle and then pours some on Alex who's bound and gagged in the back of his truck. He then holds a lit match above her (like he's going to drop it, but never does). To fool his intended victim, we see that the killer has strung his flashlight on a string, making her think he's somewhere where he's not. Marie makes a club out of a pole with a string of barbwire wrapped around it. JUMP SCENES Alex is suddenly in the mirror reflection when Marie closes the mirror. A person believed to be dead suddenly moves on the floor. When a person turns around, the killer is suddenly there. The wounded killer grabs Marie by the neck. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 4 "f" words, 3 "s" words, 3 asses (2 used with "hole"), 1 damn, 1 hell and 1 use each of "G-damn" and "Oh my God" (some of the preceding are seen in subtitles). SEX/NUDITY Marie asks Alex if having a fling with an already taken guy was worth it and she says yes. We see the killer in his truck, with a woman's head moving up and down in his lap. We hear his pleasured sounds and then climax, but then see him throw out a severed head to the ground (that he was using to perform oral sex on himself). The camera briefly focuses on Marie's butt in her tight jeans. Marie jokingly says to Alex, "I'm not a slut like you." From outside and at night, Marie sees Alex showering (through an open window) and gazes at her bare breasts (several views) and sees partial glimpses of Alex's bare butt and crotch area (an object in the foreground of the shot partially blocks the view). Marie dons headphones, lies down on her bed, unzips her pants and runs her hand down to her crotch. She then proceeds to masturbate (we see her hand movement and pleasured facial reaction, as well as some muted sounds until she climaxes (and we see her hand grasping at the sheet). The killer chats with a store clerk, jokingly chiding him about the rich ladies that drive through, saying, "Don't tell me they never ask for your services" (meaning sexual). The killer asks Marie if Alex turns her on and adds, "She turns me on too" as he sticks his finger down into her mouth in a sexual fashion. We see a pin-up poster on the wall (in the background of a shot) that features a woman in a bikini. Marie kisses Alex (a woman) passionately while both are very bloody. SMOKING Marie smokes at least twice, Alex smokes once, the killer may smoke once and a miscellaneous person smokes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Alex's younger brother runs from the house scared after hearing and/or seeing his parents be murdered. Alex must deal with the fact that her entire family has been murdered (but doesn't have much time to think about that due to being kidnapped and fearing for her own life. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Serial killers. Lesbianism. What you might do if confronted by the same situation. Marie asks Alex if having a fling with an already taken guy was worth it and she says yes. Whether the graphic violence made the film scarier than others, or if it's better to leave such matters more to one's imagination. VIOLENCE We see the motion of the killer striking Alex's father with something at the front door, but don't see the impact. We do, however, hear the father scream and then see lots of blood on his head and hands. The large family dog then goes to attack the killer, but as we hear sounds of that attack, we then see the dog's limp body fall to the floor. The injured and bloody father then tries to crawl up the stairs, but the killer catches him, puts his foot down on his head, and then pushes it through the banister rails. The killer then slides a large piece of furniture across the floor, slamming it into the man's head that's sticking out from those rails. The impact is only briefly seen, and the head may have partially or completely come off. We see the killer wipe blood from his straight razor and then approach Alex's mom. We then hear sounds of violence (screaming and cutting sounds). We see Alex's mom who has blood on her nightgown. The killer then slits her throat (in a very graphic fashion), leaving a long, gaping wound that opens and closes when the woman tries to breathe. As Marie hides in a nearby closet (with see-thru slats on the doors), we hear the graphic sounds of cutting and then see enormous amounts of blood spray and splatter onto those slats. We then see a sideways shot on the floor of the dead woman lying there with that huge and extremely bloody/gory, open neck wound. We also see a bloody, severed hand on the floor. A scared young boy runs out into a cornfield at night, crying for his mommy. We then see the killer enter the same cornfield with a shotgun. We then hear and see the flash of the shot, and then hear another as the killer shoots and kills the boy. The killer slams an ax into a person's chest (where it's then stuck), with very bloody results. The victim falls to the floor (face-down) and the killer steps down onto his back to make the ax go in even deeper (we hear more than see that). We then see a large pool of blood around the victim's body. The killer is suddenly behind Marie on a dirt road at night through the woods. He rams his truck into her car several times during the chase until she eventually goes airborne. Her car then flies through the air while rotating and lands hard in the woods, ending up on his roof with a fire breaking out on the bottom (that's sticking up). The killer wraps plastic around Marie's head, causing her to gasp and eventually lose consciousness due to lack of air. Marie hits the killer on the side of the head with a large rock (as he's on top of her), bloodying his head. She then repeatedly strikes his head with a pole wrapped in barbwire (in a graphic fashion) with additional bloody results. The wounded killer grabs Marie by the neck, but she then simultaneously tries to suffocate him with plastic over his head. We see surveillance footage of the killer hitting the store clerk in the chest with an ax. A person threatens another person with a large kitchen knife. The first person then slices the second's cheek (we see a bloody cut) and then stabs that second person somewhere in the body (we don't see the insertion). We see quick flashback images of the killer murdering the others (with bloody results). A car nearly hits Alex, she gets in and begs the driver to drive off, but the car won't start. The killer then approaches with a large, rotary type chainsaw and walks over the car and jabs the chainsaw through the windshield. We partially see the impact on the driver, but fully see Alex (in the backseat) being covered in the driver's splattering blood (we then see the very bloody driver). The killer then tries to get Alex through the back side window, pushing the saw toward her. A person shoves a crowbar completely through another person (we see the end come out of the person's back with bloody results). Reviewed June 2, 2005 / Posted June 10, 2005

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