High Tension (French: Haute tension, pronounced [ot tɑ̃sjɔ̃]; also called Switchblade Romance in some English-speaking countries) is a 2003 French horror movie directed by Alexandre Aja and co-written by Grégory Levasseur. It stars Cécile de France and Maïwenn. The story follows a young student who visits her family’s quiet farmhouse with a classmate, only to find a killer enters the home on the night of their arrival.

The film was first shown in French movie theaters on June 18, 2003. It was also shown at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival in the "Midnight Madness" section, where Lionsgate Films bought the rights to distribute it. To prepare the movie for release in the United States, Lionsgate changed the English version and edited it to get an R-rating. The company spent $14 million to widely release the film in the U.S. on June 10, 2005. However, it only earned $3.6 million in total. Critics gave the film mixed reviews.

The movie is linked to the New Extremity movement.

Plot

Marie and Alex, who are best friends, travel to Alex's parents' home for the weekend to study. After arriving, Alex shows Marie around the house. They then have dinner and go to bed. While the family sleeps, Marie stays awake in the guest bedroom, listens to music, and uses the bathroom. Marie hears the doorbell ring, and Alex's father, Daniel, answers it. A man cuts Daniel's face with a straight razor, pushes him between two staircase spindles, and moves a bookcase toward his head, killing him. Alex's mother, awakened by the noise, finds Daniel dead and is approached by the killer.

Marie, hearing the mother's screams, rearranges the guest bedroom to hide her presence and hides under the bed. The killer looks around Marie's room but does not find her. Marie quietly goes downstairs and finds Alex locked in her bedroom. Marie promises to find help and sneaks into the parents' room to get a phone. After hearing loud noises, she hides in the closet and sees the killer kill Alex's mother by cutting her throat with a razor. Alex's younger brother, Tom, runs outside to a cornfield, where the killer follows him. Marie returns to Alex and sees Tom's murder from a window. Marie promises to free Alex but hears the killer returning. Marie goes to the kitchen and takes a butcher knife. Alex is pulled into the killer's truck, and Marie hides inside with Alex. The killer locks them in and drives away.

When the killer stops at a gas station, Marie gives Alex the knife and enters the station to get help. Inside, Marie sees the store clerk killed with an axe. As the killer drives away, Marie calls the police but hangs up when she cannot tell them where she is. Marie takes the clerk's keys and uses his car to follow the killer on a deserted road. The killer crashes Marie's car, pushing it off the road. Marie is badly hurt and runs into the forest as the killer searches for her. Eventually, Marie hits the killer with a fence post covered in barbed wire. As Marie examines the body, the killer grabs her throat, so Marie suffocates him with a plastic sheet. When Marie returns to the truck, Alex seems scared of her. Meanwhile, police at the gas station watch security footage showing Marie killing the clerk. It is revealed that Marie is violent, confused, and obsessed with Alex, and she is responsible for all the murders.

At the truck, Marie unties Alex. As soon as Alex is free, she threatens Marie with the knife and accuses her of killing her family. Alex cuts Marie's face and stabs her in the stomach before running into the forest. Marie chases Alex with a concrete saw. Alex finds a road and signals for help. As Alex climbs into a car, Marie appears with the saw and kills the driver. A piece of glass cuts Alex's leg. Alex takes a crowbar from the car's toolbox and crawls along the road. Marie forces Alex to say she loves her, and she kisses her. During the kiss, Alex hits Marie in the chest with the crowbar as Marie claims she will never let anyone separate them.

Later, Marie is in a psychiatric hospital room, chained to her bed, while Alex watches her through a one-way mirror. Marie smiles and reaches toward Alex, as if she knows Alex is watching.

Cast

• Cécile de France as Marie
• Maïwenn as Alexia Soral
• Philippe Nahon as The Killer
• Andrei Finti as Daniel Soral, Alex's father
• Oana Pellea as Mrs. Soral, Alex's mother
• Franck Khalfoun as Jimmy
• Marco Claudiu Pascu as Tom Soral, Alex's little brother

Release

High Tension was released in France on June 18, 2003, by EuropaCorp. The film was shown at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival during the Midnight Madness section. After the screening, Lionsgate Films bought the rights to distribute the film in North America. In her book Films of the New French Extremity, Alexandra West wrote that the screening of High Tension at Midnight Madness made that section of the festival an "unintentional bastion for New French Extremity," a movement that had not yet gained popularity. Following the release of High Tension, other films associated with New French Extremity were shown at the festival, including Calvaire (2004), Sheitan (2006), Frontier(s) and Inside (2007), and Martyrs (2008).

The film premiered in the United Kingdom at the Cambridge Film Festival on July 10, 2004, under the alternate title Switchblade Romance. It received wide distribution in the UK under this title on September 24, 2004.

In the United States, Lionsgate released an English-dubbed version of the film in 1,323 theaters on June 10, 2005, with a $14 million marketing budget. Some murder scenes were shortened to avoid an NC-17 rating. Lionsgate released a re-cut theatrical trailer to promote the film, featuring the song "Superstar" by Sonic Youth.

To achieve an R rating from the MPAA, some scenes were edited in the American version. About one minute of the film was cut to avoid an NC-17 rating. The R-rated edition was released in U.S. theaters, on a fullscreen DVD, and on streaming services. This section describes the changes made to the original French film to create the American version.

• Alex's father is shown being decapitated with a bookcase, with blood spraying from his headless body. In the R-rated version, the scene is edited to quickly cut away as the bookcase crushes his head. Later, his body is shown on the staircase without the head.
• When Alex's mother has her throat slashed, the scene is shortened, with most of the blood spraying removed. Later shots of Marie examining the body are also edited.
• The death of Jimmy, the gas station clerk, is shortened. Close-up shots of the axe in his chest are removed.
• The scene where Marie hits the killer's face with a barbed wire pole is shortened. Marie hits the killer fewer times, and fewer details of the killer's injuries are shown.
• The driver's disembowelment with a concrete saw is shortened.
• A close-up of the crowbar in Marie's shoulder is missing.

Lionsgate released the film on DVD in North America on October 11, 2005, in its fully uncut form. The DVD included the original French audio track and two English-language dub versions: one with some French dialogue, as shown in theaters, and one fully dubbed in English. A Blu-ray edition was released by Lionsgate in 2020.

In 2024, the British distributor Second Sight Film released High Tension on Blu-ray and 4K UHD Blu-ray. This was the first UK release to use the original title; earlier UK releases used the alternate title Switchblade Romance.

Reception

High Tension earned $2,610,892 in Europe and other international markets. In North America, it earned $3.2 million, compared to Lionsgate's $14 million spent on distribution and marketing. The film's total worldwide earnings were $6,291,958.

On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 130 critics gave positive reviews, with an average score of 5.3 out of 10. The website's summary states: "There is some tension in this French horror film, but the dubbing is poor, and the ending twist is hard to believe." Metacritic, which calculates an average score based on different factors, gave the film a score of 42 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C−" on a scale from A+ to F.

American film critic Roger Ebert gave the film one star, writing: "The philosopher Thomas Hobbes said life can be 'poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' This movie is like that." He also mentioned a major mistake in the story that is so large, a truck could drive through it.

Lisa Nesselson of Variety said the film "balances violence and suspense well," has "scary sound effects," and has a "dark, blood-like appearance that matches the story." James Berardinelli praised the film, saying: "The film enjoys showing blood and violence, but it is not just a simple horror movie. The script and director, Alexandre Aja, show intelligence. For people who like horror films and do not mind seeing a lot of blood, this film is worth watching. It is a success in the style of Grand Guignol."

Mark Holcomb of The Village Voice wrote that the film is similar to 1970s American horror movies and adds to the trend of remakes and reboots. He called it "gratifyingly bloody and intellectually focused, like a version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and Duel." M. E. Russell of The Oregonian gave the film a B− rating, describing it as "inspired by other movies but also simple and intense, with a strong female character and a story that mirrors other horror and thriller films." Russell noted the film includes references to movies like Road Games (1981), Duel (1971), and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).

In 2013, GamesRadar+ listed the film's killer as one of the "50 Creepiest Movie Psychopaths." The film was included in Time magazine's 2010 list of the "10 most ridiculously violent films."

Some viewers noticed similarities between the film's story and the novel Intensity by Dean Koontz. At the Sundance Festival in 2004, the director admitted to reading the novel and being aware of the similarities. On his website, Koontz said he knew about the comparison but would not sue, stating he found the film "immature, unpleasant, and lacking in depth" and did not want the connection that would come from legal action.

Soundtrack

• Muse — "New Born"
• Ricchi e Poveri — "Sarà perché ti amo"
• U-Roy — "Runaway Girl"
• Félix Gray and Didier Barbelivien — "A toutes les filles"
• François Eudes-Chanfrault — "Faustina Mauricio Mercedes"
• Scott Nickoley, Jamie Dunlap, Molly Pasutti, and Marc Ferrari — "I Believe"
• François Eudes-Chanfrault — "Celebration A2"
• Arch Bacon — "Pillow Talk"
• François Eudes-Chanfrault — "Paris—Nice"
• François Eudes-Chanfrault — "Out of the Mundial"

Reference in other media

Corey Jennings, a Horrorcore artist from New York, also known as Kardiac, honored the movie High Tension in the music video for his song "The Country Road Cover Up."