High Tension (AKA Switchblade Romance/Haute Tension) Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray Dual Edition Boxset (2003) Review
High Tension (AKA Switchblade Romance/Haute Tension) Limited Edition 4K/Blu-ray Dual Edition Boxset (2003) Review
Alex (Maïwenn) and Marie’s (Cécile de France) study-weekend takes a savage turn, when a murderous maniac (Philippe Nahon – Irreversible), turns up on their doorstep. As Alex’s family is gruesomely picked off one-by-one, and one of them is taken hostage, a white-knuckle pursuit ensues… as Marie desperately battles to save them both from becoming his next victims.
I first saw HIGH TENSION back upon its UK retail release – although its release title back then was SWITCHBLADE ROMANCE – and I was bowled over by its ferocity and no-hold-barred gore. It fast became a firm favourite of mine, and I would recommend it over and over to anyone who cared to listen. It was to be one of the first movies to be associated with the New French Extremity movement which also included the still-brutal INSIDE (2007) and MARTYRS (2008), arguably the last time the horror genre tried to be horrific.
Written and directed by Alexandre Aja (who went on to remake THE HILLS HAVE EYES and direct a 3D PIRANHA movie) it offers the viewer a cat-and-mouse chase at breakneck speed after setting up the characters – as well as killing off most of them – within the first few scenes. Watching HIGH TENSION again for this review I found this part of the film to still be strong. However, I now find that the film falters dramatically with its third act and dramatic ‘reveal’. Whereas my younger self was happy to buy into the film’s big twist, twenty years later I felt that it was tacked on and effectively blew a hole into everything that had preceded it.
On the plus side Cécile de France, Maïwenn and Philippe Nahon are all terrific in their roles and the effects, created by make-up artist Giannetti De Rossi, are more than worth sitting through the mess of a final act twist for. The make-up effects were so effective that to avoid receiving the dreaded NC-17 rating Stateside several of the murder scenes had to be snipped thus robbing HIGH TENSION a little of its power. As if it wasn’t bad enough that it had to be dubbed for the subtitle-sensitive American audiences.
The brand-new box set is presented in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by James Neal with both discs featuring the film and bonus features. It comes with a 70-page book featuring new essays and the UHD is presented in HDR10+ and is the only approved HDR version of the film by the director. There’s also a host of brand-new interviews along with archive content. Please see full details below.
Special Features
Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
UHD presented in HDR10+ approved by director Alexandre Aja
New audio commentary by Dr Lindsay Hallam
An Experiment in Suspense: a new interview with Alexandre Aja
The Man in the Shadows: a new interview with Writer Grégory Levasseur
The Darker The Better: an interview with Cinematographer Maxime Alexandre
The Great French Massacre: an interview with Special Effects Artist Giannetto De Rossi
Only the Brave: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas on High Tension
Archive ‘Making of’ featurette
Archive Interview with Cécile De France
Archive Interview with Maïwenn
Archive Interview with Philippe Nahon
Limited Edition Contents
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by James Neal
70-page book with new essays by Anna Bogutskaya, Prince Jackson, Stacie Ponder and Zoë Rose Smith
Six collectors’ art cards
