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Haute tension
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Haute tension (2003) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 18 | slideshow) Videos (see all 4)
Haute tension (2003) -- Theatrical Preview
Haute tension (2003) -- Clip: Someone's at the Door
Haute tension (2003) -- Tension and high demand due to a weak dollar are driving crude oil prices over 90 dollars per barrel. Randall Pinkston reports.
Haute tension (2003) -- Clip: No way out

Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   17,464 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 18% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alexandre Aja
Writers:
Alexandre Aja (writer)
Grégory Levasseur (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for High Tension on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 June 2005 (USA) more
Tagline:
Hearts will bleed.
Plot:
Two college friends, Marie and Alexa, encounter loads of trouble (and blood) while on vacation at Alexa's parents' country home when a mysterious killer invades their quiet getaway. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
4 wins & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
Irregular but intriguing more

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)
Cécile De France ... Marie
Maïwenn Le Besco ... Alexia (as Maïwenn)
Philippe Nahon ... Le tueur
Franck Khalfoun ... Jimmy
Andrei Finti ... Alex's Father

Oana Pellea ... Alex's Mother
Marco Claudiu Pascu ... Tom
Jean-Claude de Goros ... Police Captain
Bogdan Uritescu ... Gendarme
Gabriel Spahiu ... Homme voiture
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Directed by
Alexandre Aja 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Alexandre Aja  writer
Grégory Levasseur  writer

Produced by
Alexandre Arcady .... producer
Robert Benmussa .... producer
Andrei Boncea .... executive producer
Inigo Lezzi .... line producer
Mehdi Sayah .... assistant producer
Luc Besson .... co-producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
François Eudes 
 
Cinematography by
Maxime Alexandre 
 
Film Editing by
Baxter 
Al Rundle 
Sophie Vermersch 
 
Casting by
Florin Kevorkian  (as Florin Chevorchian)
 
Production Design by
Renald Cotte Verdy 
Tony Egry 
 
Art Direction by
Grégory Levasseur 
 
Set Decoration by
Gabriel Nechita 
Gabriela Nechita 
 
Makeup Department
Gabi Cretan .... makeup artist
Giannetto De Rossi .... special makeup effects artist
 
Production Management
Andrei Boncea .... executive in charge of production
Attila Egry .... unit manager
Calin Furtunescu .... production manager
Inigo Lezzi .... production supervisor
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alina Apostu .... assistant director
Anthony Collard .... second assistant director
Theodor Halacu-Nicon .... first assistant director
Virgil Nicolaescu .... second assistant director
 
Art Department
Blehan Bogdan .... construction crew
Adrian Cancer .... storyboard artist
Agler Catalin .... construction crew
Ann Chakraverty .... set dresser
Paul Dobre .... construction crew
Dorin Grigorescu .... construction crew
Ionut Mandruta .... construction crew
Gabriela Nechita .... construction crew (as Gabi Nechita)
Gabriela Nechita .... storyboard artist
Rusetelu Nicolae .... construction crew
Calin Papura .... construction crew
Tudor Polizu .... construction crew
Serge Recorbet .... construction manager
Elsa Richez .... key painter
Camelia Sirbu .... construction crew
Doru Stan .... construction crew
 
Sound Department
Robert Althoff .... sound re-recordist: United States version
Pierre André .... sound
Emmanuel Augeard .... sound mixer
Guillaume Battistelli .... assistant sound editor
Ron Bedrosian .... adr mixer: United States version
John Bires .... additional sound: United States version
Christian Brousselle .... post-synchronization
Mihai Burtan .... sound
Marian Costea .... sound
Jeff Eisner .... additional sound: United States version
Ludovic Escallier .... assistant sound editor
Paul Flinchbaugh .... digital assistant editor: United States version
Jeff Glueck .... additional sound: United States version
Loïc Gourbe .... sound recordist
Thierry Havard .... boom operator
Chris Jargo .... sound effects editor: United States version
François Lepeuple .... foley artist (as François Le Peuple)
Didier Lesage .... sound engineer
Didier Lozahic .... sound editor
Didier Lozahic .... sound re-recording mixer
Jeff Malham .... re-recording engineer
Craig Mann .... sound re-recordist: United States version
Olivier Marlangeon .... assistant foley artist
Stefanie Melchor .... additional sound: United States version
Glenn T. Morgan .... supervising sound editor: United States version
Cristi Onutu .... sound
Mark Relyea .... sound effects editor: United States version
Sébastien Savine .... assistant sound editor
Melissa Sherwood Hofmann .... sound re-recording mixer: United States version
Matthew Sordello .... additional sound: United States version
Branden Spencer .... digital assistant editor: United States version
Peter Staubli .... sound effects editor: United States version
Greg Steele .... adr mixer: United States version
Dean St. John .... adr mixer: United States version
Bogdan Varzaru .... sound
David A. Whittaker .... sound effects editor: United States version
Ben Wilkins .... sound editor
David Young .... additional sound: United States version
Greg Zimmerman .... adr recordist
 
Special Effects by
Adrian Popescu .... special effects supervisor
 
Visual Effects by
Benjamin Ageorges .... digital compositor
Stephane Bidault .... visual effects
Christophe Chanvin .... visual effects supervisor
Jean-Antoine Lacolle .... digital compositor
Matthias Weber .... visual effects producer
 
Stunts
Szabolcs Cseh .... stunts (as Szabo Cseh)
Marius Florian .... stunt double: Marie
Von Totojescu .... stunts
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Mihai Burtan .... assistant camera
Catalin Ciobanu .... electrician
Marian Costea .... camera operator
Viorel Diaconescu .... gaffer
Titi Gavrila .... assistant camera
Ionut Lupulescu .... clapper loader
Sorin Nainer .... still photographer
Cristi Onutu .... assistant camera
Toni Salabasev .... still photographer
Bogdan Stanciu .... Steadicam operator
Remus Tanase .... key grip
Bogdan Varzaru .... camera operator
 
Casting Department
Domnica Circiumaru .... extras casting
 
Editorial Department
Serge Anthony .... color timer (as Serge Antony)
Adam Fox Forrest .... dvd menu designer
Magali Magnan .... assistant editor
 
Music Department
Matthew Bellamy .... composer: song "New Born"
Jérôme Devoise .... score mixer
Jérôme Lateur .... music supervisor
Vincent Lebegue .... music legal coordinator
Elise Luguern .... music production supervisor
Mehdi Sayah .... assistant music supervisor
 
Transportation Department
Adrian Nita .... transportation coordinator
 
Other crew
Andra Barbuica .... script supervisor
Bob Buchholz .... english language director
Razvan Caminschi .... production assistant
Liliana Ciobanu .... production assistant
Jean-Patrick Flande .... unit publicist
Catherine Grandjean .... administrator
Nicu Kasza .... production assistant
Dorina Popa .... production assistant
Dominique Segall .... press attache
Karl Sigwald .... production assistant
Luminita Costinela Stanciu .... production secretary
Doru Stan .... production assistant
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsSpecial EffectsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Switchblade Romance (International: English title) (UK) (DVD box title)
High Tension (USA)
Alta tensión (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
El despertar del miedo (Mexico) (Venezuela) [es]
Alta Tensão (Brazil) (DVD title) [pt]
Alta tensione (Italy) [it]
Haute tension - Switchblade romance (Finland) (festival title) [fi]
High Tension (Germany) (DVD title) [de]
Magasfeszültség (Hungary) (video title) [hu]
X Tension (Korea) [ko]
X-Tension (South Korea) (DVD title) [ko]
Yperentasi (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
more
MPAA:
Rated R for graphic bloody killings, terror, sexual content and language. (edited version); Rated NC-17 for strong graphic violence.
Runtime:
91 min | Germany:85 min (DVD version) | South Korea:84 min (re-cut version) | USA:89 min (edited version)
Country:
France
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | SDDS (US version) | Dolby Digital (US version) | Dolby Digital EX (original version)
Certification:
New Zealand:R18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Australia:R | Czech Republic:15 | Sweden:15 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/18 | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) (DVD rating) (uncut) | Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) (cut) | Austria:18 | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta) | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R (edited version) | Germany:18 (cut) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)
Filming Locations:
Bucharest, Romania more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to 'Alexander Aja' the scene where Marie hides from the killer in the gas station restroom was a homage to a similar scene in the movie Maniac (1980). more
Goofs:
Continuity: The interior light of the yellow Ford during the car chase more
Quotes:
Le tueur: You can't escape from me, bitch! more
Movie Connections:
References Halloween (1978) more
Soundtrack:
A2 more

FAQ

What song do Marie and Alex sing while driving in the car?
What are the differences between the theatrical version and the unrated version?
What is the song in the trailer?
more
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful:-
Irregular but intriguing, 16 July 2006
Author: Agnelin

This film seems to me to lack balance between the combination of elements that it blends together: the thriller-suspense factor, the gore, and the "surprise" factor. It is a very irregular film, but it still boasts good style and good manners in atmosphere-building, even if it doesn't really live up to meet the expectations, at least for me.

The story goes about Marie and Alexia, best friends who drive up to Alexia's parents' countryside house, hoping to find some peace for studying. Instead, they'll have to fight a psychopathic killer in a macabre cat-and-mouse game.

The best part, in my opinion, is the mise-en-scene and the introduction of the characters and the storyline. Everything in those first sequences tells us that something horrible is going to happen, not only because we already know that we're watching a horror film. The dusty road, the scorching weather, the big corn fields... the real feel of a horror story scene is there. It increases with the night scenes, the shots of the house, the staircase, the corridors. The gloominess and inherent darkness of the place and the quiet surroundings perfectly do their job of preparing us for what's to come.

The story-telling loses steam after this part. Not being a big fan of gore, I didn't really care for the bloody murder scenes, but I'm sure that they'll be appreciated by many -they're rather truculent and well filmed. The duel between Marie and the killer didn't really work for me; in fact, I found it a little boring. On the whole, I thought the story was unoriginal and predictable, but, contrary to what many say, I don't think it's deceitful -I didn't feel that the director cheats on the audience with the ending. (I won't elaborate on this so as not to spoil the film for those who want to see it).

I have mixed feelings about "High Tension". On the one hand, for me, it is ineffective as a thriller, and flawed as an exercise of story-telling. On the other, however, the murky atmosphere and the darkness of the story and of its subtleties stuck with me for a while after seeing the film. I wouldn't watch it again, but I understand why many like it so much.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Doesnt make sense Johnny_Blazzee
There WAS a picture! king1836
Things I learned watching High Tension...SPOILERS king1836
What about a Prequel? king1836
High Tension 2 : Salvation king1836
Truck ok. But the car?! Golfinguy75
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