The Beast Reviews: High Tension

I have been rather behind on my horror movie viewing schedule, so since seminary classes started this week, I will finally have the time to catch back up. (humor intended there)

I had heard good things about High Tension and I was anxious to see it. Upon a browsing day at the local Best Buy, I found the special edition DVD for an amazing $3.99, so needless to say, I bought it.

What we have with High Tension is story that has been told a million times. Now, don't misunderstand me, I have no problem with a successful formula that is repeated time and again in horror, just so long as the film does a good job with the formula. In this particular movie, the formula goes something like this: friends drive to the middle of nowhere to get away, crazed lunatic shows up and starts wreaking havoc. I am beginning to think in recent horror that Tobe Hooper is becoming one of the most duplicated film makers of all time. I would say without question that in the last few decades of horror, the most copied filmmakers would be Carpenter, Romero and Hooper.

Anyway, a girl is trying her best to stay alive and rescue her friend from the clutches of the demented psycho killer, who enjoys using disgusting means to kill off his prey. This is pretty gruesome stuff, some of which is also pretty inventive. I was enjoying the film, understanding that this is nothing new, but still well done.

Then, the film takes a "shocking plot change." **SPOILER ALERT**

We find out that the demented psycho killer who the girl is trying to escape from is actually the girl herself! That's right, the girl is trying to escape from herself. She has been the one killing all these people the entire time. We discover that she has been telling the story to policemen, hospital doctors, or whomever, and has been making up this guy the entire time.

So in other words, the movie is the retelling of a story by the killer herself with an imaginary guy as the killer. The motive you ask? Love of course. She is in love with her best friend, but her friend doesn't want anything to do with a lesbian relationship. So, out of jealousy and anger, she kills everyone who gets in the way and blames it on this made up guy. I think they were trying to go for the psychologial angle, that the girl really thought this guy existed and that she really was trying to save her friend from him. Similar to Norman Bates really thinking that his mother was doing the killing. But, nobody really cares. The last 5 seconds of the film are good, I have to admit. It made me jump.

The film ends with kind of a "Secret Window" feel about it. I just didn't care for the Secret Window ending and I didn't care for this one. But that aside, the movie delivers some chilling moments, has a few "that was disgusting" moments and the atmosphere isn't bad. Not a movie I will watch time and again, but it was worth the viewing experience.

Beast Paw Rating: 2 out of 4 Paws